Ezekiel 1
1 And it was don, in the thrittithe yeer, in the fourthe monethe, in the fyuethe dai of the moneth, whanne Y was in the myddis of caitifs, bisidis the flood Chobar, heuenes weren openyd, and Y siy the reuelaciouns of God.
[I am] Ezekiel, a priest, the son of Buzi. When I was 30 years [old], I [living] among [Israeli] people who had been (exiled from/forced to leave) [and had come to Babylon]. I was living along the Kebar River/ [south of Babylon]. Almost five years after King Jehoiachin had been (exiled/forced to leave Judah), on the fifth day of the fourth [of that year, it was as though] the sky was opened and I saw visions from God. On that day,
2 In the fyueth dai of the monethe; thilke is the fyuethe yeer of passing ouer of Joachym, kyng of Juda;
3 the word of the Lord was maad to Ezechiel, preest, the sone of Busi, in the lond of Caldeis, bisidis the flood Chobar; and the hond of the Lord was maad there on hym.
God gave me [in visions here] in Babylonia, and I felt the power [MTY] of Yahweh on me.
4 And Y siy, and lo! a whirlewynd cam fro the north, and a greet cloude, and fier wlappynge in, and briytnesse in the cumpas therof; and as the licnesse of electre fro the myddis therof, that is, fro the myddis of the fier.
[In one of the visions, I saw a] windstorm coming from the north. There was a huge cloud, and lightning was flashing continually, and a brilliant light surrounded the cloud. In the center of where the lightning was flashing there was something that resembled glowing bronze.
5 And of myddis therof was a licnesse of foure beestis. And this was the biholdyng of tho, the licnesse of a man in tho.
In the center of the storm I saw what resembled four living creatures. They resembled humans,
6 And foure faces weren to oon, and foure wyngis weren to oon.
but each of them had four faces and four wings [DOU].
7 And the feet of tho weren streiyt feet, and the soole of the foote of tho was as the soole of a foot of a calf, and sparclis, as the biholdynge of buylynge bras.
Their legs were straight. Their feet resembled the hooves of calves, and the creatures shone like polished bronze.
8 And the hondis of a man weren vndur the wyngis of tho, in foure partis. And tho hadden faces and wyngis bi foure partis;
On their four sides under their wings there were hands like humans have.
9 and the wyngis of tho weren ioyned togidir of oon to another. Tho turneden not ayen, whanne tho yeden, but eche yede bifore his face.
As the four [stood there, they formed a circle/square], with their wings touching each other. They did not turn when they were moving; they went straight ahead.
10 Forsothe the licnesse `of the face of tho was the face of a man and the face of a lioun at the riythalf of tho foure. Forsothe the face of an oxe was at the left half of tho foure; and the face of an egle was aboue tho foure.
[of the creatures had four faces]. The face that was in front [of each one was a face that] resembled a human face. The face on the right side resembled a lion’s face. The face on the left side resembled an ox’s face. The face in back resembled an eagle’s face.
11 And the faces of tho and the wengis of tho weren stretchid forth aboue. Twei wyngis of eche weren ioyned togidere, and tweyne hiliden the bodies of tho.
Two of each creature’s wings were lifted up and touched the wings of the creatures that were on each side. The other two wings were folded against the creature’s body.
12 And ech of tho yede bifore his face. Where the fersnesse of the wynd was, thidur tho yeden, and turneden not ayen, whanne tho yeden.
The creatures went straight ahead in whatever direction the [that controlled/guided them] wanted them to go, without changing directions while they were moving.
13 And the licnesse of the beestis, and the biholdyng of tho, was as of brennynge coolis of fier, and as the biholdyng of laumpis. This was the siyt rennynge aboute in the myddis of beestis, the schynyng of fier, and leit goynge out of the fier.
[four] creatures resembled burning coals or torches. A blazing fire moved back and forth among the creatures, and lighting flashed from among them.
14 And the beestis yeden, and turneden ayen at the licnesse of leit schynynge.
The creatures moved back and [extremely rapidly], like [SIM] flashes of lightning.
15 And whanne Y bihelde the beestis, o wheel, hauuynge foure faces, apperide on the erthe, bisidis the beestis.
While I looked at the four living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each of them.
