As for the likenesses of their faces …: Each creature had four faces, those of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. There was one face on each side of the head. The lion’s face was on the right hand side of the man’s face, and the ox’s face was on the left hand side. This left the man’s face and the eagle’s face at the front and the back respectively, as Revised Standard Version states, although the Hebrew text does not specifically say so. Nevertheless, by mentioning the man’s face first, it must be understood that the human face was in front, and the eagle’s face was at the back. Thus, as the following illustration shows, it was the human face that was facing out from the square on all four sides, and from whichever direction a person looked at the group of four creatures, it was the human face that was facing toward the looker. Therefore it was also the human face that was facing the direction in which the whole group went (see Ezek 1.9).

Which is the right side and which is the left side depends on whose perspective is in view. In the diagram below the lion’s face is on the right side of the creature’s human face from the creature’s perspective. This is the most likely meaning of the text. But if we take the viewpoint of Ezekiel, as he stands opposite the creature and looks at it, the right side will be on the other side of the human face. Therefore some languages may prefer to be more general, saying “on one side” and “on the other side,” instead of specifying the right and left sides.

Man renders a general Hebrew word for both males and females, so it may be translated “human” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The lion is a large, powerful wild member of the cat family that lives by hunting. If they are completely unknown to readers, then translators can compare them to members of the same family that is known, as for example in “animal [called a lion] like a very large puma.” Translators need not be specific about whether the ox is a cow or a bull. The Hebrew word for ox is a general word, used for both sexes. If the language makes a distinction between male and female cows, or even neutered ones as an ox is, then the masculine form is probably better here since it is more commonly used in the Bible and other literature in describing supernatural creatures. The eagle is a large, swift flying bird of prey. If eagles are not known, then translators may use “large bird of prey” or possibly the name of a specific bird of prey from their region. Sometimes the Hebrew word for eagle is translated “vulture.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .