1599 Geneva Bible

Do you know what the “forgotten translation of the Bible” is and the impact it had on English history and the founding of our nation? It was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, John Milton, and John Bunyan.

It angered a powerful king. It sailed with Christians across the Atlantic Ocean in 1607 to Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1620 with those aboard the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The name of the forgotten translation? The Geneva Bible first published in 1560.
It was the first translation to use chapter divisions and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of the extensive marginal notes and annotations.

Some of those notes disturbed a very powerful king and a dictatorial religion.

When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Massachusetts in 1620, they brought along necessary supplies, a consuming passion for advancing the Kingdom of Christ, and their most precious cargo —William Bradford’s copy of the Geneva Bible. Also embarkation of the Pilgrims showing Bradford reading from his copy of the Geneva Bible.

When Bloody Mary became queen of England in 1553, she was determined to roll back the progress of the Reformation and reinstate Roman Catholicism.

She persecuted Christians who had embraced the Protestant Reformation, even putting some to death like Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Lady Jane Grey, an English noblewoman who was put to death at the age of just seventeen.

Queen Mary’s actions led many Christian scholars to Geneva. With the protection of the Genevan civil authorities, a group of theologians produced an English translation of the Bible without the stamp of approval of English government officials or the Church of Rome.

While previous English translations failed to capture the hearts of the reading public, the Geneva Bible was instantly popular. Between 1560 and 1644 at least 144 editions appeared.

But the Geneva Bible was not popular with everyone. A note on Exodus 1:19 upset King James because it stated that the Hebrew midwives were right to disobey the Egyptian king’s orders.

In addition to being a threat to the nearly unlimited power and authority of the king of England, the Geneva Bible addressed the very powerful Roman Catholic Church in a note on Revelation 11:7.

Tyrants have always feared God’s Word, especially when it is translated so the average person can read, understand, and apply it to every area of life. What was true then is no less true today.

Having your own copy of the Geneva Bible will connect you to a time when many faithful and brave Christians understood what it meant to stand and act on the Word of God no matter the cost. This completely re-typeset edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible commemorates this history. 

With your order, you will be able to download a searchable PDF of the Geneva Bible and have access to more than 20 books related to the Geneva Bible at no extra cost! Order your copy today. Supplies are limited.

Cover: Black, bonded leather