Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 6:1 | And in those days, the disciples multiplying, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily service. |
| 6:2 | And the twelve having called the multitude of the disciples, said, It is not pleasing for us, having left the word of God, to serve tables. |
| 6:3 | Therefore, survey, brethren, seven men of you, being witnesses full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom ye shall set over this need. |
| 6:4 | And we will persevere in prayer, and the service of the word. |
| 6:5 | And the word pleased before all the multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: |
| 6:6 | Whom they set before the sent: and having prayed, they put hands upon them. |
| 6:7 | And the word of God increased: and the number of disciples was multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and a great crowd of priests listened to the faith. |
| 6:8 | And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. |
| 6:9 | And certain of them arose from the synagogue, called Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrian, and of them from Cilicia and Asia, seeking out with Stephen. |
| 6:10 | And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. |
| 6:11 | Then they put under men, saying, That we have heard him speaking defaming words against Moses, and God. |
| 6:12 | And they roused together the people, and elders, and scribes, and having stood against, they seized him, and brought to the council, |
| 6:13 | And set false witnesses, saying, This man ceases not speaking defaming words against this holy place, and the law: |
| 6:14 | For we have heard him saying; That Jesus the Nazarite shall abolish this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us. |
| 6:15 | And all they sitting in the council, having looked intently upon him, saw his face as the face of a messenger. |
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.