As for the likenesses of their faces …: Each creature had four faces, those of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. There was one face on each side of the head. The lion’s face was on the right hand side of the man’s face, and the ox’s face was on the left hand side. This left the man’s face and the eagle’s face at the front and the back respectively, as Revised Standard Version states, although the Hebrew text does not specifically say so. Nevertheless, by mentioning the man’s face first, it must be understood that the human face was in front, and the eagle’s face was at the back. Thus, as the following illustration shows, it was the human face that was facing out from the square on all four sides, and from whichever direction a person looked at the group of four creatures, it was the human face that was facing toward the looker. Therefore it was also the human face that was facing the direction in which the whole group went (see Ezek 1.9).

Which is the right side and which is the left side depends on whose perspective is in view. In the diagram below the lion’s face is on the right side of the creature’s human face from the creature’s perspective. This is the most likely meaning of the text. But if we take the viewpoint of Ezekiel, as he stands opposite the creature and looks at it, the right side will be on the other side of the human face. Therefore some languages may prefer to be more general, saying “on one side” and “on the other side,” instead of specifying the right and left sides.

Man renders a general Hebrew word for both males and females, so it may be translated “human” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The lion is a large, powerful wild member of the cat family that lives by hunting. If they are completely unknown to readers, then translators can compare them to members of the same family that is known, as for example in “animal [called a lion] like a very large puma.” Translators need not be specific about whether the ox is a cow or a bull. The Hebrew word for ox is a general word, used for both sexes. If the language makes a distinction between male and female cows, or even neutered ones as an ox is, then the masculine form is probably better here since it is more commonly used in the Bible and other literature in describing supernatural creatures. The eagle is a large, swift flying bird of prey. If eagles are not known, then translators may use “large bird of prey” or possibly the name of a specific bird of prey from their region. Sometimes the Hebrew word for eagle is translated “vulture.”

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 .

Such were their faces is literally “and their faces” in the Hebrew text. Some scholars think that an editor put in these words by mistake, so they omit them from their translations (for example, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Revised Standard Version attempts to make some sense of these words with its rendering. For those languages that need to summarize topics, these words can be retained by saying “That’s the way their faces were.” But otherwise, they may be omitted.

And their wings were spread out above: And renders a simple transition marker in the Hebrew text, showing the continuation of the description. In most languages it is not natural and may be omitted. The Hebrew word translated spread out actually means “separated, divided in two.” This clause could mean that each creature’s wings were spread out, separated and extended, one on either side of the body. But it is more likely that each creature’s wings were separated, or divided, into two sets of wings, one upper pair and one lower pair. The upper pair were spread out above, that is, extended out and upward, perhaps to support the dome on which the throne of God was being carried.

Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another: Each creature’s four wings did not work together in unison, but in pairs. So, when Ezekiel says each creature had two wings, he is not contradicting what he said earlier about each having four wings. He is just describing one pair of those wings. In fact, the two wings that he mentions here are those described in verse 9. The creatures spread their two upper wings and each touched the wing of another, that is, each creature was touching the tips of the wings of the creature on either side with its own wing tips.

While two covered their bodies: Ezekiel now tells us of the other pair of wings, the lower ones, with which the creatures covered their bodies. Their bodies probably refers to the lower parts of the body, perhaps from the waist down. They covered them out of respect for the presence of God. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version both suggest that the lower wings were folded against the body as a way of covering it. If this is natural, translators can do something similar.

New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh provides the following excellent model for this verse:

• Such were their faces. As for their wings, they were separated [divided into two pairs]: above, each [creature] had two [wings] touching those of the others, while the other two [wings] covered its body.

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 connector And simply marks a continuation of the description again, and may not be natural in all languages.

Each went straight forward … without turning as they went: See the comments on Ezek 1.9. Revised English Bible changes its wording here, saying “They moved forward … they never swerved from their course” (similarly New English Bible), but it is better to retain the same terminology as that used in verse 9.

