complete verse (Ezekiel 1:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 1:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Each of those animals looked forward/in front when they moved ahead without turning/changing themselves.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They were-flying together in any direction, without turning-around. Whenever the spirit would-bring them there they also would-go.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The creatures went straight ahead in whatever direction the spiritthat controlled/guided them wanted them to go, without changing directions while they were moving.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 1:12

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 .