Textus Receptus Bibles
John Wycliffe Bible 1382
| 5:1 | Mi derlyng, come in to his gardyn, to ete the fruyt of hise applis. Mi sister spousesse, come thou in to my gardyn. Y have rope my myrre, with my swete smellynge spices; Y haue ete an hony combe, with myn hony; Y haue drunke my wyn, with my mylk. Frendis, ete ye, and drynke; and derewortheste frendis, be ye fillid greetli. |
| 5:2 | Y slepe, and myn herte wakith. The vois of my derlyng knockynge; my sister, my frendesse, my culuer, my spousesse vnwemmed, opene thou to me; for myn heed is ful of dew, and myn heeris ben ful of dropis of niytis. |
| 5:3 | I have vnclothid me of my coote; hou schal Y be clothid ther ynne? I haue waische my feet; hou schal Y defoule tho? |
| 5:4 | Mi derlyng putte his hond bi an hoole; and my wombe tremblide at the touchyng therof. |
| 5:5 | Y roos, for to opene to my derlyng; myn hondis droppiden myrre, and my fyngris weren ful of myrre moost preued. |
| 5:6 | Y openede the wiket of my dore to my derlyng; and he hadde bowid awei, and hadde passid. My soule was meltid, as the derlyng spak; Y souyte, and Y foond not hym; Y clepide, and he answerde not to me. |
| 5:7 | Keperis that cumpassiden the citee founden me; thei smytiden me, and woundiden me; the keperis of wallis token awey my mentil. |
| 5:8 | Ye douytris of Jerusalem, Y biseche you bi an hooli thing, if ye han founde my derlyng, that ye telle to hym, that Y am sijk for loue. |
| 5:9 | A! thou faireste of wymmen, of what manner condicioun is thi derlyng `of the louede? of what manner condicioun is thi derling of a derling? for thou hast bisouyt vs bi an hooli thing. |
| 5:10 | My derling is whyt and rodi; chosun of thousyndis. |
| 5:11 | His heed is best gold; hise heeris ben as the bowis of palm trees, and ben blake as a crowe. |
| 5:12 | Hise iyen ben as culueris on the strondis of watris, that ben waischid in mylk, and sitten besidis fulleste ryueris. |
| 5:13 | Hise chekis ben as gardyns of swete smellynge spices, set of oynement makeris; hise lippis ben lilies, droppynge doun the best myrre. |
| 5:14 | Hise hondis ben able to turne aboute, goldun, and ful of iacynctis; his wombe is of yuer, ourned with safiris. |
| 5:15 | Hise lippis ben pilers of marble, that ben foundid on foundementis of gold; his schapplinesse is as of the Liban, he is chosun as cedris. |
| 5:16 | His throte is moost swete, and he is al desirable. Ye douytris of Jerusalem, siche is my derlyng, and this is my freend. |
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.