Their legs were straight probably means the four creatures had human legs, and they were standing upright with their legs straight, not bent at the knees. They were not animals standing on their hind legs, because the back legs of most animals are crooked. The Hebrew is not absolutely clear at this point. Literally it reads “And their legs [were] a straight leg,” which some scholars have suggested means that each creature had only one leg; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg.” Very few translations follow this interpretation. It is better to follow Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation here.

And the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot: The soles of their feet is better rendered “their feet” (New International Version, New Century Version; similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which looked like the hoofs of calves. The Hebrew word for calf refers to a young bull, but if it is more natural, translators may say “bull.” The important thing is that this clause refers to the cleft hoofs of cattle. Good News Translation provides a helpful model here, saying “and they had hoofs like those of a bull.”

And they sparkled like burnished bronze: The pronoun they probably refers to the hoofs of the four creatures. Their hoofs were bright and shiny, and they reflected the light like burnished bronze, that is, highly polished bronze. Good News Translation and New Living Translation use the verb “shone” rather than sparkled. If burnished bronze is not known, translators may say “metal polished very bright.” A model for this whole clause is “and their hoofs were very shiny like metal that had been polished until it was very bright.”

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 .

And he said to me: God begins to speak again to Ezekiel, but this is the first time that Good News Translation identifies God as the speaker.

Son of man: International Children’s Bible has “Human being” again.

Eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll: Eat what is offered to you is literally “eat what you find” (New King James Version , New American Standard Bible). This clause does not mean that Ezekiel is to go and search for something to eat, or look for something that is lost. Rather, it means that Ezekiel is to eat whatever comes his way, whatever he happens to get, whatever is “in front of” him (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation omits this clause. What Ezekiel is told to eat, God immediately makes clear, namely, this scroll (see the comments on 2.9). In some languages translators will use the active voice rather than the passive verb is offered by rendering these two clauses as “eat what I am offering to you, this scroll” or “eat this scroll I am offering to you.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also combines these two clauses well, saying “take this scroll and eat it!”

And go, speak to the house of Israel: As soon as Ezekiel has eaten the scroll, he must speak to the people of Israel. The eating is the first step in his commissioning to be a messenger and prophet to the Israelites. His task is to speak God’s message to them. The house of Israel is not a building, but the nation of Israel.

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 .

And, behold: As elsewhere the Hebrew word hinneh rendered behold is often translated “Look” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “See” (New Revised Standard Version). Some translations omit it (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), but others try to capture the emphasis it conveys by saying “For my part” (Bible en français courant).

I will put cords upon you: See the comments on 3.25. Here God is the one who ties Ezekiel up, not the people. As in 3.25, it is best to take this description of Ezekiel being tied up with ropes metaphorically, that is, translators may say “I am going to restrain you as if I would tie you up with ropes.” Of course, it is also possible to translate this clause literally.

So that you cannot turn from one side to the other: The reason Ezekiel is tied up is also different from that in 3.25. Here he is tied up so that he cannot turn over. Although he was able to move during this period, he had to stay lying on one side (see verses 4-6).

Till you have completed the days of your siege, that is, until Ezekiel had finished “attacking” Jerusalem, which God told him to do for a total of 430 days. Translators may say “until your attack is over” or “for all the time that you are threatening Jerusalem.”

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 .

The slain shall fall in the midst of you means people will be killed everywhere in the land of Israel. Here the pronoun you probably refers to the mountains and other areas of Israel, but it could also refer to the people. This clause may be rendered “I will kill people throughout the land.”

And you shall know that I am the LORD: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and introduces the result of the LORD’s destruction of the Israelites and their religious objects, so it may be translated “Then” (New Century Version) or “By this.” You shall know that I am the LORD means the people will recognize and acknowledge God because of the things he has done. This is a very important theme in the book of Ezekiel. It shows the greatness, power, and authority of God. Here the focus is on knowing that God did the things described. Here the pronoun you can only refer to people of Israel, and it may be necessary to make clear that these are the people who survive the slaughter, that is, those who are still alive; for example, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version say “those who survive.” Another possible model is “you who are left.” The LORD renders God’s name “Yahweh” (see Ezek 6.1). For this whole clause Contemporary English Version has “And those who survive will know that I, the LORD, did these things,” and BNT says “ah, you will see that I am Yahweh!” Another possibility is “By this you who survive will know that I am Yahweh.”

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 .

When anguish comes …: The meaning of the Hebrew word for anguish is not clear because it used only here in the Old Testament. This explains the variety of renderings in the different translations. It seems to come from a root that means the bristling, creeping sensation that people feel on the skin when they are afraid. Here it probably refers to the fear and terror that the Israelites will feel when the Babylonian soldiers are about to attack. This noun may be rendered verbally; for example, Contemporary English Version expresses this clause as “You will be terrified.” Revised English Bible says “Shuddering will come over my people.” Another possible model is “Panic will break over them.”

They will seek peace: The terrified Israelites will look for a place where they will be safe from the danger of the Babylonian soldiers. This clause does not mean they will try to make peace with them. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and they shall seek safety,” which is a helpful model.

But there shall be none: There will be no place where they will be safe.

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 .

Using almost exactly the same words as in chapter 1, Ezekiel interrupts the dialogue between God and the man in linen clothes, and again describes the throne of God, carried by the four strange living creatures.

Then I looked, and behold: In Hebrew this verse begins in the same way as 1.4 (see the comments there). It uses a vivid style for relating a vision. New Jerusalem Bible makes this explicit with “Then, in a vision I saw.”

