Textus Receptus Bibles
Julia E. Smith Translation 1876
| 1:1 | Paul, sent of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the holy ones being in Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: |
| 1:2 | Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 1:3 | Praised be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he having praised us in every spiritual praise in heavenly things in Christ: |
| 1:4 | As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and blameless before him in love: |
| 1:5 | Having determined us beforehand for adoption as a son by Jesus Christ to him, according to benevolence of his will, |
| 1:6 | To the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he rendered us acceptable in the beloved. |
| 1:7 | In whom we have redemption by his blood, the letting go of faults, according to the riches of his grace; |
| 1:8 | In which he abounded to us in all wisdom and intelligence; |
| 1:9 | Having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his benevolence which he purposed in himself: |
| 1:10 | For the arrangement of the completion of the times, to unite in a whole all things in Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon earth; in him: |
| 1:11 | In whom also we were cast by lot, determined beforehand according to the purpose of him performing all things according to the counsel of his will: |
| 1:12 | For us to be to the praise of his glory, who before hoped in Christ. |
| 1:13 | In whom ye also, having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation: in whom also having believed, ye were sealed by the holy Spirit of solemn promise, |
| 1:14 | Which is the pledge of our inheritance for the redemption of the acquisition, to the praise of his glory. |
| 1:15 | For this, I also, having heard the faith among you in the Lord Jesus, and love to all the holy, |
| 1:16 | Cease not returning thanks for you, making remembrance of you in my prayers; |
| 1:17 | That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in his knowledge: |
| 1:18 | The eyes of your understanding enlightened; for you to know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the holy ones, |
| 1:19 | And what the surpassing greatness of his power to us believing, according to the action of the might of his strength, |
| 1:20 | Which he performed in Christ, having raised him from the dead, and he sat on his right hand in the heavenlies, |
| 1:21 | Above every beginning, and authority, and power, and property, and every name named, not only in this life, but in that about to be: |
| 1:22 | And placed all things under his, feet, and gave him head over all things to the church, |
| 1:23 | Which is his body, the completion of him completing all things in all. |
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.