Here Ezekiel adds wherever the spirit would go, they went. The Hebrew word ruach rendered spirit has a wide range of meanings, but the main meanings are “wind,” “breath,” and “spirit.” Some scholars understand the word here to mean “wind” (Brownlee, New English Bible footnote), but this implies that the creatures and the throne of God were just blown about by the wind, like a piece of paper on the ground. But the vision makes it clear that they were not simply being blown about by the wind. They were in control of their own movements and moved when and where they wanted to. Most versions render ruach as “spirit” here, but the word “spirit” is ambiguous. Whose spirit do they mean? Is it the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit? Or is it the spirit(s) of the creatures themselves? Since these versions do not capitalize “spirit,” it is unlikely that they mean the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is probable that they are referring to the spirit within the creatures, which is later described as being in the wheels (see verse 20). In this sense the spirit is the same as the will, or impulse, of the creatures; it is the way they decide which way they will go. Some translations make this explicit; for example, Good News Translation renders this clause as “and so the group could go wherever they wished” (similarly Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). But it could also be that the creatures did not move of their own accord, but they were controlled by the power of God. Some translations make this explicit; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “they went wherever the spirit impelled them to go,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “they went where the spirit urged them.” Revised English Bible has the creatures following the spirit by saying “they moved forward in whatever direction the spirit went” (similarly New English Bible). Since the Hebrew word ruach has such a wide range of meanings, we cannot say for sure that the meaning is one of these and not another. But it is most likely that the spirit here refers to the mind and will of the creatures as they decided, under the power of God, where and when to move. It is good to try to keep some sense of ambiguity in the translation, but if the word “spirit” is used, it should have the sense of the power of God, and not be explicit as the Holy Spirit. In some languages it is possible to say “they went wherever they felt led” or “they went wherever they felt their spirit leading them.” If it is not possible to keep the ambiguity, either of the following models may be helpful: “they went wherever the power of God made them go” or “they went wherever they wanted to go.”

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 .

In the midst of the four living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire: Instead of In the midst of, the Hebrew has “And the likeness of.” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint here (so also New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible). This change is not necessary. In Hebrew this whole clause reads literally “And the likeness of the creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh treats the first phrase as a summary of the previous verses, saying “Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire.” In King James Version it introduces the rest of the verse as follows: “As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The use of both “likeness” and “appearance” in the Hebrew text simply reflects how hard it was for Ezekiel to describe adequately what he saw. If possible, translations should emphasize strongly the vagueness of what Ezekiel saw. Nevertheless, it would be satisfactory to follow New Century Version here, which says “The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire,” although Revised English Bible captures the vagueness a little better with “The appearance of the creatures was as if fire from burning coals.” The idea that there was something In the midst of the four creatures arose as a result of some translators reading the wrong word in the Hebrew text. In fact, it was the four creatures themselves that looked like burning coals of fire, not something in the middle of them. The creatures reminded Ezekiel of red hot coals, glowing brightly, with flames still coming from the coals.

Like torches: The creatures also reminded him of torches or fire sticks. These are long poles with pitch on the end, or rags soaked in oil wrapped around the top. When set alight on a dark night, the flames shoot up brightly. It was this brightness and flashing of flames that impressed Ezekiel as he saw the creatures.

According to the Hebrew text, the fire, not the torches, was moving to and fro among the living creatures. It was like sparks flying between them. The flames were “darting to and fro” (Revised English Bible), “darting backwards and forwards” (New Jerusalem Bible), or “zigzagging” (Brownlee) among the creatures. And the fire was bright or “radiant” (Revised English Bible) all the time, not just when it blazed up, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version imply. And this fire was as bright as lightning, because out of the fire went forth lightning, that is, lightning flashed from it.

A possible model for this verse is:

• In appearance, the creatures looked fiery, like glowing, red hot coals, like fire sticks. Fire was darting to and fro among the creatures. It was very bright and lightning was flashing out of it.

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 .

Now as I looked at the living creatures: In Hebrew this verse begins in almost exactly the same way as verse 4. Now renders the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”), which simply serves to continue the story. Here it does not mean “at this present time,” but rather “then,” “and,” or even “next.” Many versions omit it, and it should only be included if there is a suitable resumptive particle that is natural in the translator’s language. As I looked at the living creatures can be taken in two ways. Most translations take it as a continuous action, referring to the whole vision thus far; for example, Good News Translation says “As I was looking at the four creatures.” But it could mean that Ezekiel now refocuses his attention on the creatures after watching the flashing of the fire. If so, it should be translated “Then I looked [again] at the creatures.” Some translations take this clause as Ezekiel focusing his attention on one part of the vision; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “As I looked more closely,” but this rendering goes a bit further than the Hebrew allows.

I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them: I saw is literally “and behold” (see the comments on Ezek 1.4). There was one wheel beside each creature, so Good News Translation says “I saw four wheels … one beside each of them.” The wheels were probably beside the legs and feet of each creature. The wheels were upon the earth, that is, standing upright and “touching the ground” (Good News Translation). The translation must not give the impression that the wheels were lying on their sides on the ground. One way would be to say “I saw a wheel standing on the ground beside each of the four creatures.”

