Wycliffe's Bible 1And Hannah worshipped, and said, Mine heart fully joyed in the Lord, and mine horn is raised in my God; my mouth is alarged on mine enemies, for I was glad in thine health. (And Hannah worshipped, and said, My heart full out joyeth in the Lord, and my head is raised up to my God; my mouth is enlarged upon my enemies, or harshly speaketh about them, and I am happy for thy help.) 2None is holy as the Lord is; for none other is, except thee, and none is strong as our God. (No one is as holy as the Lord is; for there is no other, except thee, and no one is as strong as our God.) 3Do not ye multiply to speak high things, and have glory therein; eld things go away from your mouth; for God is Lord of knowings, and thoughts be made ready to him. (Do not ye continue to speak proud things, and have glory in it; let not proud words come out of your mouth; for God is the Lord of all knowledge, and he judgeth all that people do.) 4The bow of strong men is overcome, and feeble men be girded with strength. 5Men full-filled before, setted themselves to hire for loaves, and hungry men be filled; while the barren woman childed full many, and she that had many sons, was made sick. (Men filled full before, now hire themselves out to work for loaves, and hungry men be filled; while the barren woman bare a great many, and she who had many sons, was made feeble, or weak.) 6The Lord slayeth, and quickeneth; he leadeth forth to hells, and bringeth again. (The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he leadeth down to Sheol, or into the grave, and bringeth up again.) 7The Lord maketh poor, and he maketh rich; he maketh low, and he raiseth up. 8He raiseth a needy man from powder, and he raiseth a poor man from drit, that he sit with princes, and hold the seat of glory; for the ends of [the] earth be of the Lord, and he hath set the world on those. (He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and he raiseth up the poor from the dirt, so that they sit with princes, and have seats, or places, of honour; for the ends of the earth be the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.) 9He shall keep the feet of his saints, and wicked men shall be still (al)together in darknesses; for a man shall not be made strong in his own strength. (He shall guard the footsteps of his saints, and the wicked shall be still, or shall be silent, in the darkness; for no one shall be made strong by their own strength.) 10[The] Adversaries of the Lord shall dread him, and from (the) heavens he shall thunder upon them; the Lord shall deem the ends of [the] earth, and he shall give lordship to his king, and he shall enhance the horn, that is, (the) power, of his Christ. (The Lord’s adversaries shall fear him, and he shall thunder upon them from heaven; the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give lordship to his king, yea, he shall enhance the horn, that is, the power, of his anointed king.) 11And Elkanah went into Ramah, into his house; and the child was (a) servant in the sight of the Lord before the face of Eli the priest. 12Forsooth the sons of Eli were the sons of Belial, and they knew not the Lord, 13neither the office of (the) priests to the people; but whoever had offered sacrifice, the servant of the priest came, while the fleshes were in seething, and he had a fleshhook with three teeth in his hand; 14and he sent it into the great vessel of stone, either into the cauldron, either into the pot, either into the pan; and whatever thing the fleshhook raised, the priest took that to himself; so they did to all Israel of men coming into Shiloh. (and he sent it into the great stone vessel, or the cauldron, or the pot, or the pan; and whatever thing the fleshhook raised up, or caught hold of, the priest took that for himself; and so they did to all Israel who came to Shiloh.) 15Yea, before that they burnt the inner fatness, the priest’s servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou flesh to me/Give to me the flesh, that I seethe it to the priest; for I shall not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw. (Yea, before that they burned the inner fatness, the priest’s servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou to me the flesh, so that I can roast it for the priest; for I shall not take boiled flesh from thee, but only raw meat.) 16And he that offered said to him, Be first the inner fatness burnt today after the custom, and take thou then to thee how much ever thy soul desireth. The which answered, and said to him, Nay, but thou shalt give it now; for else I shall take it by violence. (And if he who offered said to him, First let the inner fatness be burned today, after the custom, and then take thou for thyself however much thy soul desireth, the servant would answer, and say, No, thou shalt give it to me now; or else I shall take it by force.) 17Therefore the sin of the young men was full grievous before the Lord; for they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord (for they drew people away, or discouraged them, from sacrificing to the Lord). 18Forsooth Samuel, a child girded with a linen cloth (a boy wearing a linen cloak), ministered before the face of the Lord. 19And his mother made to him a little coat, the which (s)he brought to him in the days ordained to offer, and she went up with her husband, that he would offer a solemn offering, and his avow. (And his mother made a little coat for him, which she brought to him in the days ordained for offering, when she went up each year with her husband, when he offered a solemn sacrifice, and renewed his vow.) 20And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife; and said, The Lord yield to thee seed of this woman, for the gift which thou hast given to the Lord. And they went into their place again. (And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife; and said, May the Lord give thee children from this woman, for the loan which thou hast lent to the Lord. And then they went home again.) 