The Bible that inspired a new nation!
When the Pilgrims arrived in America in 1620, they brought along supplies, a consuming passion
to advance the Kingdom of Christ, a bright hope for the future, and the Word of God Clearly,
their most precious cargo was the Bible Have you ever wondered what version of the Bible the
Pilgrims brought to America on the Mayflower? Believe it or not, it was not the King James
Version of 1611 It was actually the 1599 Geneva Bible - a forgotten yet priceless treasure
The Geneva Bible, printed over 200 times between 1560 and 1644, was the most widely read and
influential English Bible of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries This superb translation
was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and became the Bible of choice for
many of the greatest writers, thinkers, and historical figures of that time Men such
as Shakespeare, John Bunyan, and John Milton used the Geneva Bible, and it was reflected in
their writings During the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell issued a pamphlet containing
excerpts from the Geneva Bible to his troops William Bradford cited the Geneva Bible in his
book Of Plymouth Plantation
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
marginal notes These notes, written by Reformation leaders such as John Calvin, John Knox,
Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Anthony Gilby, and others, were included to explain and
interpret the scriptures for the common people
For nearly half a century these notes helped the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland
understand the Bible and true liberty King James despised the Geneva Bible because he
considered the notes on key political texts to be seditious and a threat to his authority
Unlike the King James Version, the Geneva Bible was not authorized by the government It was
truly a Bible by the people and for the people You can see why this remarkable version with
its profound marginal notes played a key role in the formation of the American Republic
Sadly, 411 years after its original publication, this wonderful version of the Bible has
been nearly forgotten The only complete version available today is a large, cumbersome,
and difficult-to-read facsimile edition A facsimile edition contains pictures of the
original pages The small print and the older English letters and spellings make it nearly
impossible to read or study If the 1599 Geneva Bible is to survive the passing of time and
be remembered for generations to come, it must be resurrected and redistributed
Features:
* Word-for-word accuracy with the 1599 Geneva Bible
* Original cross references
* Modern spelling
* Original study notes by Reformers
* Old English Glossary
* Easy-to-read standard size print
* Searchable, printable PDFs of the Geneva Bible
In a very real sense, we as Americans owe much of our rich spiritual heritage to the Geneva
Bible . the scriptures carried by Plymouth Pilgrims and great reformers Nearly forgotten
today, this version of the Holy scriptures . first translated into English in 1560 . created
the conditions for a Christian reformation of life and culture the likes of which the world
had never seen
In 1553, Mary Tudor ascended the throne of England and set about to stamp out the Reformation,
ordering the burning of all copies of the Bible in the English tongue and causing more than
three hundred reformers to be burned at the stake Bloody Mary.s vicious crusade drove scores
of English reformers to Geneva, including some of the finest biblical scholars in history
Together, these men produced a new English Bible based on the original languages and not
beholden to any king or prelate . the Geneva Bible
The Geneva Bible is the Bible of .firsts.: It was the first Bible to qualify as a study Bible,
providing readers with copious notes, cross-references, and commentary about the original
manuscripts It was the first Bible to be printed in a portable and affordable edition And it
was the first Bible to assign chapter and verse numbers, facilitating the location of passages,
memorization, and recitation . and the nurture of a nation of Bible readers
The Geneva Bible inspired those who championed self-government and civic virtue Its mighty
influence was manifest in the lives of Knox, Cromwell, and Shakespeare And it was the 1599
Geneva Bible that the Pilgrims read as they arrived in the New World in 1620, deriving
principles from its pages that helped lay the foundation-stones of liberty in the western
hemisphere This is in pdf format
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