« | 1 Kings 4 | » |
1 And so king Solomon was king ouer all Israel.
2 And these were his lordes: Azariahu the sonne of Sadoc the priest.
3 Elihozeph and Ahiah the sonnes of Sisa, scribes: Iehosaphat the sonne of Ahilud, the recorder.
4 Banaiah the sonne of Iehoiada was ouer the hoast: Sadoc and Abiathar were the priestes.
5 And Azariahu the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers: And Zabud the sonne of Nathan was a priest, ye kinges companion.
6 And Ahisar was steward of ye houshold: And Adoniram the sonne of Abda was ouer the tributes.
7 And Solomon had twelue officers ouer all Israel, which prouided vittayles for the king and his houshold: eche man his moneth in a yere, made prouision for necessarie thinges.
8 And these are their names: the sonne of Hur in mount Ephraim,
9 The sonne of Dekar in Makaz and in Saalbin, and Bethsames, Elon, and Bethhanan.
10 The sonne of Hesed in Aruboth, to whom parteyned Socho and all the land of Hepher.
11 The sonne of Abinadab in all the region of Dor, whiche had Tapheth the daughter of Solomon to wyfe.
12 Baana the sonne of Ahilud was ouer Thaanach and Megiddo, and ouer all Bethsan, whiche is by Zarthana beneath Iezrael, fro Bethsan to ye plaine of Mehola, euen vnto the place that is ouer against Iecmeam.
13 The sonne of Gaber had Ramoth Gilead, and his were the townes of Iair the sonne of Manasse which are in Gilead: and vnder him was the region of Argob whiche is in Basan threescore great cities with walles and barres of brasse.
14 Ahinadab the sonne of Hiddo had Mahenaim.
15 Ahimaaz was in Nephthalim, and he toke Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wyfe.
16 Baana the sonne of Husai was in Aser and in Aloth.
17 Iehosaphat the sonne of Paruah was in Isachar.
18 Semei the sonne of Ela was in Beniamin.
19 Gaber the sonne of Uri was in the countrey of Gilead, the land of Sehon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Basan, & was officer alone in the lande.
20 And Iuda and Israel were many [euen] as the sande of the sea in numbre, eating, drincking, and making mery.
21 And Solomon raigned ouer all kingdomes from the riuer vnto the lande of the Philistines, [euen] vnto the border of Egypt: and they brought presentes, and serued Solomon al the dayes of his life.
22 And Solomons bread for one day was thirtie quarters of manchet flowre, & threescore quarters of meale:
23 Ten stalled oxen, and twentie out of the pastures, and a hundred sheepe, beside hartes, buckes, and wilde goates, and capons.
24 For he ruled in all the region on the other syde Euphrates, from Thiphsah to Azza, ouer al the kinges on the other syde the riuer: And he had peace with all his seruauntes on euery syde.
25 And Iuda and Israel dwelt without feare, euery man vnder his vine and vnder his figgetree, from Danto Beerseba all the dayes of Solomon.
26 And Solomon had fourtie thousand stalles of horses for charettes, & twelue thousande horsemen.
27 And the officers prouided vittayle for king Solomon and for all that came out of any place to king Solomons table, euery man his moneth, so that they lacked nothing.
28 Barly also and strawe for the horses and mules brought they vnto the place where the officers were, euery man in his office.
29 And God gaue Solomon wysdome and vnderstanding exceeding much, and a large heart, euen as the sand that is on the sea shore.
30 And Solomons wysdome excelled the wysedome of all the children of the east countrey, and al the wisdome of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser then al men, yea then Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda the sonnes of Mahol: And his name was spoken of throughout all nations on euery syde.
32 And Solomon spake three thousande prouerbes: And his songes were a thousande and fiue.
33 And he spake of trees, euen from the Cedar tree that groweth in Libanon, vnto the Isope that springeth out of the wall: He spake also of beastes, of foules, of wormes, and of fishes.
34 And there came of all nations to heare the wysdome of Solomon, and from all kinges of the earth, which had heard of his wysdome.
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.