Imagine if the President of the United States outlawed your version of the Bible because he considered it to be a threat to his rule.
Imagine that he authorized a new Government “approved” version for you to read instead.
That’s exactly what happened in the tumultuous year of 1611.
King James despised the revolutionary and “seditious” Geneva Bible.
He thought the Geneva Bible’s study notes on key political texts threatened his authority, so he outlawed it and ordered a new translation of the Bible – the King James (Authorized Version).
While the King James Version is an excellent translation, it was edited and authorized by the Government.
The Geneva Bible was not.
It was truly a Bible by the people and for the people.
The Geneva Bible is unique among all other Bibles.
It was the first Bible to use chapters and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of the extensive study notes.
These notes were included to explain and interpret the Scriptures for the common people and laid the foundation for a Republican form of government.
For nearly half a century these notes helped the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland understand the Bible and true God-ordained liberty.
When the Pilgrims arrived in America in 1620, they brought the 1599 Geneva Bible.
You can see why this remarkable version with its profound study notes played a key role in the formation of the American Republic.
Today, the 1599 Geneva Bible has been all but forgotten.
But how did all this happen???
The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James Version by 51 years.!
It was the primary Bible of 16th-century English Protestantism and was used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678).
It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower (Pilgrim Hall Museum has collected several Bibles of Mayflower passengers).
The Geneva Bible was used by many English Dissenters, and it was still respected by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers at the time of the English Civil War, in the booklet “Cromwell’s Soldiers’ Pocket Bible”.
This version of the Bible is significant because, for the very first time, a mechanically printed, mass-produced Bible was made available directly to the general public which came with a variety of scriptural study guides and aids (collectively called an apparatus), 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 and indices.
Because the language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous, most readers strongly preferred this version to the Great Bible.
In the words of Cleland Boyd McAfee, “it drove the Great Bible off the field by sheer power of excellence.
To be continued…
Thanks for your useful article. Other thing is that mesothelioma is generally brought on by the breathing of fibers from mesothelioma, which is a dangerous material. It really is commonly seen among staff in the engineering industry who have long contact with asbestos. It could be caused by residing in asbestos insulated buildings for an extended time of time, Your age plays an important role, and some consumers are more vulnerable towards the risk when compared with others.
How can I get it for me as one to read and study it by myself to grow in the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior
How do I get a Geneva bible