« | 1 Samuel 12 | » |
1 And Samuel sayd vnto al Israel: Beholde, I haue hearkened vnto your voyce in all that ye sayde vnto me, and haue made a king ouer you.
2 Nowe therfore, your king walketh before you: and I am olde and graye headed, and behold my sonnes are with you, & I haue walked before you from my childehod vnto this day.
3 Beholde here I am, beare recorde of me before the Lorde & before his annoynted: Whose oxe haue I taken? or whose asse haue I taken? whom haue I done wrong to? Whom haue I hurt? Or of whose hande haue I receaued any bribe, to blind myne eyes therwith? and I will restore it you.
4 They sayde: Thou hast done vs no wrong, nor hurt vs, neither hast thou taken ought of any mans hande.
5 He sayd vnto them againe: The Lord is witnesse against you, and his annoynted is witnesse this day, that ye haue found naught in my handes. And they aunswered: He is witnesse.
6 And Samuel sayd vnto the people: It is the Lorde that made Moyses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers out of the lande of Egypt.
7 Nowe therfore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lorde, according to all the righteousnesses of the Lorde, whiche he shewed both you and your fathers.
8 After yt Iacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cryed vnto the Lord, the Lord sent Moyses & Aaron, which brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwel in this place.
9 And whe they forgat the Lord their God, he solde the into ye hand of Sisara captayne of the hoast of Hazor, & into the hande of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
10 And they cryed vnto the Lord, & sayd: We haue sinned, because we haue forsaken the Lord, and haue serued Baalim and Astharoth: Nowe therfore deliuer vs out of the handes of our enemies, and we will serue thee.
11 And ye Lord sent Ierobaal, Bedan, Iephthah, and Samuel, and deliuered you out of the handes of your enemies on euerie side, and ye dwelled safe.
12 And for all that, when you sawe that Nahas the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye sayd vnto me: Not so, but a king shall raigne ouer vs: when yet the Lord your God was your king.
13 Nowe therfore behold the king whom ye haue chosen, and whom ye haue desired: lo, ye Lorde hath set a king ouer you.
14 If ye will feare the Lorde and serue him, and heare his voyce, & not disobey the worde of the Lorde, both ye and the king that raigneth ouer you, shall folowe the Lord your God.
15 If ye will not hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, but disobey the Lordes mouth, then shall the hand of the Lord be vpon you, and on your fathers.
16 Now also stand, & see this great thing whiche the Lorde will do before your eyes.
17 Is it not nowe wheate hearuest? I will call vnto the Lorde, & he shal sende thunder & rayne, that ye may perceaue and see howe that your wickednes is great which ye haue done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king.
18 And so Samuel called vnto the Lord, and the Lorde sent thunder and rayne the same day: And all the people feared the Lord and Samuel exceedingly.
19 And al the people sayd vnto Samuel: Pray for thy seruauntes vnto the Lord thy God, that we dye not: for we haue sinned in asking vs a king, besyde all our [other] sinnes.
20 And Samuel sayde vnto the people, feare not (Ye haue in deede done al this wickednesse, yet depart not from folowing of the Lorde, but serue the Lorde with all your heartes:
21 Neither turne ye away, for [then ye go] after vayne thinges, which are not able to profite you, nor deliuer you, for they are but vanitie.)
22 For the Lorde will not forsake his people, because of his great names sake: because it hath pleased the Lorde to make you his people.
23 Moreouer, God forbid that I shoulde sinne against the Lord, and ceasse praying for you: but I will shewe you the good and right way.
24 Therfore feare you the Lorde, & serue him in the trueth, and with all your heartes: & consider howe great thinges he hath done for you.
25 But and yf ye do wickedly, then shall ye perishe, both ye and your king.
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.