Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 2:1 | Then Ioshua the sonne of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spie secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and also Iericho: and they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and lodged there. |
| 2:2 | Then report was made to the King of Iericho, saying, Beholde, there came men hither to night, of the children of Israel, to spie out the countrey. |
| 2:3 | And the King of Iericho sent vnto Rahab, saying, Bring foorth the men that are come to thee, and which are entred into thine house: for they be come to search out all the land. |
| 2:4 | (But ye woman had taken the two men, and hid them) Therefore saide she thus, There came men vnto me, but I wist not whence they were. |
| 2:5 | And when they shut the gate in the darke, the men went out, whither the men went I wote not: follow ye after them quickly, for ye shall ouertake them. |
| 2:6 | (But she had brought them vp to the roofe of the house, and hidde them with the stalkes of flaxe, which she had spread abroad vpon the roofe) |
| 2:7 | And certaine men pursued after them, the way to Iorden, vnto the foordes, and as soone as they which pursued after them, were gone out, they shut the gate. |
| 2:8 | And before they were a sleepe, she came vp vnto them vpon the roofe, |
| 2:9 | And saide vnto the men, I knowe that the Lord hath giuen you the land, and that the feare of you is fallen vpon vs, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. |
| 2:10 | For we haue heard, howe the Lord dried vp the water of the redde Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt, and what you did vnto the two Kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Iorden, vnto Sihon and to Og, whom ye vtterly destroyed: |
| 2:11 | And when wee heard it, our heartes did faint, and there remained no more courage in any because of you: for the Lord your God, he is the God in heauen aboue, and in earth beneath. |
| 2:12 | Now therefore, I pray you, sweare vnto me by the Lord; that as I haue shewed you mercie, ye will also shewe mercie vnto my fathers house, and giue me a true token, |
| 2:13 | And that yee will saue aliue my father and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they haue: and that yee will deliuer our soules from death. |
| 2:14 | And the men answered her, Our life for you to die, if ye vtter not this our businesse: and when the Lord hath giuen vs the lande, we will deale mercifully and truely with thee. |
| 2:15 | Then she let them downe by a corde thorowe the windowe: for her house was vpon the towne wall, and she dwelt vpon the wall. |
| 2:16 | And she said vnto them, Goe you into the mountaine, least the pursuers meete with you, and hide your selues there three dayes, vntill the pursuers be returned: then afterwarde may yee goe your way. |
| 2:17 | And the men said vnto her, We will be blamelesse of this thine othe, which thou hast made vs sweare. |
| 2:18 | Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this cord of red threde in the window, whereby thou lettest vs downe, and thou shalt bring thy father and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy fathers houshold home to thee. |
| 2:19 | And whosoeuer then doeth goe out at the doores of thine house into the streete, his blood shalbe vpon his head, and we will be giltlesse: but whosoeuer shall be with thee in the house, his blood shalbe on our head, if any hande touch him: |
| 2:20 | And if thou vtter this our matter, we will be quite of thine othe, which thou hast made vs sweare. |
| 2:21 | And she answered, According vnto your wordes, so be it: then she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the red cord in ye window. |
| 2:22 | And they departed, and came into the mountaine, and there abode three dayes, vntil the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but founde them not. |
| 2:23 | So the two men returned, and descended from the mountaine, and passed ouer, and came to Ioshua the sonne of Nun, and tolde him all things that came vnto them. |
| 2:24 | Also they saide vnto Ioshua, Surely the Lord hath deliuered into our handes all the lande: for euen all the inhabitants of the countrey faint because of vs. |
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
The Geneva Bible is one of the most influential and historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James translation by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan. The language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous and because of this, most readers strongly preferred this version at the time.
The Geneva Bible was produced by a group of English scholars who, fleeing from the reign of Queen Mary, had found refuge in Switzerland. During the reign of Queen Mary, no Bibles were printed in England, the English Bible was no longer used in churches and English Bibles already in churches were removed and burned. Mary was determined to return Britain to Roman Catholicism.
The first English Protestant to die during Mary's turbulent reign was John Rogers in 1555, who had been the editor of the Matthews Bible. At this time, hundreds of Protestants left England and headed for Geneva, a city which under the leadership of Calvin, had become the intellectual and spiritual capital of European Protestants.
One of these exiles was William Whittingham, a fellow of Christ Church at Oxford University, who had been a diplomat, a courtier, was much traveled and skilled in many languages including Greek and Hebrew. He eventually succeeded John Knox as the minister of the English congregation in Geneva. Whittingham went on to publish the 1560 Geneva Bible.
This version is significant because, it came with a variety of scriptural study guides and aids, which included verse citations that allow the reader to cross-reference one verse with numerous relevant verses in the rest of the Bible, introductions to each book of the Bible that acted to summarize all of the material that each book would cover, maps, tables, woodcut illustrations, indices, as well as other included features, all of which would eventually lead to the reputation of the Geneva Bible as history's very first study Bible.