Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 1:1 | Thys is the worde of the Lorde, that came vnto Ioell the sonne of Phatuel. |
| 1:2 | Heare, O yee elders: pondre this well, all ye that dwell in the lande: yf euer there happened soch a thinge in your dayes, or in the dayes of youre fathers. |
| 1:3 | Tell youre chyldren of it, and lett them shewe it vnto their chyldren, and so they to certifye theyr posteryte therof. |
| 1:4 | Loke what the caterpyller hath lefte, that hath the greshoper eaten vp: what the greshoper lefte, that hath the locuste eaten vp: and what the locuste hath left, that hath the blastynge consumed. |
| 1:5 | Wake vp ye dronckardes, and wepe: mourne all ye wynesuppers, because of youre swete wyne, for it shall be taken awaye from youre mouth. |
| 1:6 | Yee, a myghtye and an innumerable people shall come vp into my lande: these haue teeth lyke the teeth of lyons, and chaftbones lyke the lyonesses. |
| 1:7 | They shall make my vyneyarde waste, they shall pyll of the darckes of my fyggetrees, strype them bare, cast them awaye, and make the braunches whyte. |
| 1:8 | Make thy moone as a vyrgin doth that gyrdeth her selfe with sacke, because of her bryde grome. |
| 1:9 | For the meate and drynckoffringe shalbe taken awaye from the house of the Lorde, and the prestes the Lordes minysters shall mourne. |
| 1:10 | The felde shalbe wasted, the lande shalbe in a myserable case: for the corne shalbe destroyed, the swete wyne shall come to confusyon, and the oyle vtterly desolate. |
| 1:11 | The housbandmen and the wyne gardeners shall loke pyteously and make lamentacyon, for the wheate, wyne and barly, and because the haruest vpon the felde is so clene destroyed. |
| 1:12 | The grapegatherers shall make greate mone, when the vyneyarde and fyggetrees be so vtterly wasted. Yee, all the pomgarnettes, palmetrees, apletrees, & the other trees of the felde shall wyther awaye. Thus the mery cheare of the chyldren of men, shall come to confusyon. |
| 1:13 | Gyrde you, and make youre mone, O ye prestes, mourne ye minystres of the aulter: goo your waye in, and slepe in sack cloth, O ye officiers of my God: for the meat & drinkofferinge shall be taken awaye from the house of youre God. |
| 1:14 | Proclayme a fastinge, call the congregacyon, gather the elders and all the inhabitours of the lande together into the house of the Lorde your God, and crye vnto the Lorde: |
| 1:15 | alas, alas for thys daye. And why? the daye of the Lorde is at hande, and cometh as a destroyer from the almyghtye. |
| 1:16 | Shall not the meates be taken awaye before oure eyes, the myrth also and ioye from the house of our God? |
| 1:17 | The sede shall peryshe in the grounde, the garners shall lye waste, the flores shalbe broken downe, for the corne shall be destroyed. |
| 1:18 | O what a syghynge make the kyne? the bullockes are very euell lykynge, because they haue no pasture: and the shepe are famysshed awaye. |
| 1:19 | O Lorde, to the wyll I crye: for the fyre hath consumed the goodly pastures of the wyldernes, and the flame hath brent vp all the trees of the felde. |
| 1:20 | Yee, the wylde beastes crye also vnto the: for the water riuers are dryed vp, and the fyre hath consumed the pastures of the wyldernesse. |
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."