Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 14:1 | Nowe Samson went downe to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistims, |
| 14:2 | And he came vp and told his father and his mother and saide, I haue seene a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistims: now therfore giue me her to wife. |
| 14:3 | Then his father and his mother sayde vnto him, Is there neuer a wife among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, that thou must go to take a wife of the vncircumcised Philistims? And Samson sayd vnto his father, Giue mee her, for she pleaseth me well. |
| 14:4 | But his father and his mother knewe not that it came of the Lord, that he should seeke an occasion against the Philistims: for at that time the Philistims reigned ouer Israel. |
| 14:5 | Then went Samson and his father and his mother downe to Timnath, and came to ye vineyardes at Timnath: and beholde, a young Lyon roared vpon him. |
| 14:6 | And the Spirit of the Lord came vpon him, and he tare him, as one should haue rent a kid, and had nothing in his hand, neither told he his father nor his mother what he had done. |
| 14:7 | And he went down, and talked with the woman which was beautifull in the eyes of Samson. |
| 14:8 | And within a fewe dayes, when he returned to receiue her, he went aside to see the karkeis of the Lion: and behold, there was a swarme of bees, and hony in the body of the Lyon. |
| 14:9 | And he tooke therof in his handes, and went eating, and came to his father and to his mother, and gaue vnto them, and they did eate: but hee told not them, that he had taken the hony out of the body of the lyon. |
| 14:10 | So his father went down vnto the woman, and Samson made there a feast: for so vsed the yong men to doe. |
| 14:11 | And when they sawe him, they brought thirtie companions to be with him. |
| 14:12 | Then Samson sayd vnto them, I will nowe put forth a riddle vnto you: and if you can declare it me within seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, I will giue you thirty sheetes, and thirtie change of garments. |
| 14:13 | But if you cannot declare it mee, then shall yee giue mee thirty sheetes and thirtie change of garments. And they answered him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may heare it. |
| 14:14 | And he sayd vnto them, Out of the eater came meate, and out of the strong came sweetenesse: and they could not in three dayes expound the riddle. |
| 14:15 | And when the seuenth day was come, they said vnto Samsons wife, Entise thine husband, that he may declare vs the riddle, lest wee burne thee and thy fathers house with fire. Haue ye called vs, to possesse vs? is it not so? |
| 14:16 | And Samsons wife wept before him, and said, Surely thou hatest mee and louest mee not: for thou hast put forth a riddle vnto the children of my people, and hast not told it mee. And hee sayd vnto her, Beholde, I haue not told it my father, nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee? |
| 14:17 | Then Samsons wife wept before him seuen dayes, while their feast lasted: and when the seuenth day came he tolde her, because she was importunate vpon him: so she told the riddle to the children of her people. |
| 14:18 | And the men of ye citie sayde vnto him the seuenth day before the Sunne went downe, What is sweeter then honie? and what is stronger then a lyon? Then sayd hee vnto them, If yee had not plowed with my heiffer, yee had not found out my riddle. |
| 14:19 | And the Spirite of the Lord came vpon him, and he went downe to Ashkelon, and slew thirtie men of them and spoyled them, and gaue chaunge of garments vnto them, which expounded the riddle: and his wrath was kindled, and he went vp to his fathers house. |
| 14:20 | Then Samsons wife was giuen to his companion, whom he had vsed as his friend. |
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.