Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 1:1 | Kisse he me with the cos of his mouth. |
| 1:2 | For thi tetis ben betere than wyn, and yyuen odour with beste oynementis. Thi name is oile sched out; therfor yonge damesels loueden thee. |
| 1:3 | Drawe thou me after thee; we schulen renne in to the odour of thin oynementis. The kyng ledde me in to hise celeris; we myndeful of thi teetis aboue wyn, schulen make ful out ioye, and schulen be glad in thee; riytful men louen thee. |
| 1:4 | Ye douytris of Jerusalem, Y am blak, but fair, as the tabernaclis of Cedar, as the skynnes of Salomon. |
| 1:5 | Nyle ye biholde me, that Y am blak, for the sunne hath discolourid me; the sones of my modir fouyten ayens me, thei settiden me a kepere in vyners; Y kepte not my vyner. |
| 1:6 | Thou spouse, whom my soule loueth, schewe to me, where thou lesewist, where thou restist in myddai; lest Y bigynne to wandre, aftir the flockis of thi felowis. |
| 1:7 | A! thou fairest among wymmen, if thou knowist not thi silf, go thou out, and go forth aftir the steppis of thi flockis; and feede thi kidis, bisidis the tabernaclis of scheepherdis. |
| 1:8 | Mi frendesse, Y licnede thee to myn oost of knyytis in the charis of Farao. |
| 1:9 | Thi chekis ben feire, as of a turtle; thi necke is as brochis. |
| 1:10 | We schulen make to thee goldun ournementis, departid and maad dyuerse with silver. |
| 1:11 | Whanne the kyng was in his restyng place, my narde yaf his odour. |
| 1:12 | My derlyng is a bundel of myrre to me; he schal dwelle bitwixe my tetis. |
| 1:13 | My derlyng is to me a cluster of cipre tre, among the vyneres of Engaddi. |
| 1:14 | Lo! my frendesse, thou art fair; lo! thou art fair, thin iyen ben the iyen of culueris. |
| 1:15 | Lo, my derling, thou art fair, and schapli; oure bed is fair as flouris. |
| 1:16 | The trees of oure housis ben of cedre; oure couplis ben of cipresse. |
| 1:17 |
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.