Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 5:1 | And of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need to write to you. |
| 5:2 | For ye yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord, as a thief in the night, so comes. |
| 5:3 | For when they say, Peace and security; then sudden ruin is upon them, as anguish in her with child; and they may not escape. |
| 5:4 | And ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day as a thief overtake you. |
| 5:5 | Ye are all sons of light, and sons of day: we are not of night, nor of darkness. |
| 5:6 | Therefore let us not sleep, as also the rest; but let us watch and be sober. |
| 5:7 | For they sleeping sleep in the night; and they drunken are drunken in the night. |
| 5:8 | And we, being of the day, let us be sober, putting on the coat of mail of faith and love; and a helmet, the hope of salvation. |
| 5:9 | For God set us not for wrath, but for the acquisition of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 5:10 | He having died for us, that, whether we watch or sleep, we should live together with him. |
| 5:11 | Wherefore comfort one another, and build up one another, as also ye do. |
| 5:12 | And we ask you, brethren, to know those being fatigued among you, and set over you in the Lord, and reminding you; |
| 5:13 | And to think them above ordinary in love for their work. Live in peace in yourselves. |
| 5:14 | And we beseech you, brethren, remind the disorderly, encourage the timid, sustain the weak, and be slow to anger to all. |
| 5:15 | See that any return not evil to any: but always pursue good to one another, and to all. |
| 5:16 | Rejoice always. |
| 5:17 | Pray continually. |
| 5:18 | In every thing return thanks: for this the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. |
| 5:19 | Quench not the Spirit. |
| 5:20 | Set not prophecies at nought. |
| 5:21 | Try all things; hold the good. |
| 5:22 | Keep away from all appearance of evil. |
| 5:23 | And the same God of peace consecrate you perfectly compete; and your whole spirit and soul and body be kept faultless to the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 5:24 | Faithful he calling you, who also will do. |
| 5:25 | Brethren, pray for us. |
| 5:26 | Greet all the brethren in a holy kiss. |
| 5:27 | I bind you by oath, for the epistle to be read to all the holy brethren. |
| 5:28 | The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you. Amen. |
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
The Julia Evelina Smith Parker Translation is considered the first complete translation of the Bible into English by a woman. The Bible was titled The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues, and was published in 1876.
Julia Smith, of Glastonbury, Connecticut had a working knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Her father had been a Congregationalist minister before he became a lawyer. Having read the Bible in its original languages, she set about creating her own translation, which she completed in 1855, after a number of drafts. The work is a strictly literal rendering, always translating a Greek or Hebrew word with the same word wherever possible. Smith accomplished this work on her own in the span of eight years (1847 to 1855). She had sought out no help in the venture, even writing, "I do not see that anybody can know more about it than I do." Smith's insistence on complete literalness, plus an effort to translate each original word with the same English word, combined with an odd notion of Hebrew tenses (often translating the Hebrew imperfect tense with the English future) results in a translation that is mechanical and often nonsensical. However, such a translation if overly literal might be valuable to consult in checking the meaning of some individual verse. One notable feature of this translation was the prominent use of the Divine Name, Jehovah, throughout the Old Testament of this Bible version.
In 1876, at 84 years of age some 21 years after completing her work, she finally sought publication. The publication costs ($4,000) were personally funded by Julia and her sister Abby Smith. The 1,000 copies printed were offered for $2.50 each, but her household auction in 1884 sold about 50 remaining copies.
The translation fell into obscurity as it was for the most part too literal and lacked any flow. For example, Jer. 22:23 was given as follows: "Thou dwelling in Lebanon, building as nest in the cedars, how being compassionated in pangs coming to thee the pain as in her bringing forth." However, the translation was the only Contemporary English translation out of the original languages available to English readers until the publication of The British Revised Version in 1881-1894.(The New testament was published in 1881, the Old in 1884, and the Apocrypha in 1894.) This makes it an invaluable Bible for its period.