« | 2 Chronicles 15 | » |
1 And the spirite of God came on Azaria the sonne of Obed,
2 And he went out to meete Asa, and said vnto him: Heare me Asa, and al Iuda and Beniamin, the Lorde is with you, while ye be with him: and when ye seeke him, he wyll be founde of you: and againe when ye forsake him, he also wyll forsake you.
3 Nowe for a long season Israel hath ben without the true God, and without priestes to teache, and without law.
4 And when any man in his trouble did turne vnto the Lorde God of Israel and sought him, he was found of them.
5 And in that time there was no peace to him that did go out and in, but great sedition was there among all the inhabiters of the earth.
6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and citie of citie: for God did moue all aduersitie among them.
7 Play ye therefore the men, and let not your handes slacke: for your worke shal be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard those wordes, and the prophecie of Azaria the sonne of Obed the prophete, he toke courage, and put away the abhominable idols out of all the lande of Iuda and Beniamin, and out of the cities which he wan in mount Ephraim, and renued the aulter of the Lorde that was before the porche of the Lorde.
9 And he gathered al Iuda and Beniamin, and the straungers with them, out of Ephraim, Manasse, & Simeon: For there fell many to him out of Israel, when they sawe that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they assembled together at Hierusale the third moneth, the fifteenth yere of the raigne of Asa.
11 And they offered vnto the Lorde the same time of the spoyle which they had brought, seuen hundred oxen, and seuen thousand sheepe.
12 And they made a couenaunt to seeke the Lorde God of their fathers, with all their heart, and all their soule.
13 And whosoeuer woulde not seeke the Lorde God of Israel, shoulde dye for it, whether he were small or great, man or woman.
14 And they sware vnto the Lorde with a loude voyce, showting and blowing with trumpettes and shawmes.
15 And all they in Iuda reioyced at the oth: for they had sworne vnto the Lord with all their heart, & sought him with all their lust, and he was found of them: And the Lorde gaue them rest rounde about on euery syde.
16 And king Asa put Maacha his mother out of aucthoritie, because she had made an abhominable idol in a groue: And Asa broke downe her idol, & stamped it, & burnt it at the brooke Cedron.
17 But al the high places were not taken away out of Israel, though the heart of Asa was perfect all his dayes.
18 And he brought into the house of God the thinges that his father had dedicate, and that he him selfe had dedicate: euen siluer, and golde, and iewels.
19 And there was no more warre vnto the thirtie and fiue yere of the raigne of Asa.
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.