Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 17:1 | Prayer of David. Hear justice, O Jehovah, attend to my outcry, give ear to my prayer, not in lips of deceit. |
| 17:2 | From thy face shall my judgment go forth; thine eyes will see uprightnesses. |
| 17:3 | Thou didst try my heart; thou didst review the night; thou didst refine me, thou wilt find nothing: I purposed, my mouth shall not pass by. |
| 17:4 | For the works of men, by the word of thy lips I watched the ways of the violent one. |
| 17:5 | Hold up my being straight in thy ways, my steps be not moved |
| 17:6 | I called thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God: incline thine ear to me, hear my sayings. |
| 17:7 | Make thy kindnesses distinguished, thou saving those putting their trust, from those rising up against thy right hand. |
| 17:8 | Watch me as the pupil of the daughter of the eye: thou wilt hide me in the shadow of thy wings. |
| 17:9 | From the face of the unjust that laid me waste, enemies against the soul will go round about against me. |
| 17:10 | They shut up their fat: their mouth spake in pride. |
| 17:11 | We went straight, now they surrounded us: their eyes they will set to incline to the earth; |
| 17:12 | His likeness as a lion will long for the prey, and as a young lion dwelling in secret places. |
| 17:13 | Arise, O Jehovah, anticipate his face, cast him down: deliver my soul from the unjust, thy sword. |
| 17:14 | From men of thy hand, O Jehovah, from men of this world their portion in life, and thou wilt fill their belly with thy hidden things: they will be filled with sons, they left the remaining things to their children. |
| 17:15 | I in justice shall see thy face: I shall be satisfied in awaking with thine appearance. |
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
The Julia Evelina Smith Parker Translation is considered the first complete translation of the Bible into English by a woman. The Bible was titled The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues, and was published in 1876.
Julia Smith, of Glastonbury, Connecticut had a working knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Her father had been a Congregationalist minister before he became a lawyer. Having read the Bible in its original languages, she set about creating her own translation, which she completed in 1855, after a number of drafts. The work is a strictly literal rendering, always translating a Greek or Hebrew word with the same word wherever possible. Smith accomplished this work on her own in the span of eight years (1847 to 1855). She had sought out no help in the venture, even writing, "I do not see that anybody can know more about it than I do." Smith's insistence on complete literalness, plus an effort to translate each original word with the same English word, combined with an odd notion of Hebrew tenses (often translating the Hebrew imperfect tense with the English future) results in a translation that is mechanical and often nonsensical. However, such a translation if overly literal might be valuable to consult in checking the meaning of some individual verse. One notable feature of this translation was the prominent use of the Divine Name, Jehovah, throughout the Old Testament of this Bible version.
In 1876, at 84 years of age some 21 years after completing her work, she finally sought publication. The publication costs ($4,000) were personally funded by Julia and her sister Abby Smith. The 1,000 copies printed were offered for $2.50 each, but her household auction in 1884 sold about 50 remaining copies.
The translation fell into obscurity as it was for the most part too literal and lacked any flow. For example, Jer. 22:23 was given as follows: "Thou dwelling in Lebanon, building as nest in the cedars, how being compassionated in pangs coming to thee the pain as in her bringing forth." However, the translation was the only Contemporary English translation out of the original languages available to English readers until the publication of The British Revised Version in 1881-1894.(The New testament was published in 1881, the Old in 1884, and the Apocrypha in 1894.) This makes it an invaluable Bible for its period.