Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 1:1 | The worde of the Lord came also vnto Ionah the sonne of Amittai, saying, |
| 1:2 | Arise, and goe to Nineueh, that great citie, and crye against it: for their wickednesse is come vp before mee. |
| 1:3 | But Ionah rose vp to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went downe to Iapho: and he founde a ship going to Tarshish: so he payed the fare thereof, and went downe into it, that he might go with them vnto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord. |
| 1:4 | But the Lord sent out a great winde into the sea, and there was a mightie tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. |
| 1:5 | Then the mariners were afraide, and cryed euery man vnto his God, and cast the wares that were in the ship, into the sea to lighten it of the: but Ionah was gone downe into the sides of the ship, and he lay downe, and was fast a sleepe. |
| 1:6 | So the shipmaster came to him, and saide vnto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call vpon thy God, if so be that God wil thinke vpon vs, that we perish not. |
| 1:7 | And they saide euery one to his fellowe, Come, and let vs cast lottes, that we may know, for whose cause this euill is vpon vs. So they cast lottes, and the lot fell vpon Ionah. |
| 1:8 | Then said they vnto him, Tell vs for whose cause this euill is vpon vs? what is thine occupation? and whence commest thou? which is thy countrey? and of what people art thou? |
| 1:9 | And he answered them, I am an Ebrewe, and I feare the Lord God of heauen, which hath made the sea, and the dry lande. |
| 1:10 | Then were the men exceedingly afrayde, and said vnto him, Why hast thou done this? (for the men knewe, that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had tolde them) |
| 1:11 | Then saide they vnto him, What shall we doe vnto thee, that the sea may be calme vnto vs? (for the sea wrought and was troublous) |
| 1:12 | And he said vnto them, Take me, and cast me into the sea: so shall the sea be calme vnto you: for I knowe that for my sake this great tempest is vpon you. |
| 1:13 | Neuerthelesse, the men rowed to bring it to the lande, but they coulde not: for the sea wrought, and was troublous against them. |
| 1:14 | Wherefore they cryed vnto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let vs not perish for this mans life, and lay not vpon vs innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done, as it pleased thee. |
| 1:15 | So they tooke vp Ionah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging. |
| 1:16 | Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice vnto the Lord, and made vowes. |
| 1:17 | Nowe the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallowe vp Ionah: and Ionah was in the belly of the fish three dayes, and three nightes. |
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.