Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 2:1 | Forsothe Salomon demyde to bilde an hows to the name of the Lord, and a paleis to hym silf. |
| 2:2 | And he noumbride seuenti thousynde of men berynge in schuldris, and fourescore thousynde that schulden kitte stoonys in hillis; and the souereyns of hem thre thousynde and sixe hundrid. |
| 2:3 | And he sente to Iram, kyng of Tire, and seide, As thou didist with my fadir Dauid, and sentist to hym trees of cedre, that he schulde bilde to hym an hows, in which also he dwellide; |
| 2:4 | so do thou with me, that Y bilde an hows to the name of `my Lord God, and that Y halewe it, to brenne encense bifor hym, and to make odour of swete smellynge spiceries, and to euerlastynge settynge forth of looues, and to brent sacrifices in the morewtid and euentid, and in sabatis, and neomenyes, and solempnytees of `oure Lord God in to with outen ende, that ben comaundid to Israel. |
| 2:5 | For the hows which Y coueyte to bilde is greet; for `oure Lord God is greet ouer alle goddis. |
| 2:6 | Who therfor may haue myyt to bilde a worthi hows to hym? For if heuene and the heuenes of heuenes moun not take hym, hou greet am Y, that Y may bilde `an hows to hym, but to this thing oonli, that encense be brent bifor hym? |
| 2:7 | Therfor sende thou to me a lernd man, that can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and yrun, purpur, rede silke, and iacynct; and that can graue in grauyng with these crafti men, which Y haue with me in Judee and Jerusalem, whiche Dauid, my fadir, made redi. |
| 2:8 | But also sende thou to me cedre trees, and pyne trees, and thyne trees of the Liban; for Y woot, that thi seruauntis kunnen kitte trees of the Liban; and my seruauntis schulen be with thi seruauntis, |
| 2:9 | that ful many trees be maad redi to me; for the hows which Y coueyte to bilde is ful greet and noble. |
| 2:10 | Ferthermore to thi seruauntis, werk men that schulen kitte trees, Y schal yyue in to meetis twenti thousynde chorus of whete, and so many chorus of barli, and twenti thousynde mesuris of oile, that ben clepid sata. |
| 2:11 | Forsothe Iram, king of Tire, seide bi lettris whiche he sente to Salomon, For the Lord louyde his puple, therfor he made thee to regne on it. |
| 2:12 | And he addide, seiynge, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that made heuene and erthe, which yaf to `Dauid the kyng a wijs sone, and lernd, and witti, and prudent, that he schulde bilde an hows to the Lord, and a paleis to hym silf. |
| 2:13 | Therfor Y sente to thee a prudent man and moost kunnynge, Iram, |
| 2:14 | my fadir, the sone of a womman of the lynage of Dan, whos fadir was a man of Tire; whiche Iram can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and irun, and marble, and trees, also in purpur, and iacynct, and bijs, and rede silke; and which Iram can graue al grauyng, and fynde prudentli, what euer thing is nedeful in werk with thi crafti men, and with the crafti men of my lord Dauid, thi fadir. |
| 2:15 | Therfor, my lord, sende thou to thi seruauntis the whete, and barli, and oyle, and wyn, whiche thou bihiytist. |
| 2:16 | Sotheli we schulen kitte trees of the Liban, how many euere thou hast nedeful; and we schulen brynge tho in schippis bi the see in to Joppe; forsothe it schal be thin to lede tho ouer in to Jerusalem. |
| 2:17 | Therfor Salomon noumbride alle men conuertid fro hethenesse, that weren in the lond of Israel, aftir the noumbryng which Dauid, his fadir, noumbride; and an hundrid thousynde and thre and fifti thousynde and sixe hundrid weren foundun. |
| 2:18 | And he made of hem seuenti thousynde, that schulden bere birthuns in schuldris, and `foure score thousynde, that schulden kitte stonys in hillis; sotheli he made thre thousynde and sixe hundrid souereyns of werkis of the puple. |
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
The Wycliffe Bible is the only Bible here that was not translated from the Textus Receptus. Its inclusion here is for the Bible's historic value and for comparison in the English language.
John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor produced the first hand-written English language Bible manuscripts in the 1380's. While it is doubtful Wycliffe himself translated the versions that bear his name, he certainly can be considered the driving force behind the project. He strongly believed in having the scriptures available to the people.
Wycliffe, was well-known throughout Europe for his opposition to the teaching of the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. With the help of his followers (called Lollards), Wycliffe produced dozens of English language manuscript copies of the scriptures. They were translated out of the Latin Vulgate, which was the only source text available to Wycliffe. The Pope was so infuriated by his teachings and his translation of the Bible into English, that 44 years after Wycliffe died, he ordered the bones to be dug-up, crushed, and scattered in the river.