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''Cromwell's Soldiers' Pocket Bible'' (aka ''The Soldier's Pocket Bible, Cromwell's Soldier's Bible'' ) was a pamphlet version of the Christian Bible that was carried by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth army during the First English Civil War. == Description == '' The Soldier's Pocket Bible '' was first issued in 1643 to Cromwell's army and was put in general use among his soldiers. It has been of historical record that Cromwell's soldiers were provided with a small pocket Bible. George Livermore, an American book collector from Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, discovered a copy of ''The Soldier's Pocket Bible'' in 1854; he realized that the Bible which Cromwell's soldiers were known to carry was not the complete Christian Bible of 66 books, but a condensed pamphlet version. It was an octavo booklet (136 × 78mm, 5½ × 3″). In comparison, it was about the size and thickness of an international travel passport used in the 20th century. The '' Soldier's Pocket Bible '' had just 16 pages that contained some 150 verse quotations from the Geneva Bible, all related to war. These verses were from the Old Testament (except four). Verses intended to inspire the morale of Cromwell's soldiers included the following: : * Deuteronomy 20.4 (Geneva Bible) – '' For the Lord your God goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, and to save you. '' : * Exodus 14.14 (Geneva Bible) – '' The Lord shall fight for you. '' The 150 war-related verses were organized in sixteen sections. Cromwell helped select some of the verses used and supervised the editing of the '' Soldiers Pocket Bible '' by Edmund Calamy.〔 Section headers for the verses included the following: :''A Soldier must not do wickedly'' :''A Soldier must be valiant for God's cause'' :''A Soldier must love his enemies as they are his enemies, and hate them as they are God's enemies '' :''A Soldier must consider that sometimes God's people have the worst in battle as well as God's enemies''. This condensed ''Soldier's Pocket Bible '' was usually buttoned on the inside waistcoat, placed near the heart, and under the soldier's outer coat. The placement did not hinder the movements of the soldier. English Puritan church leader Richard Baxter relates a story that the life of one of Cromwell's soldiers was saved by his carrying a copy of the '' Soldier's Pocket Bible '' near his heart; a bullet fired at him became lodged in the pamphlet instead of his heart. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cromwell's Soldiers' Pocket Bible」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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