Textus Receptus Bibles
Coverdale Bible 1535
| 2:1 | Bvt there were false prophetes also amonge the people, euen as there shalbe false teachers amonge you likewyse, which preuely shal brynge in damnable sectes, euen denyenge the LORDE that hath boughte them, and shal brynge vpon them selues swift damnacio |
| 2:2 | and many shal folowe their damnable wayes, by who the waye of the trueth shal be euell spoke of: |
| 2:3 | and thorow cuvetousnes shal they with fayned wordes make marchaundise of you, vpo who the iudgment is not necliget in tarienge of olde, and their damnacion slepeth not. |
| 2:4 | For yf God spared not the angels that synned, but cast them downe with the cheynes of darknes in to hell, and delyuered the ouer to be kepte vnto iudgment: |
| 2:5 | Nether spared the olde worlde, but saued Noe the preacher of righteousnes himselfe beynge ye eight, and brought the floude vpo the worlde of the vngodly: |
| 2:6 | And turned the cities of Sodom and Gomor into asshes, ouerthrue them, damned them, and made on them an ensample, vnto those that after shulde lyue vngodly: |
| 2:7 | And delyuered iust Loth which was vexed with the vngodly conuersacion of ye wicked. |
| 2:8 | For in so moch as he was righteous and dwelt amonge them, so that he must nedes se it and heare it, his righteous soule was greued from to daye to daye with their vnlaufull dedes. |
| 2:9 | The LORDE knoweth how to delyuer the godly out of tentacion, and how to reserue the vniust vnto the daye of iudgment for to be punyshed: |
| 2:10 | but specially them that walke after the flesh in ye lust of vnclennes, and despyse the rulers: beynge presumptuous, stubborne, and feare not to speake euell of the yt are in auctorite |
| 2:11 | wha the angels yet which are greater both in power and might, beare not that blasphemous iudgment agaynst them of the LORDE. |
| 2:12 | But these are as ye brute beestes, which naturally are broughte forth to be take and destroyed: speakynge euell of yt they knowe not, and shal perishe in their owne destruccion, |
| 2:13 | and so receaue ye rewarde of vnrighteousnes.They counte it pleasure to lyue deliciously for a season: Spottes are they and fylthynes: lyuynge at pleasure and in disceaueable wayes: feastynge wt that which is youres, |
| 2:14 | hauynge eyes full of aduoutrye, and ca not ceasse from synne, entysinge vnstable soules: hauynge an hert exercysed wt couetousnes: they are cursed children, |
| 2:15 | and haue forsaken the righte waye, and are gone astraye: folowinge the waye of Balaam the sonne of Bosor, which loued the rewarde of vnrighteousnes: |
| 2:16 | but was rebuked of his iniquyte. The tame and domme beast spake with mas voyce, & forbad the foolishnes of ye prophet. |
| 2:17 | These are welles without water, & cloudes caried aboute of a tepest: to who ye myst of darknesse is reserued foreuer. |
| 2:18 | For they speake ye proude wordes of vanite, vnto ye vttemost, and entyse thorow wantannes vnto ye luste of the flesh, euen them that were cleane escaped, and now walke in erroure: |
| 2:19 | and promyse them libertye, where as they them selues are seruauntes off corrupcion. For off whom so euer a man is ouercome, vnto the same is he in bondage. |
| 2:20 | For yf they (after they haue escaped from the fylthynes of the worlde, thorow the knowlege of ye LORDE and Sauioure Iesus Christ) are yet tangled agayne therin and ouercome, then is the latter ende worse vnto them then the begynnynge. |
| 2:21 | For it had bene better for them, not to haue knowne the waye of righteousnes, then after they haue knowne it, to turne from the holy commaundemet, that was geuen vnto them. |
| 2:22 | It is happened vnto them acordynge vnto the true prouerbe: ye dogg is turned to his vomyte agayne: and ye sowe that was wasshed, vnto hir walowynge in the myre. |
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.