« | 1 Samuel 8 | » |
1 When Samuel was old, he made his sonnes iudges ouer Israel.
2 The name of his eldest sonne was Ioel, and the name of the seconde Abia, and they were iudges in Beerseba.
3 And his sonnes walked not in his wayes, but turned aside after lucre, and tooke rewarde, and peruerted the ryght.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered them together, and came to Samuel vnto Rama,
5 And sayd vnto him: Beholde, thou art olde, and thy sonnes walke not in thy wayes: Now therfore make vs a king to iudge vs, as all other nations [haue]
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, geue vs a king to iudge vs: And Samuel prayed vnto the lorde.
7 And the Lorde saide vnto Samuel, Heare the voyce of the people in all that they say vnto thee: For they haue not cast thee away, but they haue cast me away, that I should not raigne ouer them.
8 And as they haue euer done sence I brought them out of Egypt vnto this day, and haue forsaken me, and serued other gods, euen so do they vnto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken vnto their voyce: howbeit yet testifie vnto them, & shewe them the maner of the king that shall raigne ouer them.
10 And Samuel tolde all the wordes of the Lorde vnto the people that asked a king of him,
11 And he said: This shal be the maner of the king that shall raigne ouer you, he will take your sonnes and put them to his charets, and make his horsemen of them, to run before his charet.
12 And will make him of the captaines ouer thousandes and ouer fifties, and will set them to eare his grounde, and to gather in his haruest, & to make instrumentes of warre, and thinges that serue for his charets.
13 And he will take your daughters, and make them appoticaries, cookes, and bakers.
14 And he shall take your fieldes, and your vineyardes, and your best oliue trees, and geue them to his seruauntes.
15 And he shall take the tenth of your seede, and of your vineyardes, and geue it to his eunuches, & to his seruauntes.
16 And he shal take your men seruauntes, and maide seruauntes, young men, and the chiefe of your asses, and put them to his worke.
17 And he shall take the tenth of your sheepe, and ye shall be his seruauntes.
18 And ye shall crie out at that time, because of your king whiche ye shall haue chosen you, & the Lorde wil not heare you at that day.
19 Neuerthelesse, the people woulde not heare the voyce of Samuel, but did say, Nay, not so: But there shalbe a king ouer vs,
20 That we may be lyke other nations, and that our king may iudge vs, and go out before vs, and fight our battailes.
21 Therfore when Samuel hearde all the wordes of the people, he rehearsed them in the eares of the Lord.
22 And the Lord sayd to Samuel: Hearken vnto their voyce, and make them a king. And Samuel said vnto the men of Israel: Go euery man vnto his citie.
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.