2 extra Ecclesiastes verses in Geneva?

[kjvsteve]

Ok, before getting into the point at hand, I should just like to say that KJV is th only bible we really need! That said, in private study, I have recently been enjoying consulting Geneva 1599.

Today I found that in Geneva 1599, Ecclesiastes 7 starts off with these two verses;

1. Surely there be many things that increase vanitie: and what availeth it a man?
2. For who knoweth what is good for man in the life and in the number of dayes of the life of his vanitie, seeing he maketh them as a shadow? For who can shewe unto man what shall be after him under the sunne?

Then verses 3 - 31 are as verses 1 - 29 in the KJV.
Doing a quick google search, I found no reference to these two verses anywhere.

I just found this really 'strange' especially the way subsequent verses are always two in front of the KJV, and not a reference nor footnote anywhere mentioning this???


Bro. Steve

[Brother John]

Bro. Steve,

I don't know about the extra verses in the Geneva, although I'm certainly now going to look into it. In any case, here's a book by brother Sam Gipp on the Bible recently put out that is supposed to be the 1599 when, in fact, it is not. That may be what you're running into.

I have not read brother Gipp's book myself, but anything put out by him is trustworthy and worth reading. Here's the link...

www.daystarpublishing.org/The-2006-Geneva-Bible.html

Bro. John

[kjvsteve]

Thanks for the link, looks like some interesting stuff there.

I'm lucky that my 1599 Geneva is a facsimile of an early edition, and all seems in order.

Being a facsimile, some parts of the text are harder to read than others, with little black blotches in places, and in fact, most of the Geneva notes are too small and unclear for me to read without straining.
It's missing a page where 2nd Timothy should sit, but I get part of the song of Solomon twice.

So, not a perfect copy, but all in all, I've found it a valuable resource, although KJV still gets the final say!

[Brother Ben]

At times, there are disagreements between translaters regarding chapter and verse divisions. this is the case with your discovery. Notice the last two verse from chapter 6 of the KJV:

Ecc 6:11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what [is] man the better?

Ecc 6:12 For who knoweth what [is] good for man in [this] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

[kjvsteve]

Yes, indeed Bro. Ben.
I noticed this afterwards, a rookie mistake on my part; not checking the ending of the previous chapter

[robertcolumbia]

I looked in e-Sword. The verses are, in fact, in the previous chapter. So, unless the chapter divisions are interpreted as having a doctrinal or similar significance (remember that early texts were undivided), the variance is insignificant as it relates to fundamental teaching. It is good, however, to have a standard chapter/verse division system for practical purposes, so that one can just post a chapter/verse and everyone can find it, rather than having to say that you are referring to chapter x verse y in the <version> version, and rely on others to make the applicable coordinate transforms into their copy.

Sometimes in my church, the text will be announced not only with chapter and verse, but with page number in the pew bibles (we have a set of pew bibles that are typeset identically, with the same content on the same pages throughout). Of course, what page Psalm 23 is on has no doctrinal significance - it just helps people sometimes if it is on the same page for everyone.