And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings …: Ezekiel now describes the sound he heard as he watched the vision. He heard a loud sound when they went, that is, when the creatures were moving. The sound was coming from their wings as they were flying, but Ezekiel never says that their wings flapped. Thus the power that enabled the creatures to move and the sound that came from their wings were supernatural.

The sound was very loud, like the sound of many waters, that is, “like the noise of flood-waters” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “like the noise of a mighty torrent” (Revised English Bible). Anyone who has seen a large waterfall will readily appreciate how appropriate this simile is. Although these waters probably refer to a flooding river, Good News Translation refers to the sea and the roar of the waves breaking on the reef or the shore (so also Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). This is possible, but it is not as likely as the picture of a flooding river, or water crashing on rocks as it flows over rapids. This same picture is also used when God returned to the Temple in 43.2.

Translators can restructure the first part of this verse slightly by saying “When they moved, the noise [or, sound] of their wings was like a torrent of waters.”

The sound of the creatures’ wings was also like the thunder of the Almighty, which is literally “like the voice of Shaddai” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible). “Shaddai” is an ancient name for God. According to Exo 6.3, it was the name by which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob worshiped God, before he revealed his name, Yahweh, to Moses. It is used often in the book of Job. Its original meaning is unknown. The traditional English rendering Almighty follows the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. Good News Translation says “Almighty God.” Translators who follow Good News Translation may render “Shaddai” as “God who is very powerful” or “God, the really strong one.” Compare Contemporary English Version, which has “God All-Powerful.” This picture of “the voice of Shaddai” is used again in 10.5. But Revised Standard Version understands “the voice of Shaddai” to refer to thunder (so also New Revised Standard Version; “thunderclap” in Revised English Bible). This stresses the loudness of the sound. Many times in the Old Testament when God speaks, it is described as thunder (for example, 1 Sam 7.10; Job 37.4-5; Psa 18.13). Here a reference to thunder would not be out of place, because the whole vision began with a windstorm and lightning (see Ezek 1.4), and at the end there is a rainbow (see verse 28). It is appropriate to retain the imagery of the storm. Translators may begin this verse with “The noise of their wings when they moved was like the roar of torrents of water or like thunder from God Almighty.” But it is better to retain a reference to God’s voice if possible. A model that does this is “When they moved, the noise of their wings sounded really loud like a flooding river, like when God who is really strong speaks, it is loud like thunder.”

The sound of the creatures’ wings was also a sound of tumult like the sound of a host. The Hebrew word translated tumult is used only one other time in the Old Testament, so scholars are not absolutely sure of its meaning. (King James Version has wrongly taken it from a root meaning “to speak.”) In Jer 11.16 this word, which is used together with the Hebrew word for “sound” as in Ezekiel, seems to describe the noise when lightning strikes a tree and sets fire to it. That makes a very loud noise, which was apparently similar to the loud noise made by the wings of the creatures. Translators may render a sound of tumult as “the sound of lightning striking.” New Jerusalem Bible says simply “the noise of a storm” (similarly Jerusalem Bible). The loud noise was also like the sound of a host, that is, “like the noise of a huge army” (Good News Translation) or “like the noise of large number of people camped in one place.” Many versions combine a sound of tumult and like the sound of a host; for example, New International Version has “like the tumult of an army” (similarly Good News Translation). However, these two phrases should be kept apart, as in Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible. New Century Version provides an excellent model for this part of the verse, saying “a roaring sound like a noisy army.”

When they stood still, they let down their wings: When the creatures stopped moving, they lowered their wings, which had been spread out while they were moving. Again, this sentence suggests that they used their wings to fly, but Ezekiel never says so explicitly, and he never says they flapped their wings. A natural term from the language should be used for the way the creatures lowered their wings; for example, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version say “they folded their wings [against their bodies].”

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 .