Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 9:1 | Wisdom built her house, she hewed out her seven pillars: |
| 9:2 | She slaughtered her slaughter; she mingled her wine; also she prepared her table. |
| 9:3 | She sent forth her girls: she will call upon the wings of the heights of the city, |
| 9:4 | Who the simple, he shall turn aside here: he wanting heart, she said to him, |
| 9:5 | Come ye, eat of my bread, and drink ye of the wine I mingled. |
| 9:6 | Forsake ye the foolish, and live; and go straight in the way of understanding. |
| 9:7 | He instructing him mocking received to himself dishonor: and he reproving to the unjust one, his blemish. |
| 9:8 | Thou shalt not reprove him mocking, lest he shall hate thee: reprove to the wise one and he will love thee. |
| 9:9 | Thou shalt give to the wise one and he will be more wise: make known to the just one and he will add receiving. |
| 9:10 | The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah, and the knowledge of the holy ones is understanding. |
| 9:11 | For in me thy days shall be multiplied, and years of life shall be added to thee. |
| 9:12 | If thou wert wise, thou wert wise for thyself: and thou mockedst, thou alone shalt suffer. |
| 9:13 | A woman of folly being noisy, simple, and she knew not anything. |
| 9:14 | And sitting at the door of her house, upon the throne of the heights of the city, |
| 9:15 | To call to those passing the way, making straight their paths: |
| 9:16 | Who is simple, he shall turn aside here: and he wanting heart, and she said to him, |
| 9:17 | Stolen waters will be sweet, and the bread of secrets shall be pleasant |
| 9:18 | And he knew not that there the shades; her called ones in the depths of hades |
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.