« | 1 Samuel 4 | » |
1 And Samuel spake vnto all Israel: And Israel went out against the Philistines to battell, and pitched besyde the Eben ezer, and the Philistines pitched in Aphec,
2 And put them selues in aray against Israel: and when they ioyned the battell, Israel was smytten downe before the Philistines, and the Philistines slue of the armie in the fielde about a foure thousand men.
3 And when the people were come into their tentes, the elders of Israel sayde: Wherfore hath the Lorde caste vs downe this day before the Philistines? let vs fetch the arke of the appoyntmet of the Lorde out of Silo vnto vs, that when it cometh among vs, it may saue vs out of the hand of our enemies.
4 And so the people went to Silo, and fet from thence the arke of the appoyntment of the Lorde of hoastes, which dwelleth betweene the cherubims: And there wer the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni and Phinehes, with the arke of the appoyntment of God.
5 And when the arke of the appoyntment of the Lorde came into the hoast, all Israel showted a mightie showte, so that the earth rang againe.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noyse of the showte, they saide: What meaneth the sounde of this mightie showte in the hoast of the Ebrues? And they vnderstode howe that the arke of the Lorde was come into the hoast.
7 And the Philistines were afraide, and saide: God is come into the hoast. And they said againe: Wo vnto vs, for it was neuer so before this.
8 Wo vnto vs, who shall deliuer vs out of the hand of these mightie goddes? these are the goddes that smote the Egyptians with many plagues in the wildernes.
9 Be strong and quite your selues lyke men, O ye Philistines, that ye be no seruaunts vnto the Ebrues, as they haue ben to you: Be of a manly corage therfore and fight.
10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten downe, and fled euery man into his tent: And there was an exceeding great slaughter, for there were ouerthrowen of Israel thirtie thousand footemen.
11 And the arke of God was taken, and the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni & Phinehes, were dead.
12 And there ran a man of Beniamin out of the armie, and came to Silo the same day with his clothes rent, and earth vpon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat vpon a stoole by the way side, wayting: for his heart feared for the arke of God. And when the man came into the citie, and tolde it, all the citie cryed.
14 And when Eli heard the noyse of the crying, he saide: What meaneth this noyse of the tumult? And the man came in hastyly, and tolde Eli.
15 Eli was 98 yeres olde, & his sight failed, him that he could not see.
16 And the man said vnto Eli: I am he that came out of the armie, & fled this day out of the hoast. And he said: What thing is done my sonne?
17 The messenger aunswered, and said: Israel is fled before the Philistines, & there hath ben a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sonnes Hophni and Phinehes are dead, and the arke of God is taken.
18 And when he made mention of the arke of God, Eli fell from of his stoole backward by the side of the gate, and his necke brake, and he dyed: For he was an olde man and heauy, and iudged Israel fourtie yeres?
19 And his daughter in lawe Phinehes wyfe was with childe, and nye the birth: And when she heard the tidinges that the arke of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed her selfe, and trauayled, for her paynes came vpon her.
20 And about the tyme of her death, the women that stoode about her, saide vnto her: Feare not, for thou hast borne a sonne. But she aunswered not, nor regarded it.
21 And she named the childe Ichabod, saying: The glorie is departed fro Israel, (because the arke of God was taken, and because of her father in lawe and her husband.)
22 And she saide againe: The glorie is gone from Israel, for the arke of God is taken.
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.