Few people are aware of the political nature of the King James English Translation of the Bible.
The Bible carried by early English settlers was the 1560 Geneva Bible (not to be confused with the 1599 Geneva Bible).
It was marked for displacement by King James because of the unpleasant references to Kings and Tyranny and regicide sprinkled throughout the instructional commentary.
With diligent effort by the Crown the 1560 Geneva Bible all but disappeared from common use within a few short decades completely replaced by the King James Bible.
GENEVA BIBLE, 1560 EDITION
CLICK LINK HERE
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Geneva Bible Contra Tyranny
Lewis Lupton, A History of the Geneva Bible, “Vision of God,” Vol. 4, pp. 138-139, describes the Genevan marginal notes on the subject of civil tyranny thus:
LOSELY ALLIED to hatred of cruelty was hatred of tyranny.
Induced by persecution it evoked republican attitudes in firm aristocrats!
‘Gyantes,’ Gensis 6 v. 4 were ‘tyrants which usurped autoritie over otheres and did degenerate from yt simiplicitie wherein their fathers lived’.
Nimrod, ‘ye mighty hunter before the Lord’, Genesis 10 v. 9 was counted ‘a cruel oppressor & tyrant. His tyrannie came into a proverbe as hated bothe of God and man: for he passed not to commit crueltie even in Gods presence.’
Rulers were exhorted to be kind. Deuteronomy 17 v. 20. ‘Kings oght so to love their subjects, as nature bindeth one brother to love another.’
They cited Mordecai as an example. Esther 10 v. 3. ‘These thre pointes are here set forth as commendable and necessarie for him that is in autoritie: to have the favour of the people: to procure their welth, & to be gentle and loving toward them.’
They had experienced other kinds of rule. I Samuel 11 v. 2 ‘The more nere that tyrants are to their destruction the more cruel thei are.’
But God would deal with them. Judges 9 v. 54 ‘his page thrust him through.’ ‘Thus God by suche miserable death taketh vengeance on tyrants even in this life.’
There might even be occasions when it was right to kill them. I Samuel 26 v. 9 ‘Iehu slew two kings at Gods appointment.’
To say nothing of driving his chariot over Jezebel! 2 Kings 9 v. 33 ‘This he did by the mocion of the Spirit of God, yt her blood shulde be shed, that had shed the blood of innocents, to be a spectacle and example of Gods judgements to all tyrants.’
Small wonder Stuart monarchs failed to appreciate this version!