Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 1:1 | Iames the seruaunt of God & of the Lorde Iesus Christ, sendeth gretyng to the twelue trybes which are scattered abroade. |
| 1:2 | My brethren, count it for an excedyng ioye, when ye fall into diuers temptacyons: |
| 1:3 | knowyng this, that the trying of your fayth gendreth pacience: |
| 1:4 | and let pacience haue her parfect worke, that ye maye be parfecte and sounde, lackyng nothyng. |
| 1:5 | If eny of you lacke wysdome, let hym aske of him that geueth it: euen God, which geueth to all men indifferentlye, and casteth no man in the teeth: and it shalbe geuen him. |
| 1:6 | But let him aske in fayth, and wauer not, For he that douteth, is lyke a waue of the see, which is tost of the wyndes and caryed with violence. |
| 1:7 | Nether let that man thinke, that he shall receaue eny thing of the Lorde. |
| 1:8 | A wauerynng mynded man, is vnstable in all his wayes. |
| 1:9 | Let the brother which is of lowe degre reioyce whan he is exalted. |
| 1:10 | Agayne: let hym that is riche, reioyce whan he is made lowe. For euen as the flower of the grasse, shall he passe awaye. |
| 1:11 | For as the sonne ryseth with heat, & the grasse wydereth, & hys flower falleth awaye, and the beautie of the fassyon of it perissheth: euen so shall the rich man perisshe in his wayes. |
| 1:12 | Happy is the man that endureth temptacyon: for when he is tryed, he shall receaue the crowne of lyfe, which the Lorde hath promysed to them that loue hym. |
| 1:13 | Let no man saye when he is tempted, that he is tempted of God, for as God can not be tempted with euill, so nether he hymselfe tempt the eny man. |
| 1:14 | But euery man is tempted, whan he is drawne awaye, & entysed of hys awne concupiscence. |
| 1:15 | Then, when lust hath conceaued, she bryngeth forth synne: & synne when it is finisshed, bryngeth forth deeth. |
| 1:16 | Do not erre my deare brethren, |
| 1:17 | Euery good gyfte, and euery parfayt gyft, is from aboue, and commeth downe from the father of lyghtes wt whome is no variablenes, nether is he chaunged vnto darcknes. |
| 1:18 | Of hys awne wyll begat he vs with the worde of trueth, that we shulde be the fyrst frutes of hys creatures. |
| 1:19 | Wherfore (deare brethren) let euery man be swyfte to heare, slowe to speake, slowe to wrath. |
| 1:20 | For the wrath of man worketh not that which is ryghteous before God. |
| 1:21 | Wherfore laye a parte all fylthynes & superfluyte of maliciousnes, and receaue wt meknes, the worde that is graffed in you, which is able to saue your soules. |
| 1:22 | And se that ye be doars of the worde & not hearers onely, deceauing your awne selues. |
| 1:23 | For yf eny man heare the worde and declareth not the same by his workes, he is lyke vnto a man beholding his bodely face in a glasse. |
| 1:24 | For assone as he hath loked on hym selfe, he goeth his waye, & forgetteth immediatly what hys fassyon was. |
| 1:25 | But who so loketh in the parfayt lawe of libertye, and contynueth therin (yf he be not a forget full hearer, but a doar of the worke) the same shalbe happye in his dede. |
| 1:26 | If eny man among you seme to be deuoute &, refrayneth not hys tong, but deceaueth hys awne hert, thys mannes deuocyon is in vayne. |
| 1:27 | Pure deuocyon and vndefyled before God the father, is this: to visyt the fatherlesse & widdowes in theyr aduersyte, & to kepe him selfe vnspotted of the worlde. |
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."