Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 3:1 | O bloody citie, it is all full of lyes, and robberie: the pray departeth not: |
| 3:2 | The noyse of a whippe, and the noyse of the mouing of the wheeles, and the beating of the horses, and the leaping of the charets. |
| 3:3 | The horseman lifteth vp both the bright sword, and the glittering speare, and a multitude is slaine, and the dead bodyes are many: there is none ende of their corpses: they stumble vpon their corpses, |
| 3:4 | Because of the multitude of the fornications of the harlot that is beautifull, and is a mistresse of witchcraft, and selleth the people thorow her whoredome, and the nations thorowe her witchcrafts. |
| 3:5 | Beholde, I come vpon thee, saith the Lord of hostes, and will discouer thy skirtes vpon thy face, and will shewe the nations thy filthines, and the kingdomes thy shame. |
| 3:6 | And I will cast filth vpon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gasing stocke. |
| 3:7 | And it shall come to passe, that al they that looke vpon thee, shall flee from thee, and say, Nineueh is destroyed, who will haue pitie vpon her? where shall I seeke comforters for thee? |
| 3:8 | Art thou better then No, which was ful of people? that lay in the riuers, and had the waters round about it? whose ditche was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? |
| 3:9 | Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and there was none ende: Put and Lubim were her helpers. |
| 3:10 | Yet was she caried awaye, and went into captiuitie: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streetes: and they cast lottes for her noble men, and al her myghtie men were bound in chaines. |
| 3:11 | Also thou shalt bee drunken: thou shalt hide thy selfe, and shalt seeke helpe because of the enemie. |
| 3:12 | All thy strong cities shall be like figtrees with the first ripe figs: for if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. |
| 3:13 | Beholde, thy people within thee are women: the gates of thy land shalbe opened vnto thine enemies, and ye fire shall deuoure thy barres. |
| 3:14 | Drawe thee waters for the siege: fortifie thy strong holdes: go into the clay, and temper the morter: make strong bricke. |
| 3:15 | There shall ye fire deuoure thee: the sword shall cut thee off: it shall eate thee vp like the locustes, though thou bee multiplied like the locustes, and multiplyed like the grashopper. |
| 3:16 | Thou hast multiplied thy marchantes aboue the starres of heauen: the locust spoileth and flyeth away. |
| 3:17 | Thy princes are as the grashoppers, and thy captaines as the great grashoppers which remaine in the hedges in the colde day: but when the sunne ariseth, they flee away and their place is not knowen where they are. |
| 3:18 | Thy shepheardes doe sleepe, O King of Asshur: thy strong men lie downe: thy people is scattered vpon the mountaines, and no man gathereth them. |
| 3:19 | There is no healing of thy wounde: thy plague is grieuous: all that heare the brute of thee, shall clap the handes ouer thee: for vpon whome hath not thy malice passed continually? |
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.