Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 8:1 | And Saul consented to his death, and at that time, there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Hierusalem, and they were all scattered abroad thorowe the regions of Iudea and of Samaria, except the Apostles. |
| 8:2 | Then certaine men fearing God, caried Steuen amongs them, to be buried, and made great lamentation for him. |
| 8:3 | But Saul made hauocke of the Church, and entred into euery house, and drewe out both men and women, and put them into prison. |
| 8:4 | Therefore they that were scattered abroad, went to and from preaching the worde. |
| 8:5 | Then came Philip into the citie of Samaria, and preached Christ vnto them. |
| 8:6 | And the people gaue heed vnto those things which Philippe spake, with one accorde, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. |
| 8:7 | For vncleane spirits crying with a loud voyce, came out of many that were possessed of them: and many taken with palsies, and that halted, were healed. |
| 8:8 | And there was great ioy in that citie. |
| 8:9 | And there was before in the citie a certaine man called Simon, which vsed witchcraft, and bewitched the people of Samaria, saying that he himselfe was some great man. |
| 8:10 | To whome they gaue heede from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is that great power of God. |
| 8:11 | And they gaue heed vnto him, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. |
| 8:12 | But assoone as they beleeued Philip, which preached the thinges that concerned the kingdome of God, and the Name of Iesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women. |
| 8:13 | Then Simon himselfe beleeued also and was baptized, and continued with Philippe, and wondred, when he sawe the signes and great miracles which were done. |
| 8:14 | Nowe when the Apostles, which were at Hierusalem, heard say, that Samaria had receiued the worde of God, they sent vnto them Peter and Iohn. |
| 8:15 | Which whe they were come downe, prayed for them, that they might receiue the holy Ghost. |
| 8:16 | (For as yet, hee was fallen downe on none of them, but they were baptized onely in the Name of the Lord Iesus.) |
| 8:17 | Then layd they their handes on them, and they receiued the holy Ghost. |
| 8:18 | And when Simon sawe, that through laying on of the Apostles hands the holy Ghost was giuen, he offred them money, |
| 8:19 | Saying, Giue mee also this power, that on whomsoeuer I lay the handes, he may receiue the holy Ghost. |
| 8:20 | Then saide Peter vnto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou thinkest that the gift of God may be obteined with money. |
| 8:21 | Thou hast neither part nor fellowship in this businesse: for thine heart is not right in the sight of God. |
| 8:22 | Repent therefore of this thy wickednes, and pray God, that if it be possible, the thought of thine heart may be forgiuen thee. |
| 8:23 | For I see that thou art in the gall of bitternes, and in the bonde of iniquitie. |
| 8:24 | Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye haue spoken, come vpon me. |
| 8:25 | So they, when they had testified and preached the worde of the Lord, returned to Hierusalem, and preached the Gospel in many townes of the Samaritans. |
| 8:26 | Then the Angel of the Lord spake vnto Philip, saying, Arise, and goe towarde the South vnto the way that goeth downe from Hierusalem vnto Gaza, which is waste. |
| 8:27 | And hee arose and went on: and beholde, a certaine Eunuche of Ethiopia, Candaces the Queene of the Ethiopians chiefe Gouernour, who had the rule of all her treasure, and came to Hierusalem to worship: |
| 8:28 | And as he returned sitting in his charet, he read Esaias the Prophet. |
| 8:29 | Then the Spirit said vnto Philip, Goe neere and ioyne thy selfe to yonder charet. |
| 8:30 | And Philip ranne thither, and heard him reade the Prophet Esaias, and said, But vnderstandest thou what thou readest? |
| 8:31 | And he saide, Howe can I, except I had a guide? And he desired Philip, that he would come vp and sit with him. |
| 8:32 | Nowe the place of the Scripture which he read, was this, Hee was lead as a sheepe to the slaughter: and like a lambe domme before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. |
| 8:33 | In his humilitie his iudgement hath bene exalted: but who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. |
| 8:34 | Then the Eunuche answered Philippe, and saide, I pray thee of whome speaketh the Prophet this? of himselfe, or of some other man? |
| 8:35 | Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached vnto him Iesus. |
| 8:36 | And as they went on their way, they came vnto a certaine water, and the Eunuche said, See, here is water: what doeth let me to be baptized? |
| 8:37 | And Philippe said vnto him, If thou beleeuest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Then he answered, and saide, I beleeue that that Iesus Christ is that Sonne of God. |
| 8:38 | Then he commanded the charet to stand stil: and they went downe both into the water, both Philip and the Eunuche, and he baptized him. |
| 8:39 | And assoone as they were come vp out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the Eunuche sawe him no more: so he went on his way reioycing. |
| 8:40 | But Philippe was found at Azotus, and he walked to and from preaching in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea. |
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.