« | 1 Samuel 28 | » |
1 And in those dayes, the Philistines gathered theyr hoast together to warre, to fight with Israel: And Achis sayd to Dauid, Be sure thou shalt go out with me to battayle, thou and the men that are with thee.
2 And Dauid sayde to Achis: Surelie thou shalt knowe what thy seruaunt can do. And Achis said to Dauid: Then I will make thee keper of my head for euer.
3 Samuel was then dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Rama his owne citie: And Saul had put away the sorcerers, and the soothsayers out of the land.
4 And the Philistines gathered together, and came, and pytched in Sunem: And Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pytched in Gilboa.
5 And when Saul sawe the hoast of the Philistines, he was afrayde, & his heart was sore astonied.
6 And when Saul asked councell of the Lorde, the Lorde aunswered him not, neither by dreames, nor by Urim, nor yet by prophetes.
7 Then sayd Saul vnto his seruautes: Seeke me a woman that hath a familier spirite, that I may go to her, and aske of her. And his seruauntes sayd to him: Beholde, there is a woman that hath a familier spirite at Endor.
8 And Saul chaunged him selfe, and put on other rayment, and then went he & two men with him, and they came to the woman by nyght, and he sayde: I pray thee coniecture vnto me by the familier spirite, & bring me him vp whom I shall name vnto thee.
9 And the woman saide vnto him: Beholde, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath destroyed the sorcerers, and the soothsayers out of the land: Wherfore then layest thou a snare for my soule, to cause me to die?
10 And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying: As the Lorde lyueth, there shall no harme come to thee for this thyng.
11 Then saide the woman: Whom shall I fetch vp vnto thee? He aunswered: Bring me vp Samuel.
12 When the woman sawe Samuel, she cryed with a loude voyce, and spake to Saul, saying: Why hast thou deceaued me? for thou art Saul.
13 And the king saide vnto her: Be not afrayd: What sawest thou? The woman saide vnto Saul: I sawe gods ascending vp out of the earth.
14 He saide vnto her againe: What fashion is he of? She aunswered: There cometh vp an olde man with a mantel vpon him. And Saul perceaued that it was Samuel, and he stowped with his face to the ground, and bowed him selfe.
15 And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou vnquieted me, to make me be brought vp? Saul aunswered: I am sore encumbred, for ye Philistines make warre against me, and God is departed from me, and aunswereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreames: And therefore I haue called thee, that thou mayest tell me what I shall do.
16 Then saide Samuel: Wherefore doest thou aske of me, while the Lord is gone from thee, and is become thyne enemie?
17 Trulie the Lord hath done to him, euen as he spake by my hand: For the Lorde hath rent the kingdome out of thyne hand, and geuen it thy neyghbour Dauid.
18 Because thou obeyedst not the voyce of the Lorde, nor executedst his fierce wrath vpon the Amalekites, therefore hath the Lord done this vnto thee this day.
19 And moreouer, the Lord will deliuer Israel with thee into the handes of the Philistines: To morrowe shalt thou and thy sonnes be with me, and the Lorde shall geue the hoast of Israel into the handes of the Philistines.
20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afrayde because of the wordes of Samuel. And there was no strength in him: for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
21 And the woman came vnto Saul, & sawe that he was sore troubled, & sayde vnto him: See, thyne handmayde hath obeyed thy voyce, & haue put my soule in my hand, and haue hearkened vnto thy wordes which thou sayedst vnto me.
22 Nowe therefore I pray thee hearken thou also vnto the voyce of thyne handmayde, and let me set a morsell of bread before thee, that thou mayest eate, and get thee strength, & then go on thy iourney.
23 He refused, and sayde: I will not eate. But his seruauntes and the woman together compelled him, and he hearkened vnto their voyce: And so he arose from the earth, and sat on a bed.
24 The woman had a fat calfe in the house, and she hasted and killed it, and tooke floure and kneded it, and did bake vnleauened bread thereof:
25 And brought them before Saul, and before his seruauntes: And when they had eaten, they stoode vp, & went away the same night.
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.