< 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.
And it happened that, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives beside the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the 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 of the month, the same is the fifth year of the transmigration of king Joachin,
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 to Ezekiel, a priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, next to the river Chebar. And the hand of the Lord was over him there.
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.
And I saw, and behold, a whirlwind arrived from the north. And a great cloud, wrapped in fire and brightness, was all around it. And from its midst, that is, from the midst of the fire, there was something with the appearance of 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 in its midst, there was the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: the likeness of a man was in them.
6 And foure faces weren to oon, and foure wyngis weren to oon.
Each one had four faces, and each one had 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 feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like the sole of the foot of a calf, and they sparkled with the appearance of glowing brass.
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;
And they had the hands of a man under their wings on the four sides. And they had faces with the wings on the four sides.
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 joined to one another. They did not turn as they went. Instead, each one advanced before his face.
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.
But as for the likeness of their face, there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of each of the four, then the face of an ox on the left of each of the four, and the face of an eagle above each of the four.
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.
Their faces and their wings were extended above: two wings of each one were joined together, and two covered their bodies.
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.
And each one of them advanced before his face. Wherever the impetus of the spirit was to go, there they went. And they did not turn as they advanced.
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.
And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like that of burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps. This was the vision dashing in the midst of the living creatures, a bright fire, with lightning going forth from the fire.
14 And the beestis yeden, and turneden ayen at the licnesse of leit schynynge.
And the living creatures went and returned like flashes of lightning.
15 And whanne Y bihelde the beestis, o wheel, hauuynge foure faces, apperide on the erthe, bisidis the beestis.
And as I beheld the living creatures, there appeared above the earth, next to the living creatures, one wheel having 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.
And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like the appearance of the sea. And each of the four were similar to one another. And their appearance and work was like a wheel in the center of a wheel.
17 Tho goynge yeden bi foure partis of tho, and turneden not ayen, whanne tho yeden.
Going forth, they went by means of their four parts. And they did not turn as they went.
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.
Also, the size and height and appearance of the wheels was dreadful. And the entire body was full of eyes all around each of the four.
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.
And when the living creatures advanced, the wheels advanced together with them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels, too, were lifted up at the same time.
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 went, as the spirit was going forth to that place, the wheels, too, were lifted up together, so as to follow them. For the spirit of life 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 going forth, they went forth, and when standing still, they stood still. And when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels, too, were lifted up together, so as to follow them. For the spirit of life 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.
And above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of a firmament: similar to crystal, but dreadful to behold, and extending over their heads from above.
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 their wings were straight under the firmament, one toward the other. One of them was covered by two wings on his body, and the other was covered similarly.
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.
And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the sublime God. When they walked, it was like the sound of a multitude, like the sound of an army. And when they stood still, their wings were let down.
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.
For when a voice came from above the firmament, which was over their heads, they stood still, and they put down their wings.
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.
And above the firmament, which was suspended over their heads, there was the likeness of a throne, with the appearance of the sapphire stone. And over the likeness of the throne, there was a likeness with the appearance of a man above it.
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,
And I saw something with the appearance of amber, with the likeness of fire within it and all around it. And from his waist and upward, and from his waist downward, I saw something with the appearance of fire shining all around.
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.
There was the appearance of the rainbow, as when it is in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the splendor on every side.

< Ezekiel 1 >