Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 4:1 | And I turned back, and I shall see all the oppressions which are doing under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and none comforting to them; and from the hand of those oppressing them was power, and none comforting to them. |
| 4:2 | And I praise the dead already dead more than the living they yet living. |
| 4:3 | And good above them two which were not yet, which saw not the evil work which was done under the sun. |
| 4:4 | And I saw all the labor and all the success of the work, for this the jealousy of a man from his neighbor. Also this is vanity and striving of spirit. |
| 4:5 | The foolish one folded his hands together, and ate his flesh. |
| 4:6 | Good a hand filled with rest, above two hands full of labor and striving of spirit. |
| 4:7 | And I turned back, and I shall see vanity under the sun. |
| 4:8 | There is one, and not a second; also a son and brother not to him: and no end to all his labor; also his eye shall not be satisfied with riches: and for whom do I labor and diminish my soul from good? Also this is vanity, and it is an evil labor. |
| 4:9 | Two are good above one, because there is to them a good reward in their labor. |
| 4:10 | For if they shall fall, the one will raise up his companion: and wo to him, the one that shall fall, and not a second to raise him up. |
| 4:11 | Also if two shall lie down, and heat to them: and to the one it shall not be warm. |
| 4:12 | And if one shall become strong against him, two shall stand before him; and a three-fold thread shall not be quickly broken. |
| 4:13 | Good a poor and wise child above an old and foolish king, who knew not more to receive instruction. |
| 4:14 | For from the house of those turning away he came forth to reign; for also he being born in his kingdom became poor. |
| 4:15 | I saw all the living going under the sun, with the second child which shall stand in his stead. |
| 4:16 | No end to all the people, to all which were before them: also the last ones shall not rejoice in him. For also this is vanity and striving of the spirit |
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.