¶ The tyme wherin Ezechyel prophecyed, and in what place. Hys offprynge and offyce. The vysyon of the ••oure bestes. The vysion of the wheles. The vision of the throne / and of the ymage aboue the throne.
CAPITV. I.
IT chaunced in the. xxx. yeare / the [unspec A] fifth day of the fourth moneth, that I was among the presoners by the ryuer of Cobar ☞ wher the heauens opened, & I sawe a vi¦sion of God. Nowe y• v. daye of the moneth made out the. v. yeare of kynge Iohacins captyuyte. At the same tyme came the worde of the Lorde vnto Ezechyel th•• sonne of Buzi the Preste / in the lande of the Chal∣dees by the water of Cobar. * 1.1 where {fleur-de-lys} the hande of the Lorde came vpon hym
And I loked, and beholde a stormy wynde [unspec B] came out of the North with a greate cloude full of fyre, whiche with hys glystre lyghte∣ned al rounde aboute. And in the middest of the fyre it was all cleare lyke the face of an aungel, and as it were the lykenes of foure beastes, which were fashyoned lyke a man: sauyng, that euery one had foure faces and foure wynges.
Theyr legges were streyght, but theyr fete were lyke bullockes fete, and they glyste∣red, as it had bene fayre scoured metal. Un∣der theyr winges vpon al the foure corners they had mens handes. Theyr faces and theyr wynges were towarde the foure cor∣ners: yet were the wynges so, that one euer touched, another. When they wente, they turned them not aboute: but eche one went streyght forwarde.
* 1.2 Upon the ryght syde of these foure, theyr [unspec C] faces were lyke the face of a man, & the face of a lyon. But vpon the lefte syde they had the face of an oxe / and the face of an aegle.
Theyr faces also and theyr wynges were fyred out aboue: so that two wynges of one touched euer two wynges of another / and with the other they couered theyr body. E∣uery one when it wente, it wente streyghte forwarde. Where as the spryte led them / thyther they wente / * 1.3 and turned not about in theyr goynge.
The fashyon and countenaunce of the [unspec D] beastes was lyke hoote coales of fyre, euen as though burning cressets had bene amōg the beastes: {fleur-de-lys} (thys was the vysyon) and the fyre gaue a glystre, and out of the fyre there wente lyghtenynge. When the beastes wente forwarde and backwarde, one wolde haue thought it had lyghtened. Nowe whē I had well consydered the beastes, I sawe a worcke of wheles vpon the earthe with foure faces also nye vnto the beastes.
The fashyon and worcke of the wheles was lyke the see. The foure wheles were ioyned and made (to loke vpon) as it had bene one whele in another. When one went forwarde, they wente all foure / and turned them not aboute in theyr goynge. They were large, great and horrile to loke vpon. Their backes were full of eyes roūde about them all foure. When the beastes wente / the wheles wente also with them. And when the beastes lyfte them selues vp from the earthe, the wheles were lyfte vp [unspec E] also. Whyther soeuer the spryte wente, thi∣ther wente they also / and the wheles were lyft vp, and folowed them: for the spryte of lyfe was in the wheles. When the beastes went forth, stode styll, or lyfte thē selues frō the earth, then the wheles also wente, stode styll, and were lyfte vp, for the breth of lyfe was in the wheles.
Aboue, ouer the heades of the beastes there was a fyrmamēt, whych was fashyo∣ned as it had bene of y• moste pure Chrystal and that was spred out aboue vpon theyr heades: vnder the same fyrmament were theyr wynges layed abrode, one towarde a∣nother, and two wynges couered the body of euery beast And when they wente forth, [unspec F] I hearde the noyse of theyr winges, lyke the noyse of greate waters, as it had bene the voyce of the great God, and a russhyng to∣gether as it were of an hoost of men. And when they stode styll, they lette downe theyr wynges. Nowe whē they stode styl, and had letten downe theyr wynges, it thondred in y• firmamente that was aboue theyr heades. Aboue the firmament that was ouer theyr heades, there was the fashyon of a seate, as [unspec G] it had bene made of Saphir. Upō the seate there satt one lyke a man. * 1.4 I behelde hym, and he was lyke an aungell, as it had bene all of fyre within from hys loynes vpward.
And beneth, when I loked vpon hym vn∣der y• loynes, me thought he was lyke a shy∣nynge fyre, that geueth lyght on eue••y syde.