Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 140:1 | To him that excelleth. A Psalme of David. Deliuer me, O Lord, from the euill man: preserue me from the cruel man: |
| 140:2 | Which imagine euill things in their heart, and make warre continually. |
| 140:3 | They haue sharpened their tongues like a serpent: adders poyson is vnder their lips. Selah. |
| 140:4 | Keepe mee, O Lord, from the handes of the wicked: preserue mee from the cruell man, which purposeth to cause my steppes to slide. |
| 140:5 | The proude haue layde a snare for me, and spred a nette with cordes in my pathway, and set grennes for me. Selah. |
| 140:6 | Therefore I saide vnto the Lord, Thou art my God: heare, O Lord, the voyce of my prayers. |
| 140:7 | O Lord God the strength of my saluation, thou hast couered mine head in the day of battel. |
| 140:8 | Let not the wicked haue his desire, O Lord: performe not his wicked thought, least they be proude. Selah. |
| 140:9 | As for the chiefe of them, that compasse me about, let the mischiefe of their owne lippes come vpon them. |
| 140:10 | Let coles fal vpon them: let him cast them into the fire, and into the deepe pits, that they rise not. |
| 140:11 | For the backbiter shall not be established vpon the earth: euill shall hunt the cruell man to destruction. |
| 140:12 | I know that the Lord will auenge the afflicted, and iudge the poore. |
| 140:13 | Surely the righteous shall prayse thy Name, and the iust shall dwell in thy presence. |
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.