Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 4:1 | Forsothe Eliphat Themanytes answeride, and seide, |
| 4:2 | If we bigynnen to speke to thee, in hap thou schalt take it heuyli; but who may holde a word conseyued? |
| 4:3 | Lo! thou hast tauyt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt. |
| 4:4 | Thi wordis confermyden men doutynge, and thou coumfortidist knees tremblynge. |
| 4:5 | But now a wounde is comun on thee, and thou hast failid; it touchide thee, and thou art disturblid. |
| 4:6 | Where is thi drede, thi strengthe, and thi pacience, and the perfeccioun of thi weies? |
| 4:7 | Y biseche thee, haue thou mynde, what innocent man perischide euere, ethir whanne riytful men weren doon awei? |
| 4:8 | Certis rathir Y siy hem, that worchen wickidnesse, and sowen sorewis, |
| 4:9 | and repen tho, to haue perischid bi God blowynge, and to be wastid bi the spirit of his ire. |
| 4:10 | The roryng of a lioun, and the vois of a lionesse, and the teeth of `whelpis of liouns ben al to-brokun. |
| 4:11 | Tigris perischide, for sche hadde not prey; and the whelpis of a lioun ben distried. |
| 4:12 | Certis an hid word was seid to me, and myn eere took as theueli the veynes of priuy noise therof. |
| 4:13 | In the hidousnesse of `nyytis siyt, whanne heuy sleep is wont to occupie men, |
| 4:14 | drede and tremblyng helde me; and alle my boonys weren aferd. |
| 4:15 | And whanne the spirit `yede in my presence, the heiris of `my fleisch hadden hidousnesse. |
| 4:16 | Oon stood, whos chere Y knewe not, an ymage bifor myn iyen; and Y herde a vois as of softe wynd. |
| 4:17 | Whether a man schal be maad iust in comparisoun of God? ethir whethir a man schal be clennere than his Makere? |
| 4:18 | Lo! thei that seruen hym ben not stidefast; and he findith schrewidnesse in hise aungels. |
| 4:19 | Hou myche more thei that dwellen in housis of cley, that han an ertheli foundement, schulen be wastyd as of a mouyte. |
| 4:20 | Fro morewtid til to euentid thei schulen be kit doun; and for no man vndurstondith, thei schulen perische with outen ende. |
| 4:21 | Sotheli thei, that ben residue, schulen be takun awei; thei schulen die, and not in wisdom. |
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.