16 And the biholdyng of the wheelis and the werk of tho was as the siyt of the see; and o licnesse was of tho foure; and the biholdyng and the werkis of tho, as if a wheel be in the myddis of a wheel.
Each of the wheels was the same, and they all shone like [SIM] (chrysolite/a valuable green stone). Each seemed to have one wheel inside another wheel.
17 Tho goynge yeden bi foure partis of tho, and turneden not ayen, whanne tho yeden.
Whenever they moved, they would go straight in one of the four directions that they faced; they did not [in another direction] while they moved.
18 Also stature, and hiynesse, and orible biholdyng was to the wheelis; and al the bodi was ful of iyen in the cumpas of tho foure.
The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes.
19 And whanne the beestis yeden, the wheelis also yeden togidere bisidis tho. And whanne the beestis weren reisid fro the erthe, the wheelis also weren reisid togidere.
Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them. [So] whenever the creatures rose from the ground, the [also] rose up.
20 Whidur euere the spirit yede, whanne the spirit yede thedur, also the wheelis suynge it weren reisid togidere; for whi the spirit of lijf was in the wheelis.
Wherever the [that controlled the creatures] wanted the creatures to go, they went, and the wheels went with them, because the [that controlled/guided them] was in the wheels [DOU].
21 Tho yeden with the beestis goynge, and tho stoden with the beestis stondynge. And with the beestis reisid fro erthe, also the wheelis suynge tho beestis weren reisid togidere; for the spirit of lijf was in the wheelis.
Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved. Whenever the creatures [still], the wheels stopped. Whenever the creatures rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up with them.
22 And the licnesse of the firmament was aboue the heed of the beestis, and as the biholdyng of orible cristal, and stretchid abrood on the heed of tho beestis aboue.
Above the heads of the creatures there was something that resembled a dome. It shone like ice (OR, crystal) shines, and it was awesome.
23 Forsothe vndur the firmament the wyngis of tho beestis weren streiyt, of oon to anothir; ech beeste hilide his bodi with twei wyngis, and an other was hilid in lijk maner.
Under the dome, the creatures stretched out their wings. Each one had two wings; [each wing] stretched towards the creature [was next to] it, and two wings that were against the creature’s body.
24 And Y herde the sown of wyngis, as the sown of many watris, as the sown of hiy God. Whanne tho yeden, ther was as a sown of multitude, as the sown of oostis of batel; and whanne tho stoden, the wyngis of tho weren late doun.
Whenever the creatures moved, their wings made a sound that resembled the roar made by a rushing stream. It also sounded like the voice of Almighty God, and like [SIM] the noise of a huge army marching. Whenever the creatures stood [on the ground], they lowered their wings.
25 For whi whanne a vois was maad on the firmament, that was on the heed of tho, tho stoden, and leten doun her wyngis.
While they [on the ground] with their wings lowered, there was a voice from the dome that was over their heads.
26 And on the firmament, that was aboue the heed of tho, was as the biholdyng of a saphire stoon, the licnesse of a trone; and on the licnesse of the trone was a licnesse, as the biholdyng of a man aboue.
Above the dome was something that resembled [huge] [that was made of a huge] (sapphire/valuable blue stone). Sitting on the throne was someone that resembled a human.
27 And Y siy as a licnesse of electre, as the biholding of fier with ynne, bi the cumpas therof; fro the lendis of hym and aboue, and fro the lendis of him til to bynethe, Y siy as the licnesse of fier schynynge in cumpas,
I saw that above his waist his body resembled metal that was glowing as though it [a very hot] fire inside it. And I saw that below his waist there was a very brilliant light that surrounded him.
28 as the biholdynge of the reynbowe, whanne it is in the cloude in the dai of reyn. This was the biholdyng of schynyng bi cumpas. This was a siyt of the licnesse of the glorie of the Lord. And Y siy, and felle doun on my face; and Y herde the vois of a spekere.
[shone] like [SIM] a rainbow shines in the clouds on a rainy day. That was the brilliant light that represented the presence of Yahweh. When I saw it, I prostrated myself on the ground, and I heard him speak.
