Textus Receptus Bibles
Coverdale Bible 1535
| 1:1 | In ye begynnynge God created heauen & earth: |
| 1:2 | and ye earth was voyde and emptie, and darcknes was vpon the depe, & ye sprete of God moued vpo the water. |
| 1:3 | And God sayde: let there be light, & there was light. |
| 1:4 | And God sawe the light that it was good. Then God deuyded ye light from the darcknes, |
| 1:5 | and called the light, Daye: and the darcknes, Night Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the first daye. |
| 1:6 | And God sayde: let there be a firmament betwene the waters, and let it deuyde ye waters a sunder. |
| 1:7 | Then God made ye firmamet, and parted the waters vnder the firmamet, from the waters aboue the firmament: And so it came to passe. |
| 1:8 | And God called ye firmament, Heauen. Then of the euenynge & mornynge was made the seconde daye. |
| 1:9 | And God sayde: let the waters vnder heauen gather theselues vnto one place, yt the drye londe maye appeare. And so it came to passe. |
| 1:10 | And God called ye drye londe, Earth: and the gatheringe together of waters called he, ye See. And God sawe yt it was good. |
| 1:11 | And God sayde: let ye earth bringe forth grene grasse and herbe, that beareth sede: & frutefull trees, that maye beare frute, euery one after his kynde, hauynge their owne sede in them selues vpon the earth. And so it came to passe. |
| 1:12 | And the earth brought forth grene grasse and herbe, yt beareth sede euery one after his kynde, & trees bearinge frute, & hauynge their owne sede in them selues, euery one after his kynde. And God sawe that it was good. |
| 1:13 | Then of the euenynge & mornynge was made the thirde daye. |
| 1:14 | And God sayde: let there be lightes in ye firmament of heauen, to deuyde the daye fro the night, that they maye be vnto tokes, seasons, dayes, and yeares. |
| 1:15 | And let them be lightes in ye firmament of heauen, to shyne vpon the earth: And so it came to passe. |
| 1:16 | And God made two greate lightes: one greater light to rule the daye, and a lesse light to rule the night, and (he made) starres also. |
| 1:17 | And God set them in the firmament of heauen, yt they might shyne vpo earth, |
| 1:18 | and to rule the daye and the night, and to deuyde the light from darcknes. And God sawe that it was good. |
| 1:19 | Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the fourth daye. |
| 1:20 | And God sayde: let the waters brynge forth creatures that moue and haue life, & foules for to flye aboue the earth vnder the firmamet of heauen. |
| 1:21 | And God created greate whalles, and all maner of creatures that lyue and moue, which the waters brought forth euery one after his kynde: and all maner of fethered foules, euery one after his kynde. And God sawe that it was good, |
| 1:22 | and blessed them, sayenge: Growe, and multiplie, and fyll the waters of the sees, and let the foules multiplie vpon the earth. |
| 1:23 | Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the fifth daye. |
| 1:24 | And God sayde: let ye earth brynge forth lyuynge soules, euery one after his kynde: catell, wormes & what as hath life vpon earth, euery one after his kynde. And so it came to passe. |
| 1:25 | And God made ye beastes of the earth euery one after his kynde, and catell after their kynde, and all maner wormes of the earth after their kynde. And God sawe that it was good. |
| 1:26 | And God sayde: let vs make man in or similitude after oure licknesse, that he maye haue rule ouer the fysh of the see, and ouer the foules vnder ye heauen, and ouer catell, and ouer all the earth, and ouer all wormes that crepe on ye earth. |
| 1:27 | And God created man after his licknesse: after ye licknesse of God created he him, male & female created he them. |
| 1:28 | And God blessed them, and sayde vnto them: Growe, and multiplie, and fyll the earth, and subdue it, & haue domynion ouer the fish of the see, and ouer the foules of the ayre, and ouer all the beastes that crepe vpo the earth. |
| 1:29 | And God sayde: lo, I haue geuen you all maner herbes that beare sede vpon the whole earth, and all maner frutefull trees that beare sede, to be meate for you. |
| 1:30 | And to all beastes of the earth, and to all foules vnder the heauen, and to euery worme that hath life (vpon earth) all maner grene herbes to eate. And so it came to passe. |
| 1:31 | And God behelde all yt he had made, and lo, they were exceadinge good. Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the sixte daye. |
Coverdale Bible 1535
The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete English translation of the Bible to contain both the Old and New Testament and translated from the original Hebrew and Greek. The later editions (folio and quarto) published in 1539 were the first complete Bibles printed in England. The 1539 folio edition carried the royal license and was, therefore, the first officially approved Bible translation in English.
Tyndale never had the satisfaction of completing his English Bible; but during his imprisonment, he may have learned that a complete translation, based largely upon his own, had actually been produced. The credit for this achievement, the first complete printed English Bible, is due to Miles Coverdale (1488-1569), afterward bishop of Exeter (1551-1553).
The details of its production are obscure. Coverdale met Tyndale in Hamburg, Germany in 1529, and is said to have assisted him in the translation of the Pentateuch. His own work was done under the patronage of Oliver Cromwell, who was anxious for the publication of an English Bible; and it was no doubt forwarded by the action of Convocation, which, under Archbishop Cranmer's leading, had petitioned in 1534 for the undertaking of such a work.
Coverdale's Bible was probably printed by Froschover in Zurich, Switzerland and was published at the end of 1535, with a dedication to Henry VIII. By this time, the conditions were more favorable to a Protestant Bible than they had been in 1525. Henry had finally broken with the Pope and had committed himself to the principle of an English Bible. Coverdale's work was accordingly tolerated by authority, and when the second edition of it appeared in 1537 (printed by an English printer, Nycolson of Southwark), it bore on its title-page the words, "Set forth with the King's most gracious license." In licensing Coverdale's translation, King Henry probably did not know how far he was sanctioning the work of Tyndale, which he had previously condemned.
In the New Testament, in particular, Tyndale's version is the basis of Coverdale's, and to a somewhat less extent this is also the case in the Pentateuch and Jonah; but Coverdale revised the work of his predecessor with the help of the Zurich German Bible of Zwingli and others (1524-1529), a Latin version by Pagninus, the Vulgate, and Luther. In his preface, he explicitly disclaims originality as a translator, and there is no sign that he made any noticeable use of the Greek and Hebrew; but he used the available Latin, German, and English versions with judgment. In the parts of the Old Testament which Tyndale had not published he appears to have translated mainly from the Zurich Bible. [Coverdale's Bible of 1535 was reprinted by Bagster, 1838.]
In one respect Coverdale's Bible was groundbreaking, namely, in the arrangement of the books of the. It is to Tyndale's example, no doubt, that the action of Coverdale is due. His Bible is divided into six parts -- (1) Pentateuch; (2) Joshua -- Esther; (3) Job -- "Solomon's Balettes" (i.e. Canticles); (4) Prophets; (5) "Apocrypha, the books and treatises which among the fathers of old are not reckoned to be of like authority with the other books of the Bible, neither are they found in the canon of the Hebrew"; (6) the New Testament. This represents the view generally taken by the Reformers, both in Germany and in England, and so far as concerns the English Bible, Coverdale's example was decisive.