¶ The tyme wherin Ezechiel prophecyed, and in what place. His ofsprynge and ••ffyce. The vysyon of the four beastes. The vysyon of the wheles. The vysyon of the throne, and of the ymage aboue the throne.
CAPI. I.
[ A] IT chaunsed in the thir∣tye yere the fyfth daye of the fourth Moneth, that I was amonge the prysoners by the ryuer of Cobar: where the heauens opened, and I sawe a vysyon of God. Nowe the fyfth day of the moneth made out the fyfth yere of kyng Io∣acins captyuytye. At the same tyme came the worde of the Lorde vnto Ezechiel the sonne of Buzi the prest, in the lande of the Caldees by the water of Cobar, where the hande of the Lorde came vpon him.
And I loked, and beholde a stormy wynde came out of the Northe with a greate cloude full of fyre, which wt his glyster lyghtened al rounde about. And in the myddest of the fyre it was all cleare, and as it were the lykenesse of foure bestes, whiche were fasshyoned like a man: sauynge, that euery one had foure fa¦ces and foure wynges.
Their legges were streyght, but their fete [ B] were lyke bullockes fete, and they glystered, as it had bene fayre scoured metall. Vnder their wynges vpon al the foure corners they had mens handes. Their faces & their win∣ges were toward the foure corners: yet were the wynges so, that one euer touched an o∣ther. When they went, they turned thē not about: but echone went strayght forwarde.
[ C] Vpon the ryghte syde of these foure, their faces were lyke the face of a man, and the face of a Lyon: But vpon the left syde, they had the face of an oxe, and the face of an E∣gle. Their faces also and their wynges were spred out aboue: so that two wynges of one touched euer two wynges of an other, and with the other they couered their body. Eue∣ry one when it wente, it went streyght for∣warde. Where as the spirite led them thither they went, and turned not about in theyr go¦ynge.
[ D] The fasshyon and countenaunce of the beastes was lyke hote coles of fyre, euen as though burnynge cressettes had bene amōge the beastes: and the fyre gaue a glystre, and out of the fyre there went lyghtenyng. Whē the beastes went forwarde and backwarde, one wolde haue thoughte it had lyghtened. Nowe when I had well consydered the bea∣stes, I saw a worke of wheles vpō the earth with foure faces also lyke the beastes.
[ E] The fasshyon and worke of the wheles was lyke the see. The foure wheles were ioyned and made (to loke vpō) as it had bene one whele in an other. When one wente for∣warde, they went all foure, and turned them not about in their goinge. They were large, greate and horryble to loke vpon. Their bo∣dyes we full of eyes rounde aboute them af¦foure. When the beastes wente, the wheles went also with them: And when the beastes lyft them selues vp from the earth, the whe∣les were lyfte vp also. Whither soeuer the spirite went thyther went they also, and the wheles were lyfte vp, and folowed theym: for the spirite of lyfe was in the wheles.
When the beastes went forth, stode still, or lyft them selues vp from the earth: then the wheles also went, stode styll, and were lyfte vp, for the brethe of lyfe was in the whe∣les.
About ouer the hedes of the beastes there [ F] was a fyrmament, whiche was falshyoned as it had bene of the mooste pure Chrystal, & that was spred out aboue vpon their heedes: vnder the same fyrmament were their wyn∣ges layde abrode, one towarde an other, and two winges couered the body of euery beest. And when they went forthe, I hearde the noyse of their winges, like the noyse of greate waters, as it had bene the voyce of the greate God, & a russhyng togyther as it were of an hoost of men. And when they stode styll, they let downe their wynges.
Nowe when they stode styll, and had let∣ten downe their wynges, if thondred in the fyrmament that was aboue their heedes. A∣boue the firmament that was ouer their hea∣des, there was the fasshyon of a seate, as it had bene made of Saphir. Vpon ye seate there sat one lyke a man. I beheld him, and he was lyke a cleare lyghte, as if had bene all of fyre with in from his loynes vpwarde,
And beneth when I loked vpon him vnder [ G] the loynes, me thoughte he was lyke a shy∣nynge fyre, that gyueth lyght on euery syde, Yea the shyne & glystre that lyghtened round aboute, was lyke a raynebowe, whiche in a raynye daye appeareth in the cloudes. Euen so was the symylitude, wherin the glorye of the Lorde appeared. When I sawe it, I fell vpon my face, and harkened vnto the voyce of him that spake.