Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 15:1 | And all publicans and sinful were drawing near him to hear him. |
| 15:2 | And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, That this receives the sinful, and eats together with them. |
| 15:3 | And he spake this parable to them, saying, |
| 15:4 | What man of you, having one hundred. sheep, and having lost one of them, leaves not the ninety-nine in the desert, and goes for the one lost, till he find it |
| 15:5 | And having found, he puts upon his shoulders, rejoicing. |
| 15:6 | And having come into the house, he calls together friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me: for I have found my lost sheep. |
| 15:7 | I say to you, that so shall joy be in heaven over one sinful repenting, more than over ninety-nine just, which have no need of repentance. |
| 15:8 | Or what woman having ten drachmas, if she lose one drachma, lights not a lamp, and sweeps the house, and seeks diligently till she should find? |
| 15:9 | And having found, she calls together female friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me; for I found the drachma which I lost. |
| 15:10 | So, I say to you, joy is in heaven before the messengers of God for one sinful changing the mind. |
| 15:11 | And he said, A certain man had two sons: |
| 15:12 | And the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the portion of property falling. And he divided to them the property. |
| 15:13 | And not many days after, having gathered all things, the younger son went abroad into a far-off country, and there disposed his property, living in a profligate manner. |
| 15:14 | And having spent all things, a powerful famine was in that country; and he began to be in want. |
| 15:15 | And having gone, he was joined to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. |
| 15:16 | And he eagerly desired to fill his belly with the fruits of the horntree which the swine ate: and none gave to him. |
| 15:17 | And having come to himself, he said, Many hired of my father abound in loaves, and I am perishing with hunger! |
| 15:18 | Having risen, I will go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, |
| 15:19 | And I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired. |
| 15:20 | And having risen, he came to his father. And yet being far off, his father saw him, and felt compassion, and having run, fell upon his neck, and kissed him. |
| 15:21 | And the son said to him, Father, I sinned against heaven, and before thee, and I am no more worthy to be called thy son. |
| 15:22 | And the father said to his servants, Bring out the first robe, and clothe him; and give a ring for his hand, and shoes for the feet: |
| 15:23 | And having brought the fatted calf, sacrifice, and eating, let us be gladdened. |
| 15:24 | For this my son was dead, and has returned to life; and he was lost, and found. And they began to be gladdened. |
| 15:25 | And his elder son was in the field: and coming, as he drew near the house, he heard a concert of music, and dances. |
| 15:26 | And having called one of his servants, he inquired what these may be. |
| 15:27 | And he said to him, That thy brother has come, and thy father has sacrificed the fatted calf; because he received him in good health. |
| 15:28 | And he was angry and would not go in; then his father having come out, besought him. |
| 15:29 | And he having answered said to the father, Behold, so many years I serve thee, and never at any time passed by thy command: and never hast thou given me a kid, that I might be gladdened with my friends. |
| 15:30 | And when this thy son, devouring thy property with harlots, came, thou hast sacrificed for him the fattened calf. |
| 15:31 | And he said to him, Child, thou art always with me, and all mine are thine. |
| 15:32 | And to be gladdened, and to rejoice, was fitting: for this thy brother was dead, and has returned to life; and he was lost, and found. |
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.