complete verse (Ezekiel 1:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 1:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “There were four things there that were like a person” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I also saw in the middle of the dark-cloud four living creatures as-if-like men,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In the center of the storm I saw what resembled four living creatures. They resembled humans,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 1:5 - 1:6

And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures: The midst of it can refer to “the middle of the fire” (so New International Version) or “the center of the storm” (Good News Translation). Either interpretation is acceptable. From the middle of the fire/storm Ezekiel saw the likeness of four living creatures, that is, “what looked like four living creatures” (Good News Translation). It seems that he was not exactly sure what these creatures were. On fifteen occasions in this chapter, Ezekiel describes what he saw in this roundabout way to show that the vision was supernatural, and that the things he saw were not the ordinary things of the earth. Living creatures renders the most general Hebrew word for animal, but in 10.1 Ezekiel calls them “cherubim.” However, translators should not try to be specific in naming these creatures at this point. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a good model here, just calling them “shapes” or “forms” (Gestalten in German), although “animals” or “living beings” may be appropriate in some languages. From the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures seems to suggest that these four creatures came out of the middle of the fire/storm. In fact, everything they did happened in the middle of it. Therefore it is better to say “At the center of the storm I saw what looked like four living creatures” (Good News Translation) or “There were what looked like four living creatures in the middle of the fire.”

And this was their appearance: Ezekiel then tries to describe the appearance of the four creatures. Translators may say “This is what they looked like.” They were a mixture of human and animal features.

They had the form of men, that is, their bodies were shaped something like a human being, standing upright.

But each had four faces, and each of them had four wings: Each creature had four faces, one on each side of its head (see verse 10), and four wings.

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 .