Matthew 27 Comparison: Wycliffe Bible (1395) vs King James Version
Matthew 27
1But whanne the morowtid was comun, alle the princis of prestis, and the eldre men of the puple token counsel ayens Jhesu, that thei schulden take hym to the deeth.
2And thei ledden him boundun, and bitoken to Pilat of Pounce, iustice.
3Thanne Judas that bitraiede hym, say that he was dampned, he repentide, and brouyte ayen the thretti pans to the princis of prestis, and to the elder men of the puple,
4and seide, Y haue synned, bitraiynge riytful blood. And thei seiden, What to vs? bise thee.
5And whanne he hadde cast forth the siluer in the temple, he passide forth, and yede, and hongide hym silf with a snare.
6And the princis of prestis token the siluer, and seide, It is not leueful to putte it in to the treserie, for it is the prijs of blood.
7And whanne thei hadden take counsel, thei bouyten with it a feeld of a potter, in to biryyng of pilgrymys.
8Herfor thilke feeld is clepid Acheldemac, that is, a feeld of blood, in to this dai.
9Thanne that was fulfillid, that was seid bi the prophete Jeremye, seiynge, And thei han takun thretti pans, the prijs of a man preysid, whom thei preiseden of the children of Israel;
10and thei yauen hem in to a feeld of a potter, as the Lord hath ordenyd to me.
11And Jhesus stood bifor the domesman; and the iustice axide him, and seide, Art thou king of Jewis?
12Jhesus seith to hym, Thou seist. And whanne he was accusid of the princis of prestis, and of the eldere men of the puple, he answeride no thing.
13Thanne Pilat seith to him, Herist thou not, hou many witnessyngis thei seien ayens thee?
14And he answeride not `to hym ony word, so that the iustice wondride greetli.
15But for a solempne dai the iustice was wont to delyuere to the puple oon boundun, whom thei wolden.
16And he hadde tho a famous man boundun, that was seid Barrabas.
17Therfor Pilate seide to hem, whanne thei weren to gidere, Whom wolen ye, that Y delyuere to you? whether Barabas, or Jhesu, that is seid Crist?
18For he wiste, that bi enuye thei bitraieden hym.
19And while he sat for domesman, his wijf sente to hym, and seide, No thing to thee and to that iust man; for Y haue suffrid this dai many thingis for hym, bi a visioun.
20Forsothe the prince of prestis, and the eldere men counseiliden the puple, that thei schulden axe Barabas, but thei schulden distrye Jhesu.
21But the iustice answeride, and seide to hem, Whom of the tweyn wolen ye, that be delyuerit to you? And thei seiden, Barabas.
22Pilat seith to hem, What thanne schal Y do of Jhesu, that is seid Crist?
23Alle seien, `Be he crucified. The iustice seith to hem, What yuel hath he doon? And thei crieden more, and seiden, Be he crucified.
24And Pilat seynge that he profitide no thing, but that the more noyse was maad, took watir, and waischide hise hondis bifor the puple, and seide, Y am giltles of the blood of this riytful man; bise you.
25And al the puple answeride, and seide, His blood be on vs, and on oure children.
26Thanne he deliuerede to hem Barabas, but he took to hem Jhesu scourgid, to be crucified.
27Thanne knyytis of the iustice token Jhesu in the moot halle, and gadriden to hym al the cumpeny `of knyytis.
28And thei vnclothiden hym, and diden aboute hym a reed mantil;
29and thei foldiden a coroun of thornes, and putten on his heed, and a rehed in his riyt hoond; and thei kneliden bifore hym, and scornyden hym, and seiden, Heil, kyng of Jewis.
30And thei speten on hym, and tooken a rehed, and smoot his heed.
31And aftir that thei hadden scorned him, thei vnclothiden hym of the mantil, and thei clothiden hym with hise clothis, and ledden hym to `crucifien hym.
32And as thei yeden out, thei founden a man of Cirenen comynge fro the toun, Symont bi name; thei constreyneden hym to take his cross.
33And thei camen in to a place that is clepid Golgatha, that is, the place of Caluarie.
34And thei yauen hym to drynke wyne meynd with galle; and whanne he hadde tastid, he wolde not drynke.
35And aftir that thei hadden crucified hym, thei departiden his clothis, and kesten lotte, to fulfille that is seid bi the prophete, seiynge, Thei partiden to hem my clothis, and on my clooth thei kesten lott.
