Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 37:1 | At this also mine heart is astonied, and is mooued out of his place. |
| 37:2 | Heare the sound of his voyce, and the noyse that goeth out of his mouth. |
| 37:3 | He directeth it vnder the whole heauen, and his light vnto the endes of the world. |
| 37:4 | After it a noyse soundeth: hee thundereth with the voyce of his maiestie, and hee will not stay them when his voyce is heard. |
| 37:5 | God thundereth marueilously with his voyce: he worketh great things, which we know not. |
| 37:6 | For he sayth to the snowe, Be thou vpon the earth: likewise to the small rayne and to the great rayne of his power. |
| 37:7 | With the force thereof he shutteth vp euery man, that all men may knowe his worke. |
| 37:8 | Then the beastes go into the denne, and remaine in their places. |
| 37:9 | The whirlewind commeth out of the South, and the colde from the North winde. |
| 37:10 | At the breath of God the frost is giuen, and the breadth of the waters is made narrowe. |
| 37:11 | He maketh also the cloudes to labour, to water the earth, and scattereth the cloude of his light. |
| 37:12 | And it is turned about by his gouernment, that they may doe whatsoeuer he commandeth them vpon the whole worlde: |
| 37:13 | Whether it be for punishment, or for his lande, or of mercie, he causeth it to come. |
| 37:14 | Hearken vnto this, O Iob: stand and consider the wonderous workes of God. |
| 37:15 | Diddest thou knowe when God disposed them? and caused the light of his cloud to shine? |
| 37:16 | Hast thou knowen the varietie of the cloude, and the wonderous workes of him, that is perfite in knowledge? |
| 37:17 | Or howe thy clothes are warme, when he maketh the earth quiet through the South winde? |
| 37:18 | Hast thou stretched out the heaues, which are strong, and as a molten glasse? |
| 37:19 | Tell vs what we shall say vnto him: for we can not dispose our matter because of darknes. |
| 37:20 | Shall it be told him when I speake? or shall man speake when he shalbe destroyed? |
| 37:21 | And nowe men see not the light, which shineth in the cloudes, but the winde passeth and clenseth them. |
| 37:22 | The brightnesse commeth out of the North: the praise thereof is to God, which is terrible. |
| 37:23 | It is the Almightie: we can not finde him out: he is excellent in power and iudgement, and aboundant in iustice: he afflicteth not. |
| 37:24 | Let men therefore feare him: for he will not regarde any that are wise in their owne conceit. |
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.