« | 1 Corinthians 2 | » |
1 And I brethren, when I came to you, came not in gloriousnesse of wordes, or of wisedome, shewing vnto you the testimonie of God.
2 For I esteemed not to knowe any thyng among you saue Iesus Christe, and hym crucified.
3 And I was among you in weaknesse, and in feare, and in much tremblyng.
4 And my wordes and my preachyng was not with entysing wordes of mans wisedome, but in shewyng of the spirite, and of power:
5 That your fayth should not stande in the wisedome of men, but in the power of God.
6 And we speake wisedome among the that are perfite: not the wisedome of this world, neither of the princes of this world, which come to naught.
7 But we speake the wisedome of God in a misterie [euen] the hyd [wisedome] which God ordeyned before the worlde, vnto our glorie.
8 Which none of ye princes of this world knewe: For had they knowen it, they woulde not haue crucified the Lorde of glorie.
9 But as it is written: The eye hath not seen, & the eare hath not heard, neither haue entred into the heart of man, the thynges which God hath prepared for them that loue hym.
10 But God hath reuealed the vnto vs by his spirite: For the spirite searcheth all thinges, yea the deepe thinges of God.
11 For what man knoweth the thynges of a man, saue ye spirite of man which is in hym? Euen so, the thinges of God, knoweth no man, but ye spirite of God.
12 And we haue receaued, not the spirite of the worlde, but the spirite which is of God, that we myght know the thinges that are geuen to vs of God.
13 Which thynges also we speake, not in the wordes which mans wisedome teacheth, but which ye holy ghost teacheth, comparyng spirituall thynges with spirituall thynges.
14 But the naturall man perceaueth not the thynges of ye spirite of God, for they are foolyshenesse vnto hym: Neither can he knowe [them] because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spirituall, discerneth all thynges, yet he hym selfe is iudged of no man.
16 For who hath knowen the mynde of the Lorde, that he myght instruct hym? But we haue the mynde of Christe.
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.