Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 5:1 | And I saw upon the right hand of him sitting upon the throne, a book written within and behind, sealed with seven seals. |
| 5:2 | And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose its seals? |
| 5:3 | And none was able in heaven, nor upon earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look upon it. |
| 5:4 | And I wept much, that none was found worthy to open and to read the hook, neither to look upon it. |
| 5:5 | And one of the elders says to me, Weep not: behold, the Lion conquered, he being of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, to open the book, and to loose its seven seals. |
| 5:6 | And I saw, and, behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. |
| 5:7 | And he came and took the book from the right hand of him sitting upon the throne. |
| 5:8 | And when he took the book, the four living creatures and the twentyfour elders fell before the Lamb, having each harps, and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the holy. |
| 5:9 | And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open its seals: for thou wert slain, and didst purchase us to God by thy blood from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; |
| 5:10 | And madest us kings and priests to our God: and we shall reign upon the earth. |
| 5:11 | And I saw, and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders: and their number was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands; |
| 5:12 | Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and praise. |
| 5:13 | And every creature which is in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, and upon the sea, which are, and all things in them, heard I saying, To him sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, praise, and honour, and glory, and strength, for the times of times. |
| 5:14 | And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the twentyfour elders fell and worshipped him living for the times of times. |
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.