Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 3:1 | Beholde, I will sende my messaunger, whiche shall prepare the waye before me: and the Lorde whom ye wolde haue, shal soone come to his temple, yee, euen the messaunger of the couenaunt whom ye longe for. Beholde, he commeth, saieth the Lorde of hostes. |
| 3:2 | But who may abyde the daye of his commyng? Who shalbe able to endure, when he appeareth? For he is like a goldsmythes fyre, ad lyke wasshers sope. |
| 3:3 | He shal syt him downe to trye and to clense the syluer, he shall pourge the chyldren of Leui, and purifye them lyke as golde and syluer: that they maye bringe meatofferinges vnto the Lorde in righteousnes. |
| 3:4 | Then shall the offeryng of Iuda and Ierusalem be acceptable vnto the Lorde, lyke as from the begynnynge and in the yeares, a fore tyme. |
| 3:5 | I wyll come and punyshe you, and I my selfe wyl be a swyfte wytnes agaynst the witches, agaynste the aduouterers, agaynst false swearers: yee, & agaynst those that wrongeously kepe back the hyrelynges dewty: which vexe the wyddowes and the fatherlesse, and oppresse the straunger, and feare not me, saieth the Lorde of hostes. |
| 3:6 | For I am the Lorde that chaunge not, & ye (O chyldren of Iacob) wyll not leaue of |
| 3:7 | ye are gone awaye fro myne ordinaunces, and sens the tyme of your forfathers haue ye not kepte them. Turne you now vnto me, and I wyll turne me vnto you, sayeth the Lorde of hostes: ye saye, wherin shal we turne? |
| 3:8 | Shulde a man vse falshed and disceat with God as ye vse falshed and disceate with me? yet ye saye wherin vse we disceate wt the? In Tithes & heaue offeringes. |
| 3:9 | Therfore are ye cursed wyth penury, because ye dissemble with me, all the sorte of you. |
| 3:10 | Bringe euery Tithe into my barne, that there maye be meat in myne house: and proue me withall (sayeth the Lorde of hoostes) yf I wyll not open the wyndowes of heauen vnto you, and poure you out a blessyng with plenteousnesse. |
| 3:11 | Yee, I shall reproue the consumer for your sakes, so that he shall not eate vp the frute of youre grounde, nether shall the vynyarde be baren in the felde, sayeth the Lorde of hostes: |
| 3:12 | In so moch that all people shall saye, that ye be blessed, for ye shall be a pleasaunt lande, sayeth the Lorde of hostes. |
| 3:13 | Ye speake harde wordes agaynst me, sayeth the Lorde. And yet ye saye: What haue we spoken agaynst the? |
| 3:14 | Ye haue sayde: It is but lost labour, to serue God? What profyt haue we for kepynge his commaundementes, and for walkynge humbly before the Lorde of hostes? |
| 3:15 | Therfore maye we saye, that the proude are happie, & that they which deale with vngodlynesse, are sett vp: for they tempte God, and yet escape. |
| 3:16 | But they that feare God, saye thus one to another: the Lorde consydereth and heareth it. Yee, it is before him a memoryal boke, wrytten for soch as feare the Lorde, and remembre his name. |
| 3:17 | And in the daye that I wyll make (sayth the Lorde of hostes) they shalbe myne awne possession: and I will fauoure them, lyke as a man fauoureth hys awne sonne, that doth hym seruyce. |
| 3:18 | Turne you therfore, and consydre what dyfference is betwyxte the righteous and vngodly, betwixte him that serueth God, and him that serueth hym not. |
The Great Bible 1539
The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, working under commission of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."