Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 34:1 | To David in his changing his understanding before A bimelech; and he will drive him out, and he will go. I will praise Jehovah in all time: always his praise in my mouth. |
| 34:2 | in Jehovah my soul shall glory, the humble shall hear and rejoice. |
| 34:3 | Magnify to Jehovah with me, and we will exalt his name together. |
| 34:4 | I sought Jehovah and he answered me, and from all my fears he delivered me. |
| 34:5 | They looked to him and were bright, and their faces shall not be ashamed. |
| 34:6 | This poor one called, and Jehovah heard, and from all his straits he saved him. |
| 34:7 | Behold, the messenger of Jehovah surrounding to those fearing him, and he will deliver them. |
| 34:8 | Taste ye and see that Jehovah is good: happy the man who shall put his trust in him. |
| 34:9 | Fear Jehovah, ye his holy ones; for no want to those fearing him. |
| 34:10 | The young lions suffered want and were hungry: and they seeking Jehovah shall not want any good. |
| 34:11 | Come, ye sons, hear to me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah. |
| 34:12 | Who the man desiring life, loving days, to see good? |
| 34:13 | Watch thy tongue from evil; and thy lips from speaking deceit |
| 34:14 | Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it |
| 34:15 | The eyes of Jehovah upon the just, and his ears to their cries. |
| 34:16 | The face of Jehovah against those doing evil, to cut off their remembrance from the earth. |
| 34:17 | They cried and Jehovah heard, and he delivered them from all their straits. |
| 34:18 | Jehovah is near to the broken of heart, and he will save the humble of spirit |
| 34:19 | Many the evils of the just one, and Jehovah will deliver him from all of them. |
| 34:20 | He watched all his bones: one of them was not broken. |
| 34:21 | Evil shall slay the unjust one: and they hating the just one shall transgress. |
| 34:22 | Jehovah redeems the soul of his servants: and all trusting in him shall not transgress. |
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.