« | 1 Corinthians 4 | » |
1 Let a man so esteeme of vs, as the ministers of Christe, and disposers of the secretes of God.
2 Furthermore, it is required of the disposers that a man be founde faythfull.
3 With me it is but a very small thyng that I shoulde be iudged of you, either of mans iudgement: No, I iudge not mine owne selfe.
4 For I knowe nothing by my selfe, yet am I not thereby iustified: but he that iudgeth me is the Lorde.
5 Therefore iudge nothyng before the tyme, vntyll the Lorde come, who wyl lyghten thynges that are hyd in darkenesse, & open the counsels of the heartes, and then shall euery man haue prayse of God.
6 And these thynges brethren, I haue figuratiuely applied vnto my selfe, and to Apollos, for your sakes, that ye might learne by vs, that no man conceaue in mynde aboue that whiche is written, that one swell not agaynst another for any mans cause.
7 For who seperateth thee? And what hast thou, that thou hast not receaued? If thou haue receaued it, why reioycest thou, as though thou haddest not receaued it?
8 Nowe ye are full, nowe ye are made ryche, ye raigne as kynges without vs, and I woulde to God ye dyd raigne, that we also myght raigne with you.
9 For me thynketh, that God hath set foorth vs, whiche are the last apostles, as it were men appoynted to death. For we are made a gasyng stocke vnto the worlde, and to the angels, and to men.
10 We [are] fooles for Christes sake, but ye [are] wyse in Christe. We [are] weake, but ye [are] stronge. Ye [are] honorable, but we [are] despised.
11 Euen vnto this time we both hunger and thirste, and are naked, and are buffeted, and haue no certaine dwellyng place.
12 And labour, working with our owne handes. We are reuyled, and we blesse. We are persecuted, and suffer it.
13 We are euyll spoken of, and we praye: we are made as the fylthynesse of the worlde, the ofscowryng of all thynges vnto this day.
14 I write not these thynges to shame you, but as my beloued sonnes I warne you.
15 For though ye haue ten thousande instructours in Christ, yet [haue ye] not many fathers: For in Christe Iesu I haue begotten you through the Gospell.
16 Wherfore, I desire you, be ye folowers of me.
17 For this cause haue I sent vnto you Timotheus, whiche is my beloued sonne, & faythfull in the Lorde, which shall put you in remembraunce of my wayes which be in Christe, as I teache euery where in all Churches.
18 Some swel as though I would come no more at you:
19 But I wyll come to you shortly, if the Lorde wyll, & wyll knowe, not the wordes of the which swell, but the power.
20 For the kyngdome of God is not in worde, but in power.
21 What wyl ye? Shal I come vnto you with a rodde, or in loue and in the spirite of mekenesse?
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.