Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 1:1 | The wordes of Nehemia the sonne of Hachalia. It fortuned in the moneth Chisleu in the twentie yere, that I was in the castell at Susan: |
| 1:2 | & Hanani one of my brethren came with certayne men of Iuda, and I asked them how the Iewes dyd that were delyuered an escaped from the captyute, and how it went at Ierusalem. |
| 1:3 | And they sayde vnto me: The remnaunt of the captyuyte are there in the lande in greate misfortune and rebuke. The wall of Ierusalem also is broken downe, and the gates therof are brent with fyre. |
| 1:4 | It fortuned, that when I hearde these wordes, I sat me downe and wepte, and mourned certayne dayes, & fasted, & prayed before the God of heauen, |
| 1:5 | & sayde, O Lorde God of heauen, thou greate & terrible God, thou that kepest couenaunt and mercy for them that loueth the, and obserue thy commaundementes: |
| 1:6 | let thyne eares hearken, I beseche the, and let thyne eyes be open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruauntes, whych I praye now before the, daye & nyghte, for the chyldren of Israel thy seruauntes, and knowledge the synnes of the chyldren of Israel, which we haue synned agaynst the. I and my fathers house haue synned. |
| 1:7 | We haue bene vtterly dispersed from thy lawe, and haue not kepte the commaundementes, statutes and lawes, which thou commaundedst thy seruaunt Moses. |
| 1:8 | I besech the, call to remembraunce the worde that thou commaundedst thy seruaunt Moses, & saydest: Ye wyll transgresse, and I will scater you abroade among the nacions. |
| 1:9 | But yf ye turne vnto me, and kepe my commaundementes & do them: though ye were cast out vnto the vttermost parte of heauen, yet will I gather you from thence, and wyll brynge you vnto the place, that I haue chosen to set my name there. |
| 1:10 | They are thy seruauntes, and thy people, whom thou hast deliuered thorowe thy great power & in thy myghtie hand. |
| 1:11 | O Lord, I besech the, let thyne eare herken to the prayer of thy seruaunt, and to the prayer of thy seruauntes, whose desyre is to feare thy name, and let thy seruaunt prospere this daye, and graunte hym mercy in the syght of thys man: for I was the kynges buttelar. |
The Great Bible 1539
The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, working under commission of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."