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1 Wherfore, sence we coulde no longer forbeare, we thought it good to remaine at Athens alone.
2 And sent Timotheus, our brother and minister of God, and felowe labourer in the Gospell of Christe, to stablishe you & to comfort you concernyng your faith.
3 That no man shoulde be moued in these afflictions: For ye your selues knowe, that we are appoynted therevnto.
4 For veryly when we were with you, we tolde you before that we shoulde suffer tribulation, euen as it came to passe, and [as] ye knowe.
5 For this cause, when I coulde no longer forbeare, I sent to knowe your fayth, lest by some meanes the tempter had tempted you, and our labour had ben vayne.
6 But nowe lately, when Timotheus came from you vnto vs, and brought vs good tydynges of your fayth and loue, and howe that ye haue good remembraunce of vs alwayes, desiryng to see vs, as we also [to see] you:
7 Therefore brethren we were comforted ouer you, in all our aduersitie and necessitie, because of your fayth.
8 For nowe we lyue, yf ye stande fast in the Lorde.
9 For what thankes can we recompence to God agayne for you, for all the ioye wherwith we ioy for your sakes before our God?
10 Praying nyght and daye exceedyngly to see you personally, and repayre the wantynges of your fayth?
11 Nowe God him selfe, and our father, and our Lord Iesus Christe, guyde our waye vnto you.
12 And the Lorde encrease you, & make you abounde in loue one towarde another, and towarde all men, euen as we also towarde you,
13 To stablyshe your heartes vnblameable, in holynesse before God and our father, in the commyng of our Lorde Iesus Christe, with all his saintes.
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.