Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 8:1 | And the summary to the things spoken: We have such a chief priest, who sat on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; |
| 8:2 | A workman of holy things, and of the true tent, which the Lord pitched, and not man. |
| 8:3 | For every chief priest is appointed to bring in gifts and sacrifices also: wherefore it is necessary also for this to have something which he might bring. |
| 8:4 | For if truly he were upon earth, he would not be a priest, there being priests bringing in gifts according to the law; |
| 8:5 | Who serve the pattern and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was given an intimation of the divine will, being about to complete the tent: for, See, says he, thou make all things according to the type shewed thee in the mount. |
| 8:6 | And now he has attained a more distinguished office, in how much also he is mediator of a better covenant, which was legislated upon better promises. |
| 8:7 | For if that first was faultless, then place was not to be sought for the second. |
| 8:8 | For rebuking them, he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will complete for the house of Israel and for the house of Judah a new covenant: |
| 8:9 | Not according to the covenant which I made to their fathers in the day of my taking their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they remained not in my covenant, and I heeded them not, says the Lord. |
| 8:10 | For this the covenant which I will set to the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; giving my laws into their mind, and upon their hearts will I write them: and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for a people: |
| 8:11 | And they should not teach each his neighbor, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from their little even to their great ones. |
| 8:12 | For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins and their injustices will I remember no more. |
| 8:13 | In saying new, he has made the first old. And that made old and becoming weak is near destruction. |
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.