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.
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
2 In the fyueth dai of the monethe; thilke is the fyuethe yeer of passing ouer of Joachym, kyng of Juda;
On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
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.
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
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.
I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber,
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.
and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form,
6 And foure faces weren to oon, and foure wyngis weren to oon.
but each had four faces and four wings.
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, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming 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;
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings,
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.
and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one 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.
The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle.
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.
Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its 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.
Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved.
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.
In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.
14 And the beestis yeden, and turneden ayen at the licnesse of leit schynynge.
The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.
15 And whanne Y bihelde the beestis, o wheel, hauuynge foure faces, apperide on the erthe, bisidis the beestis.
When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
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.
The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel.
17 Tho goynge yeden bi foure partis of tho, and turneden not ayen, whanne tho yeden.
As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as 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.
Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
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.
So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
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 spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
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.
When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
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.
Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal.
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.
And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its 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.
When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, 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.
And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered.
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 expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.
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,
From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light 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.
The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
