the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
Myles Coverdale Bible
Ezekiel 1
1 It chaused, in the xxx. yeare the fifth daye off the fourth Moneth, that I was amonge the presoners by the ryuer off Cobar: where the heauens opened, & I sawe a vision of God.2 Now the fifth daye off the Moneth made out the fyfth yeare off kynge Ioachims captiuyte.3 At the same tyme came ye worde off the LORDE vnto Ezechiel the sonne off Buzi prest, in the londe off the Caldees by the water of Cobar, where the honde off the LORDE came vpo him.
4 And I loked: & beholde, a stormy wynde came out off the north with a greate cloude full of fyre, which wt his glistre lightened all rounde aboute. And in ye myddest off the fyre it was all cleare,5 and as it were the licknesse of foure beastes, which were fashioned like a man: sauynge,6 that euery one had foure faces and foure wynges.7 Their legges were straight, but their fete were like bullockes fete, and they glistred, as it had bene fayre scoured metall.8 Vnder their wynges vpon all the foure corners, they had mens hondes. Their faces and their wynges were towarde the foure corners:9 yet were the wynges so, that one euer touched another. When they wente, they turned them not aboute: but ech one wente straight forwarde.10 Vpon the rightside off these foure, their faces were like the face off a man and the fa off a Lyon: But vpon the leftside, they had the face off an oxe and the face off an Aegle.11 Their faces also and their wynges were spred out aboue: so that two wynges off one touched euer two wynges off another, and with the other two they couered their bodie.12 Euery one when it wente, it wente straight forwarde. Where as the sprete led them, thither they wente, and turned not aboute in their goynge.13 The fashion and countenauce of the beestes was like hote coales off fyre, euen as though burnynge cresshettes had bene amonge the beestes: and the fyre gaue a glistre, and out off the fyre there wente lighteninge.14 Whe ye beestes wete forwarde & backwarde, one wolde haue thought it had lightened.
15 Now whe I had well considered the beestes, I sawe a worke off wheles vpon the earth with foure faces also like the beestes.16 The fashion & worke of the wheles was like the see. The foure wheles were ioyned and made (to loke vpon) as it had bene one whele in another.17 When one wente forwarde, they wente all foure, and turned the not aboute i their goinge.18 They were large, greate and horrible to loke vpon. Their bodies were full off eyes rounde aboute them all foure. Whe the beestes wete, the wheles wente also with them:19 And when the beestes lift them selues vp from ye earth, the wheles were lift vp also.20 Whyther so euer the sprete wente, thither wente they also, & ye wheles were lift vp & folowed the. for ye sprete of life was in the wheles.21 When ye beestes wete forth, stode still, or lift themselues vp from the earth: then the wheles also wente, stode still, & were lift vp, for ye breth off life was in the wheles.22 Aboue ouer ye heades of the beestes there was a firmament, which was fashioned as it had bene off the most pure Christall, & that was spred out aboue vpon their heades:23 vnder the same firmament were their wynges layed abrode, one towarde another, and two wynges couered the body of euery beest.24 And when thy wente forth, I herde the noyse off their wynges, like the noyse of greate waters, as it had bene the voyce off the greate God, and a russhinge together as it were off an hoost off men. And when they stode still, they let downe their 25 Now when they stode still, and had letten downe their wynges, it thondred in the firmament, that was aboue their heades.
26 Aboue the firmament that was ouer their heades, there was the fashion off a seate, as it had bene made off Saphir. Apon the seate there sat one like a ma.27 I behelde him, and he was like a cleare light, as it had bene all of fyre with in from his loynes vpwarde. And beneth when I loked vpon him vnder ye loynes, me thought he was like a shyninge fyre, that geueth light on euery syde. Yee the shyne and glistre yt lightened rounde aboute,28 was like a raynbowe, which in a raynie daye apeareth in the cloudes. Eue so was the similitude, wherin the glory off the LORDE apeared. Whe I sawe it, I fell vpon my face, and herkened vnto the voyce off him, that spake.