Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 31:1 | And in the eleuenth yeere, in the third moneth, and in the first day of the moneth the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying, |
| 31:2 | Sonne of man, speake vnto Pharaoh King of Egypt, and to his multitude, Whom art thou like in thy greatnesse? |
| 31:3 | Beholde, Asshur was like a cedar in Lebanon with faire branches, and with thicke shadowing boughes, and shot vp very hye, and his toppe was among the thicke boughes. |
| 31:4 | The waters nourished him, and the deepe exalted him on hie with her riuers running round about his plants, and sent out her litle riuers vnto all the trees of the fielde. |
| 31:5 | Therefore his height was exalted aboue all the trees of the fielde, and his boughes were multiplied, and his branches were long, because of the multitude of the waters, which the deepe sent out. |
| 31:6 | All the foules of the heauen made their nestes in his boughes, and vnder his branches did all the beastes of the fielde bring foorth their yong, and vnder his shadowe dwelt all mightie nations. |
| 31:7 | Thus was he faire in his greatnesse, and in the length of his branches: for his roote was neere great waters. |
| 31:8 | The cedars in the garden of God coulde not hide him: no firre tree was like his branches, and the chessenut trees were not like his boughes: all the trees in the garden of God were not like vnto him in his beautie. |
| 31:9 | I made him faire by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, enuied him. |
| 31:10 | Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God, Because he is lift vp on high, and hath shot vp his toppe among the thicke boughes, and his heart is lift vp in his height, |
| 31:11 | I haue therefore deliuered him into the handes of the mightiest among the heathen: he shall handle him, for I haue cast him away for his wickednesse. |
| 31:12 | And the strangers haue destroyed him, euen the terrible nations, and they haue left him vpon the mountaines, and in all the valleis his branches are fallen, and his boughes are broken by all the riuers of the land: and all the people of the earth are departed from his shadowe, and haue forsaken him. |
| 31:13 | Vpon his ruine shall all the foules of the heauen remaine, and all the beastes of the fielde shall be vpon his branches, |
| 31:14 | So that none of all the trees by the waters shalbe exalted by their height, neither shall shoote vp their toppe among the thicke boughes, neither shall their leaues stand vp in their height, which drinke so much water: for they are all deliuered vnto death in the nether partes of the earth in the middes of the children of men among them that goe downe to the pit. |
| 31:15 | Thus saith the Lord God, In the day when he went downe to hell, I caused them to mourne, and I couered the deepe for him, and I did restreine the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: I caused Lebanon to mourne for him, and all the trees of the fielde fainted. |
| 31:16 | I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him downe to hell with them that descend into the pit, and all the excellent trees of Eden, and the best of Lebanon: euen all that are nourished with waters, shall be comforted in the nether partes of the earth. |
| 31:17 | They also went downe to hell with him vnto them that be slaine with the sworde, and his arme, and they that dwelt vnder his shadowe in the middes of the heathen. |
| 31:18 | To whom art thou thus like in glorie and in greatnesse among the trees of Eden? yet thou shalt be cast downe with the trees of Eden vnto the nether partes of the earth: thou shalt sleepe in the middes of the vncircumcised, with them that be slaine by the sworde: this is Pharaoh and all his multitude, sayth the Lord God. |
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.