21Therefore the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived, and childed three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel was magnified at the Lord (But their boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord). 22And Eli was full eld, and he heard all the things that his sons did in all Israel, and how they slept with women, that waited at the door of the tabernacle. (And Eli grew very old, and he heard of all the improper things that his sons did to all Israel, and how they slept with the women, who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.) 23And he said to them, Why do ye such things, (yea,) the worst things, which I hear of (from) all the people? 24Do not ye, my sons; it is not a good fame, that I hear, that ye make the Lord’s people to do trespass. (Do not ye do this, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear, that ye make the Lord’s people to trespass.) 25If a man sinneth against a man, God may be pleased to him by prayers and sacrifices; but if a man sinneth against the Lord, who shall pray for him? And they heard not the voice of their father, for God would slay them. (If a man sinneth against another man, God may make him appeased by prayers and sacrifices; but if a man sinneth against the Lord, who shall pray for him? But they would not listen to their father, for God had decided to kill them.) 26Forsooth the child Samuel profited, and increased, and pleased both God and men. (And the boy Samuel grew, and learned, and pleased both God and men.) 27Soothly a man of God came to Eli, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Whether I was not showed apertly to the house of thy father, when he was in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh? (And a man of God came to Eli, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Was I not openly showed to thy father’s family, when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s house?) 28And I chose him of all the lineages of Israel to be a priest to me, that he should go up to mine altar, and should burn incense to me, and that he should bear before me a priest’s cloak; and I gave to the house of thy father all things of the sacrifices of the sons of Israel. (And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, so that he could go up to my altar, and burn incense to me, and that he would wear the ephod; and I gave to thy father’s family all of the sacrifices of the Israelites.) 29Why hast thou cast away with the heel my sacrifice, and my gifts, which I [have] commanded to be offered in the temple; and thou honouredest more thy sons than me, that ye eat the principal parts of each sacrifice of Israel my people? (Why hast thou kicked away my sacrifice, and my gifts, which I commanded to be offered in the Temple; and why hast thou honoured thy sons more than me, so that ye eat the principal, or the choicest, parts of each offering from my people Israel?) 30Therefore the Lord God of Israel saith these things, I speaking spake, that thine house, and the house of thy father, should minister in my sight till into without end; now forsooth the Lord saith, Far be this from me; but whoever honoureth me, I shall glorify him; forsooth they that despise me, shall be unnoble. (And so the Lord God of Israel saith these things, Before I said, that thy family, and thy father’s family, shall serve before me forevermore; but now the Lord saith, Far be this from me; yea, whoever honoureth me, I shall glorify him; but they who despise me, shall be despised.) 31Lo! [the] days come, and I shall cut away thine arm, or thy power, and the arm of the house of thy father, that an eld man be not in thine house (so that no man shall grow old in thy family). 32And thou shalt see thine enemy in the temple, in all the prosperities of Israel (amidst all of Israel’s prosperity); and an eld man shall not be in thine house in all days. 33Nevertheless I shall not utterly take away of thee a man from mine altar, but that thine eyes fail, and thy soul fail/and thy life languish; and a great part of thine house shall die, when it shall come to man’s age. (And I shall not utterly take away all of thy men from my altar, but he who is left, his eyes shall fail, and his soul shall fail/and his life shall languish; and a great part of thy family shall die, when they come to a man’s age.) 34Forsooth this shall be [the] sign, that shall come to thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; both they shall die in one day (they shall both die on the same day). 35And I shall raise to me a faithful priest, that shall do by mine heart and my soul; and I shall build to him a faithful house, and he shall go before my Christ in all days. (And I shall raise up a faithful priest for me, one who shall do according to my heart and my soul; and I shall build him a faithful family, and he shall go before my anointed king in all his days.) 36Forsooth it shall come, that whoever [still] dwelleth in thine house, that he come to bow for himself, in an half-penny of silver, and a cake of bread, and say, I beseech, suffer thou me to one part of the priest(s’) (offices), that I eat a morsel of bread. (And it shall come, that whoever still remaineth in thy family, he shall come to beg for himself, for a half-penny of silver, and for a cake of bread, and he shall say, I beseech thee, allow me to hold one of the priests’ offices, so that I can get a morsel of bread to eat.) WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE Comprising of Wycliffe’s Old Testament and Wycliffe’s New Testament (Revised Edition) Translated by JOHN WYCLIFFE and JOHN PURVEY A modern-spelling edition of their 14TH century Middle English translation, the first complete English vernacular version, with an Introduction by TERENCE P. NOBLE Used by Permission Bible Hub |