On the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim: For firmament see 1.22. This is the first time Ezekiel calls the “living creatures” (Good News Translation) that carried God’s throne cherubim (see 9.3). At the end of this vision he explicitly identifies them as such (see verse 20). Most of the details of these cherubim are identical with those of the living creatures in chapters 1 and 3. The details differ a little, but Ezekiel says three times that they were the same creatures he had seen earlier by the Chebar River (see verses 15, 20, 22). Therefore, even though Ezekiel calls them cherubim now, translators may use the same term in this chapter that they used for the living creatures in chapters 1 and 3, as Good News Translation has done. This will help to avoid confusion, although it can cause a slight problem in verse 20. However, translators who want to introduce and use the term cherubim may say “living creatures called cherubim” or “winged creatures called cherubim,” keeping in mind that cherubim is the plural form of “cherub.”

There appeared above them something like a sapphire, in form resembling a throne: The description here is very vague. On the platform carried by the living creatures was something that looked like a sapphire, that is, a valuable dark blue gemstone, and it seemed to be shaped like a throne. In 1.26 Ezekiel described this as something that “was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire” (see the comments there). Many translations understand this verse in the same way as 1.26 by saying it looked like “a throne made of sapphire” (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, other translators follow the text and retain the distinction between the two descriptions; for example, New Century Version renders the description here in 10.1 as “something like a sapphire gem which looked like a throne.” In many languages there appeared is more naturally rendered “I saw” or “there was.”

This verse may be restructured as follows:

• Then in my vision I saw what looked like a throne made of a valuable blue stone, which was on the platform over the heads of the living creatures called cherubim.

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 .

And it came to pass renders a discourse connector that is widely used in Hebrew to mark the beginning of a new event. Revised Standard Version and King James Version render it literally, but other translations render it more naturally; for example, New King James Version has “Now it happened,” and New Revised Standard Version says simply “Now” (also New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omit it altogether. Each language needs to use a natural narrative connector.

While I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died: While Ezekiel was speaking the words recorded in verses 5-12, Pelatiah died. It is not certain how Ezekiel’s prophesying in this vision was related to Pelatiah’s death. Were Ezekiel’s words somehow the cause of the man’s death? Had Pelatiah been able to hear Ezekiel as he pronounced God’s judgments on the leaders of Jerusalem, including himself? Did Ezekiel become visible to the twenty-five men in the east gateway of the Temple as he was talking? The answers to these questions are not clear, but for translators they are not crucial. Curious events can occur in dreams and visions, where they seem perfectly real and logical. Translators thus have a straightforward basis on which to translate here. They may say “While I was speaking the words God gave me [or, While I was giving the people this message from Yahweh], Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died.” For prophesying see Ezek 11.13; for Pelatiah see Ezek 11.1.

Then I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said: Pelatiah’s death showed Ezekiel that God’s punishment of Jerusalem’s leaders was beginning. I fell down upon my face means Ezekiel lay face down on the ground (see 1.28b). Cried with a loud voice does not mean he was weeping, but he shouted in distress to God.

Ah Lord GOD!: Ah renders a Hebrew interjection showing Ezekiel’s great distress (see 9.8). Some translations have omitted it (so Revised English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982)); others have used a variety of terms, such as “Ah” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, King James Version / New King James Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “O” (New Living Translation, New English Bible), and “Alas” (New American Standard Bible, New American Bible). Good News Translation uses “No,” and New Century Version has “Oh no.” These two renderings make explicit that Ezekiel was wanting God to change his mind and stop the judgment. “Please” in Contemporary English Version is similar but more polite. Any natural exclamation expressing the emotion of distress is acceptable in translation. For Lord GOD, see Ezek 11.7.

Wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?: In his distress at seeing the punishment of Jerusalem beginning, Ezekiel asks God if he will kill all the remaining Israelites. This question is similar to the one he asked in 9.8 (see the comments there), when God sent the six men to destroy the wicked people in Jerusalem. Since it is a rhetorical question and God did not answer Ezekiel, Contemporary English Version expresses it as a statement, saying “don’t kill everyone left in Israel.”

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 .

And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation: These two clauses expand on what is said in the previous verse, so the conjunction And may be omitted (so New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The cities and countryside of Judah will be ruined and deserted. The original meaning of the Hebrew expressions rendered be laid waste and become a desolation is “deserted” or “uninhabited,” that is, “where no one lives or goes,” but they can sometimes have the extended meaning of “destroyed” or “ruined.” These two expressions are often used together in Ezekiel (see 6.6, where the verb rendered be laid waste is translated “be waste,” and where the verb rendered “be … ruined” comes from the same root as the noun for desolation). These clauses may be rendered “The towns [or, villages] where people now live will be broken down and empty, and the countryside will be useless and deserted” or “Enemies will break down and destroy the towns where people now live, and the countryside will be empty.”

And you shall know that I am the LORD: Ezekiel’s audience will only recognize God after he has destroyed Jerusalem and the rest of the land of Judah. Here again is the theme of people recognizing and acknowledging God by what he has done (see verse 15). The conjunction and is better rendered “Then” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “Thus” (Revised English Bible) in this context. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version render this sentence as “Then they will know that I am the LORD.” This rendering arises from a misunderstanding of Ezekiel’s audience (see the comments on verse 19). The pronoun you refers to the people in exile with Ezekiel. Translators should retain the second person pronoun.

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 .