Textus Receptus Bibles
Matthew's Bible 1537
| 1:1 | These arethe wordes of the Preacher, the sonne of Dauid, king of Ierusalem |
| 1:2 | All is but vanitie (sayeth the preacher) all is but playne vanite. |
| 1:3 | For what els hath a man, of all the laboure that he taketh vnder the Sunne? |
| 1:4 | One generacion passeth away, another commeth, but the earth abideth styll. |
| 1:5 | The Sunne aryseth, the sunne goeth doune, and returneth to his place, that he may there ryse vp agayn. |
| 1:6 | The wynde goeth towarde the South, & fetcheth hys compasse about vnto the North, & so turneth into him self agayn. |
| 1:7 | All floudes runne into the sea, & yet the sea is not filled: for loke vnto what place the waters runne, thence they come agayn. |
| 1:8 | All thinges are so harde, that no man can expresse them. The eye is not satisfied with sight, the eare is not filled with hearing. |
| 1:9 | The thing that hath bene cometh to passe agayn: & the thing that hath bene done, is done agayn, there is no new thyng vnder the Sunne. |
| 1:10 | Is there any thyng wherof it may be sayd: lo, this is new? For it was longe a goo in the tymes that haue bene before vs. |
| 1:11 | The thing that is past, is out of remembraunce: Euen so the thynges that are for to come, shal no more be thought vpon among theim that come after. |
| 1:12 | I myself the Preacher, beynge kynge of Israel & Hierusalem, |
| 1:13 | applied my mynde to seke out & search for the knowlege of all thinges that are done vnder heauen. Such trauayle and labour hath God geuen vnto the chyldren of men, too exercyse them selfes therein. |
| 1:14 | Thus I haue considred all the thynges that come to passe vnder the Sunne, & so, they are all but vanitie & vexacion of mynde. |
| 1:15 | The croked can not be mayde strayght, & the fautes can not be numbred. |
| 1:16 | I commoned wyth myne owne hert, saying: lo, I am come to a greate estate, & haue gotten more wisdome, then all they that haue bene before me in Ierusalem. Yea, my hert had great experience of wysedome & knowlege, |
| 1:17 | for there vnto I applyed my mynde: that I might knowe what were wisdome & vnderstanding, what were errour & folishnes. And I perceyued that this also was but a vexacion of minde: |
| 1:18 | for where much wysdome is, there is also great trauayle and disquietnes: and the more knowledge a man hath, the more is his care. |
Matthew's Bible 1537
The Matthew Bible, also known as Matthew's Version, was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able to translate before being captured and put to death, with the translations of Myles Coverdale as to the balance of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, except the Apocryphal Prayer of Manasses. It is thus a vital link in the main sequence of English Bible translations.