Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 3:1 | In my litle bed Y souyte hym bi niytis, whom my soule loueth; Y souyte hym, and Y foond not. |
| 3:2 | I shal rise, and Y schal cumpasse the citee, bi litle stretis and large stretis; Y schal seke hym, whom my soule loueth; I souyte hym, and Y foond not. |
| 3:3 | Wakeris, that kepen the citee, founden me. Whether ye sien hym, whom my soule loueth? |
| 3:4 | A litil whanne Y hadde passid hem, Y foond hym, whom my soule loueth; Y helde hym, and Y schal not leeue hym, til Y brynge him in to the hous of my modir, and in to the closet of my modir. |
| 3:5 | Ye douytris of Jerusalem, Y charge you greetli, bi the capretis, and hertis of feeldis, that ye reise not, nether make to awake the dereworthe spousesse, til sche wole. |
| 3:6 | Who is this womman, that stieth bi the deseert, as a yerde of smoke of swete smellynge spices, of mirre, and of encence, and of al poudur of an oynement makere? |
| 3:7 | Lo! sixti stronge men of the strongeste men of Israel cumpassen the bed of Salomon; and alle thei holden swerdis, |
| 3:8 | and ben moost witti to batels; the swerd of ech man is on his hipe, for the drede of nyytis. |
| 3:9 | Kyng Salomon made to hym a seete, of the trees of Liban; |
| 3:10 | he made the pilers therof of siluer; he made a goldun restyng place, a stiyng of purpur; and he arayede the myddil thingis with charite, for the douytris of Jerusalem. |
| 3:11 | Ye douytris of Sion, go out, and se kyng Salomon in the diademe, bi which his modir crownede hym, in the dai of his spousyng, and in the dai of the gladnesse of his herte. |
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.