« | 1 Samuel 19 | » |
1 Saul spake to Ionatha his sonne, and to all his seruauntes, that they should kill Dauid.
2 But Ionatha Sauls sonne had a great fauour to Dauid, & Ionathan tolde Dauid, saying, Saul my father goeth about to slay thee: Nowe therfore I pray thee take heede to thy selfe vntyll the mornyng, and abyde in some secrete place, and hyde thy selfe:
3 And I wyll go out, and stande by my father in the fielde where thou art, and wyll commune with my father of thee, and whatsoeuer I see, I wyll tell thee.
4 And Ionathan spake good of Dauid vnto Saul his father, and sayde vnto him: Let not the king sinne against his seruaunt, against Dauid: for he hath not sinned against thee, and his workes haue ben to theewarde very good.
5 For he dyd put his life in his hande, and slue the Philistine, and the Lorde brought to passe a great health for all Israel: Thou sawest it, and thou reioycedst: Wherfore then wilt thou sinne against innocent blood, and slay Dauid without a cause?
6 And Saul hearkened vnto the voyce of Ionathan, and Saul sware, as the Lorde lyueth he shall not dye.
7 And Ionathan called Dauid, & Ionathan shewed hym all those wordes: & Ionathan brought Dauid to Saul, & he was in his presence as in tymes past.
8 And the warre began againe, and Dauid went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slue them with a great slaughter, and they fled from hym.
9 And the euyl spirite of the Lorde was vpon Saul as he sate in his house, hauing a iauelin in his hand: And Dauid played with his hand.
10 And Saul entended to smyte Dauid to the wall with the iauelyn: But he ryd him selfe out of Sauls presence, as he smote the speare into the walle: And Dauid fled & was saued the same night.
11 Saul also sent messengers vnto Dauids house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: And Michol Dauids wyfe tolde it him, saying: If thou saue not thy selfe this night, to morowe thou shalt be slayne.
12 And so Michol let Dauid downe through a windowe: and he went and fled, and was saued.
13 And Michol toke an image, and layde it in the bed, & put a pillowe stuffed with goates heere vnder the head of it, and couered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to fetche Dauid, she said, he is sicke.
15 And Saul sent the messengers againe to see Dauid, saying: Bring him to me bed and all, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold there lay an image in the bed, with a pillowe of goates heere vnder the head of it.
17 And Saul sayde vnto Michol: Why hast thou mocked me so, and sent away mine enemie, that he is escaped? Michol aunswered Saul: For he sayd vnto me, let me go, or els I will kill thee.
18 And so Dauid fled, and escaped, & came to Samuel to Rama, and tolde him all that Saul had done to him: And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19 And one tolde Saul, saying: Beholde, Dauid is at Naioth in Rama.
20 And Saul sent messengers to fet Dauid: And when they sawe a company of prophetes prophecying, & Samuel standing as appoynted ouer them, the spirite of God fell vpon the messengers of Saul, and they prophecied to.
21 And when it was tolde Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophecied lykewyse. And Saul sent messengers yet againe the third time, and they prophecied also.
22 Then went he him selfe to Rama, and came to a great well that is in Sechu, and he asked and sayde: Where are Samuel & Dauid? And one sayd: Beholde, they be at Naioth in Rama.
23 And he went thyther euen to Naioth in Rama, and the spirite of God came vpon him also, and he went prophecying vntill he came to Naioth in Rama.
24 And he stript of his clothes & prophecied before Samuel in lyke maner, and fell naked al that day and all that night: And therof it is that they say, Is Saul also among the prophetes?
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.