Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 5:1 | The elders which are among you, I beseech which am also an elder, and a witnesse of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shalbe reueiled, |
| 5:2 | Feede the flocke of God, which dependeth vpon you, caring for it not by constraint, but willingly: not for filthy lucre, but of a ready minde: |
| 5:3 | Not as though ye were lords ouer Gods heritage, but that yee may bee ensamples to the flocke. |
| 5:4 | And when that chiefe shepheard shall appeare, ye shall receiue an incorruptible crowne of glory. |
| 5:5 | Likewise ye yonger, submit your selues vnto the elders, and submit your selues euery man, one to another: decke your selues inwardly in lowlinesse of minde: for God resisteth the proude, and giueth grace to the humble. |
| 5:6 | Humble your selues therefore vnder the mightie hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. |
| 5:7 | Cast all your care on him: for he careth for you. |
| 5:8 | Be sober, and watch: for your aduersarie the deuil as a roaring lyon walketh about, seeking whom he may deuoure: |
| 5:9 | Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren which are in the world. |
| 5:10 | And the God of all grace, which hath called vs vnto his eternall glory by Christ Iesus, after that ye haue suffered a litle, make you perfite, confirme, strengthen and stablish you. |
| 5:11 | To him be glory and dominion for euer and euer, Amen. |
| 5:12 | By Syluanus a faithfull brother vnto you, as I suppose, haue I written briefly, exhorting and testifying how that this is the true grace of God, wherein ye stand. |
| 5:13 | The Church that is at Babylon elected together with you, saluteth you, and Marcus my sonne. |
| 5:14 | Greete yee one another with the kisse of loue. Peace be with you all which are in Christ Iesus, Amen. |
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.