36And thei seten, and kepten him;
37and setten aboue his heed his cause writun, This is Jhesu of Nazareth, kyng of Jewis.
38Thanne twey theues weren crucified with hym, oon on the riythalf, and oon on the lefthalf.
39And men that passiden forth blasfemeden hym,
40mouynge her heedis, and seiynge, Vath to thee, that distriest the temple of God, and in the thridde dai bildist it ayen; saue thou thi silf; if thou art the sone of God, come doun of the cross.
41Also and princis of prestis scornynge, with scribis and elder men,
42seiden, He made othere men saaf, he may not make hym silf saaf; if he is kyng of Israel, come he now doun fro the crosse, and we bileuen to hym;
43he tristide in God; delyuer he hym now, if he wole; for he seide, That Y am Goddis sone.
44And the theues, that weren crucified with hym, vpbreididen hym of the same thing.
45But fro the sixte our derknessis weren maad on al the erthe, to the nynthe our.
46And aboute the nynthe our Jhesus criede with a greet vois, and seide, Heli, Heli, lamazabatany, that is, My God, my God, whi hast thou forsake me?
47And summen that stoden there, and herynge, seiden, This clepith Helye.
48And anoon oon of hem rennynge, took and fillide a spounge with vynegre, and puttide on a rehed, and yaf to hym to drynke.
49But othir seiden, Suffre thou; se we whether Helie come to deliuer hym.
50Forsothe Jhesus eftsoone criede with a greet voyce, and yaf vp the goost.
51And lo! the veil of the temple was to-rent in twey parties, fro the hiest to the lowest. And the erthe schoke, and stoonus weren cloue; and birielis weren openyd,
52and many bodies of seyntis that hadden slepte, rysen vp.
53And thei yeden out of her birielis, and aftir his resurreccioun thei camen in to the holi citee, and apperiden to many.
54And the centurien and thei that weren with hym kepinge Jhesu, whanne thei saien the erthe schakynge, and tho thingis that weren doon, thei dredden greetli,
55and seiden, Verili this was Goddis sone. And ther weren there many wymmen afer, that sueden Jhesu fro Galilee, and mynystriden to hym.
56Among whiche was Marie Magdalene, and Marie, the modir of James, and of Joseph, and the modir of Zebedees sones.
57But whanne the euenyng was come, ther cam a riche man of Armathi, Joseph bi name, and he was a disciple of Jhesu.
58He wente to Pilat, and axide the bodi of Jhesu.
59Thanne Pilat comaundide the bodie to be youun. And whanne the bodi was takun, Joseph lappide it in a clene sendel,
60and leide it in his newe biriel, that he hadde hewun in a stoon; and he walewide a greet stoon to the dore of the biriel, and wente awei.
61But Marie Maudelene and anothir Marie weren there, sittynge ayens the sepulcre.
62And on `the tother dai, that is aftir pask euen, the princis of prestis and the Farisees camen togidere to Pilat,
63and seiden, Sir, we han mynde, that thilke giloure seide yit lyuynge, Aftir thre daies Y schal rise ayen to lijf.
64Therfor comaunde thou, that the sepulcre be kept in to the thridde dai; lest hise disciplis comen, and stelen hym, and seie to the puple, He hath rise fro deeth; and the laste errour schal be worse than the formere.
65Pilat seide to hem, Ye han the kepyng; go ye, kepe ye as ye kunnen.
66And thei yeden forth, and kepten the sepulcre, markynge the stoon, with keperis.
Matthew 27
1When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
2And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
8Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
9Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
10And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.
11And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
15Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
16And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
18For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
23And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
26Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
31And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
32And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36And sitting down they watched him there;
37And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
55And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.
57When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
58He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Understanding Wycliffe Bible (1395) vs King James Version in Matthew 27
Wycliffe Bible (1395) (Wycliffe)
The first complete English translation of the Bible (1395) by John Wycliffe and his followers. Translated from the Latin Vulgate. A landmark in English history and the Reformation.
King James Version (KJV)
The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.
You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Matthew 27 in the Wycliffe Bible (1395) and King James Version. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.
Key Comparison: Matthew 27:16
"And he hadde tho a famous man boundun, that was seid Barrabas."
"And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas."