One for each of the four of them renders a difficult Hebrew text, which is literally “to his four faces.” Many versions omit the reference to the “faces” (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible). Others strain to get some meaning from the word “faces,” but their solutions are not very satisfactory; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “each of the four-faced creatures” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible), and New International Version has “each creature with its four faces.” It may be that these “four faces” belong to the wheels themselves (see the comments on 10.14). But this would be the only reference to the wheels’ faces in this chapter, and it is almost impossible to make any sense out of this meaning here. Therefore it is more likely that the “four faces” refer to the human faces on the four sides of the square of creatures. Thus there was one wheel alongside each creature, and the wheel was pointing in the direction that the human face was facing. This is the meaning of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

Translators may want to restructure the verse slightly as follows:

• And then as I watched, I saw that beside each of the four creatures there was a wheel standing on the ground.

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 .

As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction … their construction …: Ezekiel now describes the appearance and construction of the wheels, that is, what they looked like and how they were made (their “structure” in New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; their “design” in Anchor Bible). First he describes their appearance, then he describes their structure. In Hebrew he introduces each description with the words meaning “appearance” and “construction” (so King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Many translations avoid this repetition, because in the first part he only describes the appearance and in the second part he only describes the structure of the wheels. However, both the appearance and the shape of the wheels are important in the description of how they were made. Translators should not simply omit the reference to “appearance” in the second part, as Revised Standard Version does. They would do well to follow the model of New International Version in the latter part of the verse, which reads “Each appeared to be made like….” In this way both ideas (“appearance” and “construction”) are kept in the translation. This is another instance of where Ezekiel finds it difficult to describe exactly what he saw.

Their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite: The wheels “shone” (Good News Translation), “sparkled” (New International Version, Revised English Bible), or “glittered” (Jerusalem Bible) like jewels. The Hebrew word for gleaming is also used to describe wine sparkling in the sunlight (compare Pro 23.31). It is not certain what chrysolite (tarshish in Hebrew) was, except that we know it was a jewel that probably came from Spain. Some think it was an opaque yellow stone, others think it was transparent yellow, still others claim it was olive green. Apart from chrysolite, tarshish has been rendered “beryl” (King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “topaz” (Revised English Bible). It would be wise to follow Good News Translation by saying “precious stone” or “jewel.” Translators may also say “precious stone called chrysolite.”

And the four had the same likeness means that the four wheels “were alike” (Good News Translation) or “looked the same” (New Century Version).

Their construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel: Here Ezekiel describes the construction of the wheels. Unfortunately, there are many different explanations of what these wheels were like. Like Revised Standard Version, some versions see them as “a wheel inside a wheel” (Revised English Bible; similarly New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). This gives the picture of a double wheel, perhaps something like a solid wheel made of wooden planks pegged together with a wooden or leather tire on the outside. Carvings and drawings of ancient Near Eastern wheels suggest that it may have been a wooden wheel with a smaller circle at the hub, giving the impression of two wheels, like the one illustrated below. Others understand them as “a wheel intersecting a wheel” (New International Version), “two wheels cutting through each other” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “one wheel crossways inside another wheel” (New Century Version), or “Each wheel … had a second wheel that cut through the middle of it” (Contemporary English Version). Good News Translation is similar with “each had another wheel intersecting it at right angles.” Brownlee explains how such wheels might work: “The outer wheel could flop over to the horizontal plane to give the inner wheel contact with the ground, which could then roll in either direction at right angles to the former.” This may explain how the wheels could move in any direction without turning (see verse 17). But in a supernatural vision, it is not necessary for there to be a natural explanation for everything. Although we cannot be sure, the first interpretation is more likely than the second one, because Ezekiel would have been familiar with the wooden wheels of the ancient Near East.

Here is one way translators can render this verse naturally:

• Each of the wheels looked the same and was made the same. They shone like a precious stone [called chrysolite], and each wheel had another wheel inside it.

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 they went is better rendered “When they moved” (New Revised Standard Version).

They went in any of their four directions: New International Version understands this clause to mean that “they [the wheels] would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced,” but other versions believe that their four directions refers simply to the four common directions of north, south, east, and west (so Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The interpretation of New International Version seems more likely.

Like the creatures in verses 9 and 12, the wheels were able to go in any direction without turning as they went. This was because there was one wheel on each side of the group, and so one wheel was always facing in whatever direction the group went. The impression should not be given that the wheels were stationary, locked in position, and unable to roll along. Rather, this clause means that they did not turn to the right or the left, like the front wheels of a car or truck as it turns a corner. To make this explicit, some translators will say “without turning to change direction.”

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 .