Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 10:1 | Ask ye from Jehovah rain in the time of the latter rain; Jehovah made lightnings, and he will give rain of heavy showers to them, to each the green herb in the field. |
| 10:2 | For the family gods spake vanity, and the diviners saw falsehood, and they will speak dreams of falsehood they will comfort in vain: for this, they removed as a flock, they were afflicted for there was no shepherd. |
| 10:3 | Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I will review upon the he goats: for Jehovah of armies reviewed upon his flock the house of Judah, as the house of his strength in the war. |
| 10:4 | From him the chief, from him the nail, from him the bow of war, from him came forth every tyrant together. |
| 10:5 | And they were as the strong treading down in the mud of the streets in the battle: and they waged war, for Jehovah was with them, and they riding horses were ashamed. |
| 10:6 | And I strengthened the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I turned them back for I cornpassionated them, and they were as if I cast them not off: for I am Jehovah their God, and I will answer them. |
| 10:7 | And they were as the strong one of Ephraim, and their heart rejoiced as from wine: and their sons shall see, and rejoice; their heart shall exult in Jehovah. |
| 10:8 | I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I redeemed them: and they multiplied as they multiplied. |
| 10:9 | And I will sow them among the peoples, and in distant places shall they remember me: and they lived with their sons, and turned back. |
| 10:10 | And I turned them back from the hind of Egypt, and from Assur will I gather them, and to the land of Gilead and Lebanon will I bring them; and it shall not be found for them. |
| 10:11 | And he passed through the sea of straits, and he struck the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river dried up; and the pride of Assur was brought down, and the rod of Egypt shall depart |
| 10:12 | And I strengthened them in Jehovah; and in his name shall they go about, says Jehovah. |
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.