« | 1 Chronicles 19 | » |
1 After this, it chaunced that Nahas the king of the children of Ammon dyed, & his sonne raigned in his steade.
2 And Dauid sayde: I will shewe kindnesse vnto Hanon the sonne of Nahas, because his father dealt kindly with me. And Dauid sent messengers to comfort him ouer the death of his father: And the seruauntes of Dauid came into the lande of the children of Ammon to Hanon, to comfort him.
3 But the lordes of the children of Ammon sayd to Hanon: Thinkest thou that Dauid doeth honour thy father in thy sight, that he hath sent comforters vnto thee? Are not his seruauntes come to search, to loke, and espie out the land?
4 Wherefore Hanon toke Dauids seruauntes, and shaued them, and cut of their coates harde by their buttockes, & sent them away.
5 And there went certayne and told Dauid how the men were serued: And the king sent to meete them (for the men were exceedingly ashamed) and the king sayde: Tary at Iericho vntill your beardes be growen, and then returne.
6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stanke in the sight of Dauid, Hanon and the children of Ammon sent a thousande talentes of siluer to hyre them charets and horsmen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria Maacha, and out of Zoba.
7 And they hyred thirtie and two thousande charets, and the king of Maacha and his people: which came and pitched before Medeba: And the children of Ammon gathered them selues together fro their cities, and came to battayle.
8 And when Dauid hearde of it, he sent Ioab and all the hoast of strong men.
9 And the children of Ammon came out, and put them selues in aray to battayle before the gate of the citie: And ye kinges that were come, kept them by them selues backe in the fielde.
10 When Ioab also saw that the frunt of the battayle was against him before and behind, he chose out of al the chosen men of Israel, and put them in aray against the Syrians.
11 And the rest of ye people he deliuered vnto the hand of Abisai his brother, & they put them selues in aray against the children of Ammon.
12 And he sayde: If the Syrians be to strong for me, thou shalt succour me, and if the children of Ammon preuayle against thee, I will helpe thee.
13 Plucke vp thyne heart, and let vs play the men for our peoples sake, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord shall do that which is good in his owne sight.
14 So Ioab and the people that were with him, drue nye before the Syrians vnto the battayle: and they fled before him.
15 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they ran away likewise before Abisai his brother, and gat them into the citie: and Ioab came to Hierusalem.
16 And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers and set out the Syrians that were beyond the riuer: and Sophach the captayne of the hoast of Hadarezer went before them.
17 And it was told Dauid: and he gathered all Israel, and went together ouer Iordane, and came and set vpon them: And when Dauid had put hym selfe in aray against the Syrians, they fought with him.
18 But the Syrians fled before Israel, and Dauid destroyed of the Syrians seuen thousand charets, and fourtie thousand footemen, and killed Sophach the captayne of the hoast.
19 And when the seruauntes of Hadarezer sawe that they were put to ye worse before them of Israel, they made peace with Dauid, & became his seruauntes: Neither would the Syrians helpe the children of Ammon any more.
The Bishop’s Bible (BB)
The Bishop’s Bible (BB) is a significant English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1568 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was commissioned by the Church of England as a revision of the Great Bible and as a response to the Geneva Bible, which was popular among the Puritans but contained marginal notes that were considered politically and theologically contentious by the Anglican establishment. The primary goal of the Bishop’ s Bible was to create a translation that would be more acceptable to the ecclesiastical authorities and suitable for use in Anglican churches.
One of the distinguishing features of the Bishop’s Bible is its effort to maintain a high level of accuracy and scholarly integrity while also ensuring that the language used was dignified and appropriate for public reading. The translation was undertaken by a team of bishops and other scholars, hence its name. The translators aimed to preserve the poetic and literary qualities of the original texts, drawing on previous translations such as the Tyndale Bible, the Coverdale Bible, and the Great Bible, while also incorporating their scholarly insights and linguistic refinements.
The Bishop’s Bible was notable for its large, folio format, which was designed to be read from the pulpit. It included extensive marginal notes, though these were more restrained and less controversial than those found in the Geneva Bible. The translation also featured elaborate illustrations and maps, as well as a comprehensive introduction and various prefaces that provided context and guidance for readers. Despite its grandeur and scholarly merit, the Bishop’s Bible did not achieve the widespread popularity of the Geneva Bible among the general populace.
Although the Bishop’s Bible played an essential role in the religious and cultural life of Elizabethan England, it was eventually overshadowed by the King James Version (KJV), which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. The KJV drew heavily on the Bishop’ s Bible, as well as other earlier translations, but ultimately surpassed it in both scholarly rigor and literary quality. Nonetheless, the Bishop’s Bible remains an important milestone in the history of English Bible translations, reflecting the theological and political currents of its time and contributing to the development of subsequent translations.