« | 1 Timothy 3 | » |
1 This is a faithful saying: Yf a man desire ye office of a bishop, he desireth a good worke.
2 A bishop therfore must be blamelesse, the husband of one wyfe, watchyng, sober, comely apparelled, a louer of hospitalitie, apt to teache,
3 Not geuen to ouermuch wine, no striker, not greedy of fylthy lucre: but gentle, abhorryng fyghtyng, abhorryng couetousnesse:
4 One that ruleth well his owne house, hauyng chyldren in subiection, with all grauitie.
5 For yf a man knowe not to rule his owne house, howe shall he care for the Churche of God?
6 Not a young scoler, lest he, beyng puffed vp, fall into the condempnation of the deuyll.
7 He must also haue a good report of the which are without, lest he fall into the rebuke and snare of the deuyll.
8 Likewise must ye ministers be graue, not double tongued, not geuen to much wine, neither greedy of fylthy lucre:
9 Holdyng the misterie of the fayth in a pure conscience.
10 And let them first be proued, then let them minister, beyng blamelesse.
11 Euen so must their wyues be graue, not euyll speakers, sober, faythfull in all thynges.
12 Let the deacons be the husbandes of one wife, and such as can rule their children well, and their owne housholdes.
13 For they that haue ministred well, get them selues a good degree, and great libertie in the fayth [whiche is] in Christe Iesus.
14 These thynges write I vnto thee, hopyng to come shortly vnto thee:
15 But yf I tary long, that thou mayest knowe howe thou oughtest to behaue thy selfe in the house of God, whiche is the Church of the lyuyng God, the pyller and grounde of trueth.
16 And without doubt, great is that misterie of godlynesse: God was shewed in the flesshe, was iustified in the spirite, was seene among the angels, was preached vnto the gentiles, was beleued on in the worlde, and was receaued vp in glorie.
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.