« | 2 Corinthians 11 | » |
1 Would to God ye coulde haue suffred me a litle in my foolishnesse: and in dede ye do forbeare me.
2 For I am gelous ouer you, with Godly gelousie: For I haue coupled you to one man, to present [you] a chaste virgin vnto Christe.
3 But I feare lest by any meanes, that as the serpent begyled Eue through his subtiltie, euen so your myndes shoulde be corrupted fro the singlenesse that is towarde Christe.
4 For yf he that commeth, preacheth another Iesus, whom we haue not preached: or yf ye receaue another spirite whom ye haue not receaued: either another Gospell which ye haue not receaued, you woulde well haue suffered [hym].
5 Ueryly I suppose that I was not behynde the chiefe Apostles.
6 But though [I be] rude in speakyng, yet not in knowledge, but in all thynges among you, we haue ben well knowen to the vtmost.
7 Dyd I sinne because I submitted my selfe, that ye myght be exalted, & because I preached to you the Gospell of God freely?
8 I robbed other Churches, takyng wages of them, to do you seruice.
9 And when I was present with you, and had nede, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lackyng vnto me, the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied, and in all thynges I haue kept my selfe so that I shoulde not be chargeable to any man, and [so] wyll I kepe my selfe.
10 The trueth of Christe is in me, that this reioycyng shall not be shut vp agaynst me in the regions of Achaia.
11 Wherfore? Because I loue you not? God knoweth.
12 But what I do, that wyll I do, to cut away occasion from them which desire occasion, that they myght be founde lyke vnto vs, in yt wherin they gloried.
13 For such false Apostles [are] disceiptfull workers, transfourmed into ye Apostles of Christe.
14 And no maruayle, for Satan himselfe is transfourmed into an angel of lyght.
15 Therfore it is no great thyng though his ministers be transfourmed as the ministers of righteousnesse, whose ende shalbe accordyng to their workes.
16 I say agayne, let no man thynke that I am foolyshe: or els euen nowe take ye me as a foole, that I also may boast my selfe a litle.
17 That I speake, I speake it not after the Lorde: but as it were foolishly, in this maner of boastyng.
18 Seyng that many glorie after ye fleshe, I wyll glorie also.
19 For ye suffer fooles gladly, seyng ye your selues are wyse.
20 For ye suffer, yf a man bryng you into bondage, yf a man deuoure, yf a man take, yf a man exalt hym selfe, yf a man smite you on the face.
21 I speake concernyng reproche, as though we had ben weake: Howbeit, wherin soeuer any man is bolde, (I speake foolishly) I am bolde also.
22 They are Ebrues, euen so am I. They are Israelites, euen so am I. They are the seede of Abraham, euen so am I.
23 They are the ministers of Christe, (I speake as a foole) I am more: in labours more aboundant, in stripes aboue measure, in pryson more plenteouslie, in death oft.
24 Of the Iewes fyue tymes receaued I fourtie [stripes] saue one.
25 Thryse was I beaten with roddes, once stoned, thrise I suffred shipwracke, nyght and day haue I ben in ye depth:
26 In iourneying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of myne owne nation, in perils among the heathen, in perils in the citie, in perils in the wildernesse, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren,
27 In labour & trauayle, in watchinges often, in hunger and thirst, in fastinges often, in colde and nakednesse,
28 Besides the thynges which outwardlye come vnto me: my dayly encombraunce [is] the care of all the Churches.
29 Who is weake, and I am not weake? who is offended, and I burne not?
30 If I must needes glory, I wyll glory of the thynges that concerne myne infirmities.
31 The God and father of our Lorde Iesus Christe, which is blessed for euermore, knoweth that I lye not.
32 In [the citie of] Damascus, Aretas the kynges gouernour of the people, layde watche in the citie of the Damascens, and woulde haue caught me:
33 And at a wyndowe was I let downe in a basket through the wall, and scaped his handes.
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.