Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 1:1 | Paul a seruaunt of God, and an Apostle of Iesus Christ, according to the faith of Gods elect, and the acknowledging of the trueth, which is according vnto godlines, |
| 1:2 | Vnto the hope of eternall life, which God that cannot lie, hath promised before the world began: |
| 1:3 | But hath made his worde manifest in due time through the preaching, which is committed vnto me, according to the commandement of God our Sauiour: |
| 1:4 | To Titus my naturall sonne according to the common faith, Grace, mercie and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Iesus Christ our Sauiour. |
| 1:5 | For this cause left I thee in Creta, that thou shouldest continue to redresse the thinges that remaine, and shouldest ordeine Elders in euery citie, as I appointed thee, |
| 1:6 | If any be vnreproueable, the husband of one wife, hauing faithfull children, which are not slandered of riot, neither are disobedient. |
| 1:7 | For a Bishop must bee vnreproueable, as Gods steward, not froward, not angrie, not giuen to wine, no striker, not giuen to filthie lucre, |
| 1:8 | But harberous, one that loueth goodnesse, wise, righteous, holy, temperate, |
| 1:9 | Holding fast that faithfull worde according to doctrine, that he also may bee able to exhort with wholesome doctrine, and conuince them that say against it. |
| 1:10 | For there are many disobedient and vaine talkers and deceiuers of mindes, chiefly they of the Circumcision, |
| 1:11 | Whose mouthes must bee stopped, which subuert whole houses, teaching things, which they ought not, for filthie lucres sake. |
| 1:12 | One of themselues, euen one of their owne prophets said, The Cretians are alwaies liars, euill beastes, slowe bellies. |
| 1:13 | This witnesse is true: wherefore conuince them sharply, that they may be sound in ye faith, |
| 1:14 | And not taking heede to Iewish fables and commandements of men, that turne away from the trueth. |
| 1:15 | Vnto the pure are all things pure, but vnto them that are defiled, and vnbeleeuing, is nothing pure, but euen their mindes and consciences are defiled. |
| 1:16 | They professe that they know God, but by works they deny him, and are abominable and disobedient, and vnto euery good worke reprobate. |
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.