« | 2 Chronicles 14 | » |
1 So Abia slept with his fathers, and they buryed him in the citie of Dauid, and Asa his sonne raigned in his steade, in whose dayes the lande was in quietnesse ten yeres.
2 And Asa did that was good & right in the eyes of the Lorde his God.
3 For he toke away straunge aulters and the high places, and brake downe the images, and cut downe the groues:
4 And commaunded Iuda to seeke the Lorde God of their fathers, and to do according to the lawe and commaundement.
5 And he put away out of all the cities of Iuda the high places & the images: & the kingdome was quiet before him.
6 And he built strong cities in Iuda, because the lande was in rest, and he had no warre in those yeres: for the Lorde had geuen him rest.
7 Therefore he saide vnto Iuda: let vs builde these cities, & make about them walles, towres, gates, and barres, for the lande is yet in rest before vs: because we haue sought the Lorde our God, we haue sought him, and he hath geuen vs rest on euery side. And so they built, and it prospered with them.
8 And Asa had an armie of men that bare shieldes and speares out of Iuda three hundred thousand, & out of Beniamin that bare shieldes & drewe bowes two hundred and fourescore thousand: all these were valiaunt men.
9 And there came out against them Zarah the blacke Morian with an hoast of ten hundred thousand, & three hundred charettes, & came as farre as Maresa.
10 And Asa went out before him, and they ioyned the battaile in the valley of Zephata, beside Maresa.
11 And Asa cryed vnto the Lorde his God, and saide: Lorde, it is no harde thing with thee to helpe with many or them that haue no power: Helpe vs therfore O Lorde our God, for we trust to thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude: Thou art the Lord our God, and no man shall preuaile against thee.
12 So the Lord smote the blacke Moores before Asa and Iuda, and the blacke Moores fled.
13 And Asa & the people that was with him, folowed after them vnto Gerar: And the blacke Moores hoast was ouerthrowen, that there was none of them left, but were destroyed before the Lord and before his hoast: And they caryed away a mightie great pray.
14 And they smote all the cities rounde about Gerar, for the feare of the Lorde came vpon them: And they spoyled all the cities, & there was exceeding much spoyle in them.
15 They smote also the tentes of cattaile, and caryed away plentie of sheepe and camels, and returned to Hierusalem,
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.