Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 4:1 | So I turned me, & considred all the violent wrong that is done vnder the sunne, & beholde, the teares of soch as were oppressed, & there was no man to conforte them, or that wolde delyuer & defende them from the violence of their oppressours. |
| 4:2 | Wherfore I iudged those that are deed, to be more happye then soch as be alyue: |
| 4:3 | yee, him that is yet vnborne to be better at ease then they both, because he seyth not the miserable worckes that are done vnder the sunne. |
| 4:4 | Agayne, I sawe that all trauayle, & dilygence of labour, that euery man taketh in hande, was done of enuy agaynst his neyboure This is also a vaine thinge, and a vexacion of mynde. |
| 4:5 | The foole foldeth his handes together, and eateth vp hys awne fleshe. |
| 4:6 | One hande full (sayeth he) is better with rest, then both the handes full with laboure & trauayle of minde. |
| 4:7 | Moreouer, I turned me, & beholde yet another vanyte vnder the Sunne. |
| 4:8 | There is one man, no mo but hym selfe alone, hauyng nether chylde ner brother: yet is there no ende of his carefull trauayle, his eyes can not be satysfyed with riches, For whom do I take soch trauayle? For whose pleasure do I thus consume awaye my lyfe? This is also a vayne & myserable thinge? |
| 4:9 | Therfore, two are better then one, for they maye well enioye the profyt of theyr laboure. |
| 4:10 | For If one of them fall, his companyon helpeth him vp agayne: But wo is him that is alone, for yf he fall, he hath not another to helpe him vp. |
| 4:11 | Agayne, when two slepe together, they are warme: but how can a body be warme alone? |
| 4:12 | One maye be ouercome, but two maye make resistaunce: A threfold cable is not lyghtly broken. |
| 4:13 | A poore childe beynge wyse, is better then an olde kynge, that doteth, and cannot beware in tyme to come. |
| 4:14 | Some one commeth out of preson, and is made a kynge: and another which is borne in the kyngdome, commeth vnto pouerte. |
| 4:15 | And I perceaued, that all men lyuynge vnder the sonne, go with the seconde childe, that shall stonde vp in the steade of the other. |
| 4:16 | As for the people that haue bene before him, and that come after hym, they are innumerable: And they that come after him shall not reioyse of him. This is also a vayne thynge & a vexacyon of mynde. |
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."