Textus Receptus Bibles
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
| 29:1 | So Iob proceeded and continued his parable, saying, |
| 29:2 | Oh that I were as in times past, when God preserued me! |
| 29:3 | When his light shined vpon mine head: and when by his light I walked thorowe the darkenesse, |
| 29:4 | As I was in the dayes of my youth: when Gods prouidence was vpon my tabernacle: |
| 29:5 | When the almightie was yet with me, and my children round about me. |
| 29:6 | When I washed my pathes with butter, and when the rocke powred me out riuers of oyle: |
| 29:7 | When I went out to the gate, euen to the iudgement seat, and when I caused them to prepare my seate in the streete. |
| 29:8 | The yong men saw me, and hid themselues, and the aged arose, and stood vp. |
| 29:9 | The princes stayed talke, and layde their hand on their mouth. |
| 29:10 | The voyce of princes was hidde, and their tongue cleaued to the roofe of their mouth. |
| 29:11 | And when the eare heard me, it blessed me: and when the eye sawe me, it gaue witnesse to me. |
| 29:12 | For I deliuered the poore that cryed, and the fatherlesse, and him that had none to helpe him. |
| 29:13 | The blessing of him that was ready to perish, came vpon me, and I caused the widowes heart to reioyce. |
| 29:14 | I put on iustice, and it couered me: my iudgement was as a robe, and a crowne. |
| 29:15 | I was the eyes to the blinde, and I was the feete to the lame. |
| 29:16 | I was a father vnto the poore, and when I knewe not the cause, I sought it out diligently. |
| 29:17 | I brake also the chawes of the vnrighteous man, and pluckt the praye out of his teeth. |
| 29:18 | Then I sayde, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiplie my dayes as the sand. |
| 29:19 | For my roote is spread out by the water, and the dewe shall lye vpon my branche. |
| 29:20 | My glory shall renue towarde me, and my bowe shall be restored in mine hand. |
| 29:21 | Vnto me men gaue eare, and wayted, and helde their tongue at my counsell. |
| 29:22 | After my wordes they replied not, and my talke dropped vpon them. |
| 29:23 | And they wayted for me, as for the raine, and they opened their mouth as for the latter rayne. |
| 29:24 | If I laughed on them, they beleeued it not: neither did they cause the light of my countenance to fall. |
| 29:25 | I appoynted out their way, and did sit as chiefe, and dwelt as a King in the army, and like him that comforteth the mourners. |
Geneva Bible 1560/1599
The Geneva Bible is one of the most influential and historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James translation by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan. The language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous and because of this, most readers strongly preferred this version at the time.
The Geneva Bible was produced by a group of English scholars who, fleeing from the reign of Queen Mary, had found refuge in Switzerland. During the reign of Queen Mary, no Bibles were printed in England, the English Bible was no longer used in churches and English Bibles already in churches were removed and burned. Mary was determined to return Britain to Roman Catholicism.
The first English Protestant to die during Mary's turbulent reign was John Rogers in 1555, who had been the editor of the Matthews Bible. At this time, hundreds of Protestants left England and headed for Geneva, a city which under the leadership of Calvin, had become the intellectual and spiritual capital of European Protestants.
One of these exiles was William Whittingham, a fellow of Christ Church at Oxford University, who had been a diplomat, a courtier, was much traveled and skilled in many languages including Greek and Hebrew. He eventually succeeded John Knox as the minister of the English congregation in Geneva. Whittingham went on to publish the 1560 Geneva Bible.
This version is significant because, it came with a variety of scriptural study guides and aids, which included verse citations that allow the reader to cross-reference one verse with numerous relevant verses in the rest of the Bible, introductions to each book of the Bible that acted to summarize all of the material that each book would cover, maps, tables, woodcut illustrations, indices, as well as other included features, all of which would eventually lead to the reputation of the Geneva Bible as history's very first study Bible.