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Wycliffe Bible: An Excerpt

CHAPTER 1


Wycliffe-Bible 1 In the bigynnyng was the word, and the word was at God, and God was the word.
2 This was in the bigynnyng at God.
3 Alle thingis weren maad bi hym, and withouten hym was maad no thing, that thing that was maad.
4 In hym was lijf, and the lijf was the liyt of men; and the liyt schyneth in derknessis,
5 and derknessis comprehendiden not it.
6 A man was sent fro God, to whom the name was John.
7 This man cam in to witnessyng, that he schulde bere witnessing of the liyt, that alle men schulden bileue bi hym.
8 He was not the liyt, but that he schulde bere witnessing of the liyt.
9 There was a very liyt, which liytneth ech man that cometh in to this world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was maad bi hym, and the world knew hym not.
11 He cam in to his owne thingis, and hise resseyueden hym not.
12 But hou many euer resseyueden hym, he yaf to hem power to be maad the sones of God, to hem that bileueden in his name; the whiche not of bloodis,
13 nether of the wille of fleische, nether of the wille of man, but ben borun of God.
14 And the word was maad man, and dwellyde among vs, and we han seyn the glorie of hym, as the glorie of the `oon bigetun sone of the fadir, ful of grace and of treuthe.
15 John berith witnessyng of hym, and crieth, and seith, This is, whom Y seide, He that schal come aftir me, is maad bifore me, for he was tofor me;
16 and of the plente of hym we alle han takun, and grace for grace.
17 For the lawe was youun bi Moises; but grace and treuthe `is maad bi Jhesu Crist.
18 No man sai euer God, no but the `oon bigetun sone, that is in the bosum of the fadir, he hath teld out.
19 And this is the witnessyng of John, whanne Jewis senten fro Jerusalem prestis and dekenes to hym, that thei schulden axe hym, Who art thou?
20 He knoulechide, and denyede not, and he knoulechide, For Y am not Crist.
21 And thei axiden hym, What thanne? Art thou Elie? And he seide, Y am not. Art thou a profete? And he answeride, Nay.
22 Therfor thei seiden to hym, Who art thou? that we yyue an answere to these that senten vs. What seist thou of thi silf?
23 He seide, Y am a vois of a crier in deseert, Dresse ye the weie of the Lord, as Ysaie, the prophete, seide.
24 And thei that weren sent, weren of the Fariseis.
25 And thei axiden hym, and seiden to hym, What thanne baptisist thou, if thou art not Crist, nether Elie, nether a profete?
26 John answeride to hem, and seide, Y baptise in watir, but in the myddil of you hath stonde oon, that ye knowen not;
27 he it is, that schal come aftir me, that was maad bifor me, of whom Y am not worthi to louse the thwong of his schoo.
28 These thingis weren don in Bethanye biyende Jordan, where John was baptisyng.
29 Anothir day John say Jhesu comynge to hym, and he seide, Lo! the lomb of God; lo! he that doith awei the synnes of the world.v 30 This is he, that Y seide of, Aftir me is comun a man, which was maad bifor me; for he was rather than Y.
31 And Y knew hym not, but that he be schewid in Israel, therfor Y cam baptisynge in watir.
32 And John bar witnessyng, and seide, That Y saiy the spirit comynge doun as a culuer fro heuene, and dwellide on hym.v 33 And Y knew hym not; but he that sente me to baptise in watir, seide to me, On whom thou seest the Spirit comynge doun, and dwellynge on hym, this is he, that baptisith in the Hooli Goost.
34 And Y say, and bar witnessyng, that this is the sone of God.
35 Anothir dai John stood, and tweyne of hise disciplis;
36 and he biheeld Jhesu walkinge, and seith, Lo! the lomb of God.
37 And twei disciplis herden hym spekynge,
38 and folewiden Jhesu. And Jhesu turnede, and say hem suynge hym, and seith to hem, What seken ye? And thei seiden to hym, Rabi, that is to seie, Maistir, where dwellist thou?
39 And he seith to hem, Come ye, and se. And thei camen, and sayn where he dwellide; and dwelten with hym that dai. And it was as the tenthe our.
40 And Andrewe, the brother of Symount Petir, was oon of the tweyne, that herden of John, and hadden sued hym.
41 This foond first his brother Symount, and he seide to him, We han foundun Messias, that is to seie, Crist; and he ledde him to Jhesu.
42 And Jhesus bihelde hym, and seide, Thou art Symount, the sone of Johanna; thou schalt be clepid Cefas, that is to seie, Petre.
43 And on the morewe he wolde go out in to Galilee, and he foond Filip; and he seith to hym, Sue thou me.
44 Filip was of Bethsaida, the citee of Andrew and of Petre.
45 Filip foond Nathanael, and seide to hym, We han foundun Jhesu, the sone of Joseph, of Nazareth, whom Moyses wroot in the lawe and profetis.
46 And Nathanael seide to hym, Of Nazareth may sum good thing be?
47 Filip seide to hym, Come, and se. Jhesus siy Nathanael comynge to hym, and seide to hym, Lo! verili a man of Israel, in whom is no gile.
48 Nathanael seide to hym, Wherof hast thou knowun me? Jhesus `answerde, and seide to hym, Bifor that Filip clepide thee, whanne thou were vndur the fige tree, Y saiy thee. Nathanael answerde to hym,
49 `and seide, Rabi, thou art the sone of God, thou art kyng of Israel.
50 Jhesus answerde, and seide to hym, For Y seide to thee, Y sawy thee vndur the fige tre, thou bileuest; thou schalt se more than these thingis.
51 And he seide to hem, Treuli, treuli, Y seie to you, ye schulen se heuene opened, and the aungels of God stiynge vp and comynge doun on mannys sone.

