Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 21:1 | The burden of the desert Sea. As the whirlewindes in the South vse to passe from the wildernesse, so shall it come from the horrible land. |
| 21:2 | A grieuous vision was shewed vnto me, The transgressour against a transgressour, and the destroyer against a destroyer. Goe vp Elam, besiege Media: I haue caused all the mourning thereof to cease. |
| 21:3 | Therefore are my loynes filled with sorow: sorowes haue taken me as the sorowes of a woman that trauayleth: I was bowed downe when I heard it, and I was amased when I sawe it. |
| 21:4 | Mine heart failed: fearefulnesse troubled me: the night of my pleasures hath he turned into feare vnto me. |
| 21:5 | Prepare thou the table: watch in the watch towre: eate, drinke: arise, ye princes, anoynt the shielde. |
| 21:6 | For thus hath the Lord said vnto me, Go, set a watchman, to tell what he seeth. |
| 21:7 | And he sawe a charet with two horsemen: a charet of an asse, and a charet of a camel: and he hearkened and tooke diligent heede. |
| 21:8 | And he cryed, A lyon: my lorde, I stand continually vpon ye watche towre in the day time, and I am set in my watche euery night: |
| 21:9 | And beholde, this mans charet commeth with two horsemen. And he answered and said, Babel is fallen: it is fallen, and all the images of her gods hath he broken vnto the ground. |
| 21:10 | O my threshing, and the corne of my floore. That which I haue heard of the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, haue I shewed vnto you. |
| 21:11 | The burden of Dumah. He calleth vnto me out of Seir, Watchman, what was in ye night? Watchman, what was in the night? |
| 21:12 | The watchman saide, The morning commeth, and also the night. If yee will aske, enquire: returne and come. |
| 21:13 | The burden against Arabia. In the forest of Arabia shall yee tarie all night, euen in the waies of Dedanim. |
| 21:14 | O inhabitants of the lande of Tema, bring foorth water to meete the thirstie, and preuent him that fleeth with his bread. |
| 21:15 | For they flee from the drawen swords, euen from the drawen sword, and from the bent bowe, and from the grieuousnesse of warre. |
| 21:16 | For thus hath the Lord sayd vnto me, Yet a yeere according to the yeeres of an hireling, and all the glorie of Kedar shall faile. |
| 21:17 | And the residue of the nomber of ye strong archers of the sonnes of Kedar shall be fewe: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. |
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.