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, the fourth month, and the fifth day of the month, it came about that I was living among the captives by the Kebar Canal. 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 that 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 Yahweh came to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of Yahweh was upon 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.
Then I looked, and there was a windstorm coming from the north; a great cloud with fire flashing within it and brightness surrounding it and inside of it, and the fire was the color of amber inside the cloud.
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 middle was the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man,
6 And foure faces weren to oon, and foure wyngis weren to oon.
but they had four faces each, and each of the creatures 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 legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf that 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;
Yet they had human hands under their wings on all four sides. For all four, their faces and wings were like this:
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.
their wings were touching the wings of the next creature, and they did not turn as they went; instead, each one went straight forward.
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 likeness of their faces was like the face of a man. The four of them had the face of a lion to the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side. They four had 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.
Their faces were like that, and their wings were spread out above, so that each creature had a pair of wings that touched another creature's wing, and also a pair of wings that 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.
Each went straight forward, so that wherever the Spirit directed them to go, they went without turning.
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.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; bright fire also moved about among the creatures, and there were flashes of lightning.
14 And the beestis yeden, and turneden ayen at the licnesse of leit schynynge.
The living creatures were moving swiftly back and forth, and they had the appearance of lightning!
15 And whanne Y bihelde the beestis, o wheel, hauuynge foure faces, apperide on the erthe, bisidis the beestis.
Then I looked at the living creatures; and I saw one wheel on the ground beside each of living creatures 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.
This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: Each wheel was like beryl, and the four had the same likeness; their appearance and structure was like a wheel intersecting another 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 their four directions, without turning 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.
As for their rims, they were high and fearsome, for the rims were full of eyes round about.
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 beside them. When the living creatures rose up from the earth, the wheels 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 Spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose up beside them, for the spirit of the living creature 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.
Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels also moved; and when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; when the creatures rose up from the earth, the wheels rose up beside them, because the spirit of the living creature 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.
Over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an expansive dome; it looked like awe-inspiring crystal stretched out over their heads 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.
Beneath the dome, each one of the creature's wings stretched out straight and touched another creature's wings. Each of the living creatures also had a pair to cover themselves; each had a pair to cover his own 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.
Then I heard the sound of their wings. Like the noise of many waters. Like the voice of the Almighty whenever they moved. Like the sound of a rainstorm. Like the sound of an army. Whenever 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.
A voice came from above the dome over their heads whenever they stood still and lowered 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.
Above the dome over their heads was the likeness of a throne that was like the appearance of a sapphire stone, and on the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance 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,
I saw a figure with the appearance of glowing metal with fire in it from the appearance of his hips up; I saw from the appearance of his hips downward the appearance of fire and brightness 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.
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day was the appearance of the bright light surrounding it. It was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
