This verse repeats with minor changes Ezekiel’s description of God in 1.26-27.

Then I beheld, and lo: In Hebrew this verse begins in the same way as 1.4 (see the comments there). Good News Translation has “I looked up and saw a vision,” Parole de Vie says “Here is what I saw,” and Bible en français courant translates simply “I saw.”

A form that had the appearance of a man: See 1.26. Instead of the appearance of a man, the Hebrew text has “[the] appearance of fire” (King James Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Most translations follow the Septuagint here, which has “appearance of a man” (so Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The difference between these two readings involves one small letter in Hebrew (ʾesh [“fire”] versus ʾish [“man”]). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project discusses this textual problem at some length but cannot decide which reading is better, and it recommends that translators may choose either one. Nevertheless, it is better if possible to follow the Hebrew text and translate “fire” instead of man. Good News Translation offers a model that takes both words into account by saying “a fiery human figure.”

Below what appeared to be his loins it was fire, and above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming bronze: See 1.27, where the basic picture is the same even though the order of the two clauses here has been reversed and some of the details have been omitted or changed. Here what Ezekiel saw below the waist was fire, but in 1.27 it was “the appearance of fire.” New Century Version renders below what appeared to be his loins it was fire as “From the waist down it looked like fire” (similarly Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), which is the same expression New Century Version uses in 1.27. However, other versions are more literal; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “from what appeared as his loins down, [he was] fire.” Since this is a vision, either rendering is acceptable. Above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness means the upper half of the figure’s body was very bright. For gleaming bronze, see 1.4. Good News Translation provides a good model for the last clause of this verse, saying “and from the waist up he was shining like polished bronze.” Contemporary English Version is also good with “and it was bright as polished metal from the waist up.”

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 .