complete verse (Ezekiel 1:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 1:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “but each one of those things had four heads and four wings.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “but each one of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, and their feet were as-if-like the foot of a cow and shone like a shiny bronze. There was a hand of a man beneath each of their wing,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “but each of them had four faces and four wings.” (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 .