When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
When they went, they went upon their four sides - (note, Ezekiel 1:17).
They turned not as they went - without accomplishing their course (Isaiah 55:11). (Grotius.) Rather, 'they moved straight on without turning' (so Ezekiel 1:9). Having a face toward each of the four quarters, they needed not to turn round when changing their direction.
But to the place where the head looked they followed it - i:e., "where the head" of the animal cherub-form, belonging to and directing each wheel, "looked," there the wheel "followed." The wheels were not guided by some external adventitious impetus, but by some secret divine impulse of the cherubim themselves - "the spirit of the living creature in the wheels" (Ezekiel 1:2).