CHAPTER 2

1 And the thridde dai weddyngis weren maad in the Cane of Galilee; and the modir of Jhesu was there.
2 And Jhesus was clepid, and hise disciplis, to the weddyngis.
3 And whanne wijn failide, the modir of Jhesu seide to hym, Thei han not wijn.
4 And Jhesus seith to hir, What to me and to thee, womman? myn our cam not yit.
5 His modir seith to the mynystris, What euere thing he seie to you, do ye.
6 And there weren set `sixe stonun cannes, aftir the clensyng of the Jewis, holdynge ech tweyne ether thre metretis.
7 And Jhesus seith to hem, Fille ye the pottis with watir. And thei filliden hem, vp to the mouth.
8 And Jhesus seide to hem, Drawe ye now, and bere ye to the architriclyn. And thei baren.
9 And whanne the architriclyn hadde tastid the watir maad wiyn, and wiste not wherof it was, but the mynystris wisten that drowen the watir, the architriclyn clepith the spouse,
10 and seith to hym, Ech man settith first good wiyn, and whanne men ben fulfillid, thanne that that is worse; but thou hast kept the good wiyn `in to this tyme.
11 Jhesus dide this the bigynnyng of signes in the Cane of Galilee, and schewide his glorie; and hise disciplis bileueden in hym.
12 Aftir these thingis he cam doun to Cafarnaum, and his modir, and hise britheren, and hise disciplis; and thei dwelliden `there not many daies.
13 And the pask of Jewis was nyy, and Jhesus wente vp to Jerusalem.
14 And he foond in the temple men sillynge oxun, and scheep, and culueris, and chaungeris sittynge.
15 And whanne he hadde maad as it were a scourge of smale cordis, he droof out alle of the temple, and oxun, and scheep; and he schedde the money of chaungeris, and turnede vpsedoun the boordis.
16 And he seide to hem that selden culueris, Take awei fro hennus these thingis, and nyle ye make the hous of my fadir an hous of marchaundise.
17 And hise disciplis hadden mynde, for it was writun, The feruent loue of thin hous hath etun me.
18 Therfor the Jewis answeriden, and seiden to hym, What token schewist thou to vs, that thou doist these thingis?
19 Jhesus answerde, and seide to hem, Vndo ye this temple, and in thre daies Y schal reise it.
20 Therfor the Jewis seiden to hym, In fourti and sixe yeer this temple was bildid, and schalt thou in thre daies reise it?
21 But he seide of the temple of his bodi.
22 Therfor whanne he was risun fro deeth, hise disciplis hadden mynde, that he seide these thingis of his bodi; and thei bileueden to the scripture, and to the word that Jhesus seide.
23 And whanne Jhesus was at Jerusalem in pask, in the feeste dai, many bileueden in his name, seynge his signes that he dide.
24 But Jhesus trowide not hym silf to hem, for he knewe alle men;
25 and for it was not nede to hym, that ony man schulde bere witnessyng, for he wiste, what was in man.
CHAPTER 3

