« | 1 Samuel 11 | » |
1 Then Nahas ye Ammonite came vp, & besieged Iabes in Gilead: And all the men of Iabes sayd vnto Nahas, Make a couenaut with vs, and we wilbe thy seruauntes.
2 And Nahas the Ammonite aunswered them: In this will I make a couenaunt with you, if I may thrust out al your right eyes, and bring that shame vpon all Israel.
3 To whom the elders of Iabes sayde: Geue vs seuen dayes respite, that we may sende messengers vnto all ye coastes of Israel: and then if there be no man to deliuer vs, we will come out to thee.
4 Then came the messengers to Gibea of Saul, and tolde this tydinges in the eares of the people: And all the people lift vp their voyces, and wept.
5 And beholde, Saul came folowing the cattell out of the fielde, and Saul sayde: what alyeth this people that thei wepe? And they tolde him the tydinges of the men of Iabes.
6 And the spirite of God came vpon Saul when he heard those tydinges, & he was exceeding angrie.
7 And toke a yoke of oxen, & hewed them in peeces, and sent them thorowout all the coastes of Israel by the handes of messengers, saying: Whosoeuer cometh not foorth after Saul and after Samuel, so shal his oxen be serued. And the feare of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
8 And whe he numbred them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand men, and the men of Iuda thirtie thousande.
9 And they sayd vnto the messengers that came: So say vnto the men of Iabes in Gilead, To morowe by that time ye sunne be hotte ye shal haue helpe. And the messengers came, and shewed it to the men of Iabes, which were glad.
10 Therfore the men of Iabes sayde: To morowe we will come out vnto you, and ye shall do with vs all that pleaseth you.
11 And on the morowe Saul put the people in three partes, & they came in vpon the hoast in the morning watche, and slue the Ammonites vntill the heate of the day: And they that remayned, were skattered, so that two of them were not left together.
12 And the people sayd vnto Samuel: Who is he that sayde, shal Saul raigne ouer vs? bring those men, that we may slay them.
13 And Saul sayde: There shall no man dye this day: For to day the Lorde hath saued Israel.
14 Then sayde Samuel vnto the people: Come, that we may go to Gilgal, and renue the kingdome there.
15 And all the people went to Gilgal, and made Saul king there before the Lord in Gilgal, and there they offred peace offringes before the Lorde: And there Saul and al the men of Israel reioyced exceedingly.
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.