Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 49:1 | To him that excelleth. A Psalme committed to the sonnes of Korah. Heare this, all ye people: giue eare, all ye that dwell in the world, |
| 49:2 | As well lowe as hie, both rich and poore. |
| 49:3 | My mouth shall speake of wisdome, and the meditation of mine heart is of knowledge. |
| 49:4 | I will incline mine eare to a parable, and vtter my graue matter vpon the harpe. |
| 49:5 | Wherefore should I feare in the euil dayes, when iniquitie shall compasse me about, as at mine heeles? |
| 49:6 | They trust in their goods, and boast them selues in the multitude of their riches. |
| 49:7 | Yet a man can by no meanes redeeme his brother: he can not giue his raunsome to God, |
| 49:8 | (So precious is the redemption of their soules, and the continuance for euer) |
| 49:9 | That he may liue still for euer, and not see the graue. |
| 49:10 | For he seeth that wise men die, and also that the ignorant and foolish perish, and leaue their riches for others. |
| 49:11 | Yet they thinke, their houses, and their habitations shall continue for euer, euen from generation to generation, and call their lands by their names. |
| 49:12 | But man shall not continue in honour: he is like the beastes that die. |
| 49:13 | This their way vttereth their foolishnes: yet their posteritie delite in their talke. Selah. |
| 49:14 | Like sheepe they lie in graue: death deuoureth them, and the righteous shall haue domination ouer them in the morning: for their beautie shall consume, when they shall goe from their house to graue. |
| 49:15 | But God shall deliuer my soule from the power of the graue: for he will receiue me. Selah. |
| 49:16 | Be not thou afrayd when one is made rich, and when the glory of his house is increased. |
| 49:17 | For he shall take nothing away when he dieth, neither shall his pompe descende after him. |
| 49:18 | For while he liued, he reioyced himselfe: and men will prayse thee, when thou makest much of thy selfe. |
| 49:19 | He shall enter into the generation of his fathers, and they shall not liue for euer. |
| 49:20 | Man is in honour, and vnderstandeth not: he is like to beasts that perish. |
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.