1 And there was a man of the Farisees, Nychodeme bi name, a prince of the Jewis.
2 And he cam to Jhesu bi niyt, and seide to hym, Rabi, we witen, that thou art comun fro God maister; for no man may do these signes, that thou doist, but God be with hym.
3 Jhesus answerde, and seide to hym, Treuli, treuli, Y seie to thee, but a man be borun ayen, he may not se the kyngdom of God.
4 Nychodeme seide to hym, Hou may a man be borun, whanne he is eeld? whether he may entre ayen in to his modris wombe, and be borun ayen?
5 Jhesus answeride, Treuli, treuli, Y seie to thee, but a man be borun ayen of watir, and of the Hooli Goost, he may not entre in to the kyngdom of God.
6 `That that is borun of the fleisch, is fleisch; and `that that is borun of spirit, is spirit.
7 Wondre thou not, for Y seide to thee, It bihoueth you to be borun ayen.
8 The spirit brethith where he wole, and thou herist his vois, but thou wost not, fro whennus he cometh, ne whidir he goith; so is ech man that is borun of the spirit.
9 Nychodeme answeride, and seide to hym, Hou moun these thingis be don?
10 Jhesus answeride, and seide to hym, Thou art a maister in Israel, and knowist not these thingis?
11 Treuli, treuli, Y seie to thee, for we speken that that we witen, and we witnessen that that we han seyn, and ye taken not oure witnessyng.
12 If Y haue seid to you ertheli thingis, and ye bileuen not, hou if Y seie to you heueneli thingis, schulen ye bileue?
13 And no man stieth in to heuene, but he that cam doun fro heuene, mannys sone that is in heuene.
14 And as Moises areride a serpent in desert, so it bihoueth mannys sone to be reisid,
15 that ech man that bileueth in hym, perische not, but haue euerlastynge lijf.
16 For God louede so the world, that he yaf his `oon bigetun sone, that ech man that bileueth in him perische not, but haue euerlastynge lijf.
17 For God sente not his sone in to the world, that he iuge the world, but that the world be saued bi him.
18 He that bileueth in hym, is not demed; but he that bileueth not, is now demed, for he bileueth not in the name of the `oon bigetun sone of God.
19 And this is the dom, for liyt cam in to the world, and men loueden more derknessis than liyt; for her werkes weren yuele.
20 For ech man that doith yuele, hatith the liyt; and he cometh not to the liyt, that hise werkis be not repreued.
21 But he that doith treuthe, cometh to the liyt, that hise werkis be schewid, that thei ben don in God.
22 Aftir these thingis Jhesus cam, and hise disciplis, in to the loond of Judee, and there he dwellide with hem, and baptiside.
23 And John was baptisinge in Ennon, bisidis Salym, for many watris weren there; and thei camen, and weren baptisid.
24 And John was not yit sent in to prisoun.
25 Therfor a questioun was maad of Jonys disciplis with the Jewis, of the purificacioun.
26 And thei camen to John, and seiden `to hym, Maister, he that was with thee biyonde Jordan, to whom thou hast borun witnessyng, lo! he baptisith, and alle men comen to hym.
27 John answerde, and seide, A man may not take ony thing, but it be youun to hym fro heuene.
28 Ye you silf beren witnessyng to me, that Y seide, Y am not Crist, but that Y am sent bifore hym.
29 He that hath a wijf, is the hosebonde; but the freend of the spouse that stondith, and herith hym, ioieth with ioye, for the vois of the spouse. Therfor in this thing my ioye is fulfillid.
30 It bihoueth hym to wexe, but me to be maad lesse.
31 He that cam from above, is above alle; he that is of the erthe, spekith of the erthe; he that cometh from heuene, is above alle.
32 And he witnessith that thing that he hath seie, and herde, and no man takith his witnessing.
33 But he that takith his witnessyng, hath confermyd that God is sothefast.
34 But he whom God hath sent, spekith the wordis of God; for not to mesure God yyueth the spirit.
35 The fadir loueth the sone, and he hath youun alle thingis in his hoond.
36 He that bileueth in the sone, hath euerlastynge lijf; but he that is vnbileueful to the sone, schal not se euerlastynge lijf, but the wraththe of God dwellith on hym.

For the Full Text, see the link below

https://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wycliffe/