Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 32:1 | To David, wisdom. Happy the taking away of transgression, the covering of sin. |
| 32:2 | Happy the man Jehovah will not reckon sin to him, and no deceit in his spirit |
| 32:3 | If I was silent, my bones fell away in my groaning all the day. |
| 32:4 | For day and night thy hand will be heavy upon me: my moisture was turned into the dryness of summer. Silence. |
| 32:5 | I will make known to thee my sin, and mine iniquity I hid not I said, I will confess upon my transgression to Jehovah; and thou didst take away the iniquity of my sin. Silence. |
| 32:6 | For this all the godly shall pray to thee for the time of finding: only for the inundation of many waters they shall not draw near to him. |
| 32:7 | Thou a covering to me, from straits thou wilt watch me; thou wilt surround me with rejoicings of deliverance. Silence. |
| 32:8 | I will make thee wise, and teach thee in the way. which thou shalt go: I will counsel mine eyes upon thee. |
| 32:9 | Ye shall not be as the horse, as the mule, not understanding: with bit and curb to stop his youth, not drawing near to thee. |
| 32:10 | Many the sorrows to the unjust one: and he trusting in Jehovah, mercy shall surround him. |
| 32:11 | Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye just: and shout for joy, all ye upright of heart. |
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.