« | 1 Peter 3 | » |
1 Likewise ye wyues, be in subiectio to your husbandes, that euen they whiche obey not the word, may without the word, be wonne by the couersation of ye wiues,
2 Whyle they beholde your chaste conuersation coupled with feare.
3 Whose apparel shal not be outward with brayded heere, & hanging on of gold, eyther in putting on of gorgeous apparel.
4 But let the hid man whiche is in the heart, be without all corruption, so that the spirite be at rest and quiet, whiche [spirite] is before god a thing much set by.
5 For after this maner in the olde tyme dyd the holy women, whiche trusted in God, tyre them selues, and were obedient vnto theyr husbandes.
6 Euen as Sara obeyed Abraham, and called hym Lorde, whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and are not afrayde for any terrour.
7 Lykewyse ye husbandes dwell with them accordyng to knowledge, geuyng honour vnto the wyfe, as vnto the weaker vessell, and as vnto them that are heires also of the grace of lyfe, that your prayers be not hyndered.
8 In conclusion, be ye all of one minde, of one heart, loue as brethren, be pitiful, be curteous,
9 Not rendryng euyl for euyll, or rebuke for rebuke: but contrarywyse blesse, knowyng that ye are therevnto called, euen that ye shoulde be heyres of the blessyng.
10 For he that doeth long after lyfe, and loueth to see good dayes, let hym refrayne his tongue from euyll, and his lippes, that they speake no guyle.
11 Let hym eschewe euyll and do good, let hym seke peace and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lorde are ouer the ryghteous, and his eares are open vnto their prayers: Againe, the face of the Lorde is ouer them that do euyll.
13 Moreouer, who is it that wyll harme you, yf ye folowe that which is good?
14 Yea, happy are ye if any trouble happen vnto you for ryghteousnes sake: Be not ye afrayde for any terrour of them, neither be ye troubled:
15 But sanctifie the Lorde God in your heartes. Be redy alwayes to geue an aunswere to euery man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you,
16 And that with mekenesse and feare, hauyng a good conscience: that where as they backebite you as euyll doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conuersation in Christe.
17 For it is better, yf the wyll of God be so, that ye suffer for wel doyng, then for euyll doyng.
18 Forasmuch as Christe hath once suffered for sinnes, the iust for the vniust to bryng vs to God, and was kylled as parteynyng to the fleshe, but was quickened in the spirite.
19 In which spirite, he also went & preached vnto the spirites that were in pryson,
20 Which sometime had ben disobedient, when once the long sufferyng of God abode in ye dayes of Noe, whyle the Arke was a preparyng, wherein fewe, that is to say eyght soules, were saued in the water:
21 To the which also the figure agreeth that nowe saueth vs, euen baptisme, not the puttyng away of the fylth of the fleshe, but in that a good conscience maketh request to God, by the resurrection of Iesus Christe:
22 Which is on the ryght hande of God, and is gone into heauen, angels, powers, and myght subdued vnto hym.
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.