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1 In the three & twentith yere of Ioas the sonne of Ahaziahu king of Iuda, Iehoahaz the sonne of Iehu began to raigne ouer Israel in Samaria seuenteene yeres.
2 And he wrought that which was euil in the sight of the Lorde, and folowed the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat which made Israel to sinne, and departed not therfrom.
3 And the Lorde was angry with Israel, and delyuered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, & into the hand of Benhadad the sonne of Hazael all their dayes.
4 And Iehoahaz besought the Lord, & the Lorde heard him: For he considered the trouble of Israel, wherewith the king of Syria troubled them.
5 (And the Lord gaue Israel a deliuerer, so that they went out from vnder the subiection of the Syrians: And the children of Israel dwelt in their tentes as before tyme.
6 Neuerthelesse, they departed not from the sinnes of the house of Ieroboam which made Israel sinne, but walked in them: And there remayned an idols groue still also in Samaria.)
7 Neither did he leaue of the people to Iehoahaz but fiftie horsemen, ten charets, and ten thousand footemen: for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them lyke thresshed dust.
8 The rest of the wordes that concerne Iehoahaz and all that he dyd, and his power, are they not writte in the booke of the cronicles of the kinges of Israel?
9 And Iehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buryed him in Samaria, and Ioas his sonne raigned in his steade.
10 In the thirtie and seuenth yere of Ioas king of Iuda, began Iehoas the sonne of Iehoahaz to raigne ouer Israel in Samaria sixteene yeres.
11 And did that which is euill in the sight of the Lorde, and departed not from all the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat that made Israel sinne: for he walked therein.
12 The remnaunt of the wordes that concerne Ioas, and all that he did, and his power wherewith he fought against Amaziahu king of Iuda, are they not written in the booke of the cronicles of the kinges of Israel?
13 And Ioas slept with his fathers, and Ieroboam sat vpon his seate: And Ioas was buryed in Samaria among the kinges of Israel.
14 When Elisa was fallen sicke of his sicknesse whereof he dyed, Ioas the king of Israel came downe vnto him, and wept before him, and saide: O my father, my father, the charet of Israel, & the horsemen of the same.
15 Elisa saide vnto him: Take bowe and arrowes. And he toke vnto him bowe and arrowes.
16 And he saide to the king of Israel: Put thyne hand vpon the bowe. And he put his hand vpon it: And Elisa put his handes vpon the kinges handes,
17 And said: Open a windowe eastward. And when he had opened it, Elisa sayd: shoote. And he shot: And he saide, The arrowe of health of the Lorde, and the arrowe of health against Syria: For thou shalt smyte Syria in Aphec, till thou haue made an ende of them.
18 And he saide: Take the arrowes. And he toke them: And he said vnto the king of Israel, