Have you read any of the *Geneva Bible* used by the Pilgrims?

Question

1620 the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth with their Bibles and a conviction derived from those Bibles of establishing a new nation. The Bible was not the King James Version.

The king of England, the Geneva Bible was outspokenly anti-Roman Catholic, Rome was still persecuting Protestants in the sixteenth century. Keep in mind that the English translators were exiles from a nation that was returning to the Catholic faith under a queen who was burning Protestants at the stake. The anti-Roman Catholic sentiment is most evident in the Book of Revelation: "The beast that cometh out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7) is the Pope, which hath his power out of hell and cometh thence." In the end, the Geneva Bible was replaced by the King James Version, but not before it helped to settle America.
Calvin's view that God reigns everywhere and over all things led him to develop the biblical idea that man can serve God in every area of life - church, civil government, education, art, music

Answer 1

Your quote is erroneous:

Revelation 11:7 "And when they haue finished their testimonie, the beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit, shall make warre against them, and shall ouercome them, and kill them."
Geneva Bible 1599

Yes, as someone mentioned, it has extensive notes, but the notes make no such statement either:

Geneva Bible Notes, Revelation of John 11:7:
"{10} And when they shall have {c} finished their testimony, {11} the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall {12} overcome them, and kill them.
(10) That is, when they have spent those 1260 years mentioned in Re 11:2,3 in publishing their testimony according to their office. (c) When they have done their message. (11) Of which after Chapter 13, that beast is the Roman Empire, made long ago of civil, ecclesiastical: the chief head of which was then Boniface the eighth, as I said before: who lifted up himself in so great arrogancy, (says the author of "Falsciculus temporum") that he called himself, Lord of the whole world, as well in temporal causes, as in spiritual: There is a document of that matter, written by the same Boniface most arrogantly, shall I say, or most wickedly, "Ca. unam sanctam, extra de majoritate."

This is too easily verified to make erroneous claims... The Geneva Bible can be downloaded from http://www.crosswire.org (It is a module for the "Sword Project.")

"...serve God in every area of life..." Sounds kinda familiar: Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.


... The Geneva Bible is blatantly anti-catholic, but it holds a very important place in the history of English Bibles and vernacular scriptures in general. The text itself is generally a good rendering for the state of manuscript evidence available and the knowledge of the languages at the time.

Answer 2

Fun Bible to read, as unlike the King James, it did not have its spelling update in the 1790s.
John 3:16
For God so loued the worlde, that hee hath giuen his onely begotten Sonne, that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life.


One of the reason that the Pilgrims preferred the Geneva Bible over the Authorized (often called King James today) Bible was because the Geneva Bible included columns of notes and commentary that favored their interpretation of the scriptures. The reason the Authorized Bible eventually won out as the favorite was because it was the only one that was printed without notes or commentaries. This allowed any group to use it.

Answer 3

I don't think the words "The Pope" are in the Bible.

I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure. That makes you a liar.

Besides, the King James Bible isn't the true Bible, because Martin Luther just took out all the parts he didn't like. Martin Luther doesn't dictate my religion.

Answer 4

You raise a very good point. I need to stock up on different versions of the Bible. For me even though I use the King James version, God speaks to every believer no matter what version they use. So why should I?

Peace and good knowledge of history.

Answer 5

The 1560 English Geneva Bible was the
First English Bible to enumerate verses (to give verses numbers),
First Bible to use Roman style typeface
First Bible to add commentary notes to the side margins of the pages
First Bible taken across the Atlantic to America,
and the Bible of The Puritans and The Pilgrims.

51 Years later, in 1611, King James called for a printing of the Bible
(now called "The King James Version") to try to replace the popular
Geneva Version. He did not like the Geneva Bible because of its
commentary notes, which he found to be "too Protestant" and not
diplomatic enough, due to the Geneva Bible's harsh treatment of
Roman Catholicism, particularly in it claiming that the Pope was
an antiChrist in the Geneva Bible's marginal side notes.

A facsimile reproduction of the 1560 Geneva Bible First edition is available
at GREATSITE.COM
if you click on "Facsimile Reproductions"
and then select the "1560 Geneva Bible".

Answer 6

Henry the eighth wrote a good one also :)
1534 church of England begins
add 77 is 1611 the kjv

Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Answer 7

Rev. 11:7 is not the Pope.....