Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 26:1 | Then Agrippa sayd vnto Paul, Thou art permitted to speake for thy selfe. So Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himselfe. |
| 26:2 | I thinke my selfe happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answere this day before thee of all the things whereof I am accused of the Iewes. |
| 26:3 | Chiefly, because thou hast knowledge of all customes, and questions which are among the Iewes: wherefore I beseech thee, to heare me patiently. |
| 26:4 | As touching my life from my childhood, and what it was from the beginning among mine owne nation at Hierusalem, know all the Iewes, |
| 26:5 | Which knewe me heretofore, euen from my elders (if they would testifie) that after the most straite sect of our religion I liued a Pharise. |
| 26:6 | And now I stand and am accused for the hope of the promise made of God vnto our fathers. |
| 26:7 | Whereunto our twelue tribes instantly seruing God day and night, hope to come: for the which hopes sake, O King Agrippa, I am accused of the Iewes. |
| 26:8 | Why should it be thought a thing incredible vnto you, that God should raise againe the dead? |
| 26:9 | I also verely thought in my selfe, that I ought to doe many contrarie things against the Name of Iesus of Nazareth. |
| 26:10 | Which thing I also did in Hierusalem: for many of the Saints I shut vp in prison, hauing receiued authoritie of the hie Priests, and when they were put to death, I gaue my sentence. |
| 26:11 | And I punished them throughout all the Synagogues, and compelled them to blaspheme, and being more mad against them, I persecuted them, euen vnto strange cities. |
| 26:12 | At which time, euen as I went to Damascus with authoritie, and commission from the hie Priests, |
| 26:13 | At midday, O King, I sawe in the way a light from heauen, passing the brightnes of the sunne, shine round about mee, and them which went with me. |
| 26:14 | So when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voyce speaking vnto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kicke against pricks. |
| 26:15 | Then I sayd, Who art thou, Lord? And he sayd, I am Iesus whom thou persecutest. |
| 26:16 | But rise and stand vp on thy feete: for I haue appeared vnto thee for this purpose, to appoint thee a minister and a witnesse, both of the things which thou hast seene, and of the things in the which I will appeare vnto thee, |
| 26:17 | Deliuering thee from this people, and from the Gentiles, vnto whom now I send thee, |
| 26:18 | To open their eyes, that they may turne from darknes to light, and from the power of Satan vnto God, that they may receiue forgiuenes of sinnes, and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by fayth in me. |
| 26:19 | Wherefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient vnto the heauenly vision, |
| 26:20 | But shewed first vnto them of Damascus, and at Hierusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Iudea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turne to God, and doe workes worthy amendment of life. |
| 26:21 | For this cause the Iewes caught me in the Temple, and went about to kill me. |
| 26:22 | Neuertheles, I obteined helpe of God, and continue vnto this day, witnessing both to small and to great, saying none other things, then those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come, |
| 26:23 | To wit, that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light vnto this people, and to the Gentiles. |
| 26:24 | And as he thus answered for himselfe, Festus said with a loude voyce, Paul, thou art besides thy selfe: much learning doeth make thee mad. |
| 26:25 | But he said, I am not mad, O noble Festus, but I speake the wordes of trueth and sobernes. |
| 26:26 | For the King knoweth of these things, before whom also I speake boldly: for I am perswaded that none of these things are hidden from him: for this thing was not done in a corner. |
| 26:27 | O King Agrippa, beleeuest thou the Prophets? I know that thou beleeuest. |
| 26:28 | Then Agrippa said vnto Paul, Almost thou perswadest me to become a Christian. |
| 26:29 | Then Paul sayd, I would to God that not onely thou, but also all that heare me to day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. |
| 26:30 | And when he had thus spoken, the King rose vp, and the gouernour, and Bernice, and they that sate with them. |
| 26:31 | And when they were gone apart, they talked betweene themselues, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death, nor of bonds. |
| 26:32 | Then sayd Agrippa vnto Festus, This man might haue bene loosed, if hee had not appealed vnto Cesar. |
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.