Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 4:1 | Dearely beloued, beleeue not euery spirit, but trie the spirits whether they are of God: for many false prophets are gone out into this worlde. |
| 4:2 | Hereby shall ye know the Spirit of God, Euery spirit which confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God. |
| 4:3 | And euery spirit that confesseth not that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God: but this is the spirit of Antichrist, of whome ye haue heard, how that he should come, and nowe already he is in this world. |
| 4:4 | Litle children, ye are of God, and haue ouercome them: for greater is he that is in you, then he that is in this world. |
| 4:5 | They are of this worlde, therefore speake they of this world, and this world heareth them. |
| 4:6 | We are of God, he that knoweth God, heareth vs: he that is not of God, heareth vs not. Heereby knowe wee the spirit of trueth, and the spirit of errour. |
| 4:7 | Beloued, let vs loue one another: for loue commeth of God, and euery one that loueth, is borne of God, and knoweth God. |
| 4:8 | Hee that loueth not, knoweth not God: for God is loue. |
| 4:9 | Herein was that loue of God made manifest amongst vs, because God sent that his onely begotten sonne into this world, that we might liue through him. |
| 4:10 | Herein is that loue, not that we loued God, but that he loued vs, and sent his Sonne to be a reconciliation for our sinnes. |
| 4:11 | Beloued, if God so loued vs, we ought also to loue one another. |
| 4:12 | No man hath seene God at any time. If we loue one another, God dwelleth in vs, and his loue is perfect in vs. |
| 4:13 | Hereby know we, that we dwell in him, and he in vs: because he hath giuen vs of his Spirit. |
| 4:14 | And we haue seene, and doe testifie, that the Father sent that Sonne to be ye Sauiour of the world. |
| 4:15 | Whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the Sone of God, in him dwelleth God, and he in God. |
| 4:16 | And we haue knowen, and beleeued ye loue that God hath in vs. God is loue, and he that dwelleth in loue, dwelleth in God, and God in him. |
| 4:17 | Herein is that loue perfect in vs, that we should haue boldnes in the day of iudgement: for as he is, euen so are we in this world. |
| 4:18 | There is no feare in loue, but perfect loue casteth out feare: for feare hath painefulnesse: and he that feareth, is not perfect in loue. |
| 4:19 | We loue him, because he loued vs first. |
| 4:20 | If any man say, I loue God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for how can he that loueth not his brother whom he hath seene, loue God whom he hath not seene? |
| 4:21 | And this commandement haue we of him, that he that loueth God, should loue his brother also. |
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.