Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 8:1 | Whether wisdom crieth not ofte; and prudence yyueth his vois? |
| 8:2 | In souereyneste and hiy coppis, aboue the weie, in the myddis of pathis, |
| 8:3 | and it stondith bisidis the yate of the citee, in thilke closyngis, and spekith, and seith, A! |
| 8:4 | ye men, Y crie ofte to you; and my vois is to the sones of men. |
| 8:5 | Litle children, vndirstonde ye wisdom; and ye vnwise men, `perseyue wisdom. |
| 8:6 | Here ye, for Y schal speke of grete thingis; and my lippis schulen be openyd, to preche riytful thingis. |
| 8:7 | My throte schal bithenke treuthe; and my lippis schulen curse a wickid man. |
| 8:8 | My wordis ben iust; no schrewid thing, nether weiward is in tho. |
| 8:9 | `My wordis ben riytful to hem that vndurstonden; and ben euene to hem that fynden kunnyng. |
| 8:10 | Take ye my chastisyng, and not money; chese ye teching more than tresour. |
| 8:11 | For wisdom is betere than alle richessis moost preciouse; and al desirable thing mai not be comparisound therto. |
| 8:12 | Y, wisdom, dwelle in counsel; and Y am among lernyd thouytis. |
| 8:13 | The drede of the Lord hatith yuel; Y curse boost, and pride, and a schrewid weie, and a double tungid mouth. |
| 8:14 | Counseil is myn, and equyte `is myn; prudence is myn, and strengthe `is myn. |
| 8:15 | Kyngis regnen bi me; and the makeris of lawis demen iust thingis bi me. |
| 8:16 | Princis comaunden bi me; and myyti men demen riytfulnesse bi me. |
| 8:17 | I loue hem that louen me; and thei that waken eerli to me, schulen fynde me. |
| 8:18 | With me ben rychessis, and glorie; souereyn richessis, and riytfulnesse. |
| 8:19 | My fruyt is betere than gold, and precyouse stoon; and my seedis ben betere than chosun siluer. |
| 8:20 | Y go in the weies of riytfulnesse, in the myddis of pathis of doom; |
| 8:21 | that Y make riche hem that louen me, and that Y fille her tresouris. |
| 8:22 | The Lord weldide me in the bigynnyng of hise weies; bifore that he made ony thing, at the bigynnyng. |
| 8:23 | Fro with out bigynnyng Y was ordeined; and fro elde tymes, bifor that the erthe was maad. |
| 8:24 | Depthis of watris weren not yit; and Y was conseyued thanne. The wellis of watris hadden not brokun out yit, |
| 8:25 | and hillis stoden not togidere yit bi sad heuynesse; bifor litil hillis Y was born. |
| 8:26 | Yit he hadde not maad erthe; and floodis, and the herris of the world. |
| 8:27 | Whanne he made redi heuenes, Y was present; whanne he cumpasside the depthis of watris bi certeyn lawe and cumpas. |
| 8:28 | Whanne he made stidfast the eir aboue; and weiede the wellis of watris. |
| 8:29 | Whanne he cumpasside to the see his marke; and settide lawe to watris, that tho schulden not passe her coostis. Whanne he peiside the foundementis of erthe; |
| 8:30 | Y was making alle thingis with him. And Y delitide bi alle daies, and pleiede bifore hym in al tyme, |
| 8:31 | and Y pleiede in the world; and my delices ben to be with the sones of men. |
| 8:32 | Now therfor, sones, here ye me; blessid ben thei that kepen my weies. |
| 8:33 | Here ye teching, and be ye wise men; and nile ye caste it awei. |
| 8:34 | Blessid is the man that herith me, and that wakith at my yatis al dai; and kepith at the postis of my dore. |
| 8:35 | He that fyndith me, schal fynde lijf; and schal drawe helthe of the Lord. |
| 8:36 | But he that synneth ayens me, schal hurte his soule; alle that haten me, louen deeth. |
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.