Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 2:1 | Collect yourselves together and be ye collected, O nation not ashamed; |
| 2:2 | Before the law bring forth, as the chaff the day passing away before the burning of the anger of Jehovah shall not come upon you, before the day of the anger of Jehovah shall not come upon you. |
| 2:3 | Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the earth, who did his judgment; seek justice, seek humility: perhaps ye shall be covered in the day of the anger of Jehovah. |
| 2:4 | For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon for a desolation: they shall thrust out Ashdod at noon, and Ekron shall be rooted up. |
| 2:5 | Wo! to the inhabitants of the region of the sea, the nation of the Cherethites: the word of Jehovah is upon you, O Canaan, the land of the rovers, and I destroyed thee from none inhabiting. |
| 2:6 | And the region of the sea was a dwelling, and a cutting off of the shepherds and sheepfolds. |
| 2:7 | And the region was for the remnant of the house of Judah; upon them they shall feed: in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening: for Jehovah their God shall review them, and turn back their captivity. |
| 2:8 | I heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon which they reproached my people, and they will magnify against their border. |
| 2:9 | For this. I live, says Jehovah of armies, God of Israel, for Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, the possession of the thorn-bush and salt-pits, and a desolation even to forever: the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the rest of my nation shall inherit them. |
| 2:10 | This to them for their pride, for they reproached and they will magnify against the people of Jehovah of armies. |
| 2:11 | God being terrible to them, for he made lean all the gods of the earth; and they shall worship to him each from his place, all the isles of the nations. |
| 2:12 | Also ye Cushites, they being wounded by my sword. |
| 2:13 | And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and he will destroy Assur; and he will set Nineveh for a desolation, a dryness as the desert |
| 2:14 | And the flocks lay down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: also the pelican, also the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall sing in the window; desolation in the threshold: for the cedar was naked. |
| 2:15 | This the exulting city dwelling confidently, saying in her heart, I, and none besides me. How was she for a desolation, a piece of lying down for the beast! all passing by her shall hiss and wave his hand. |
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.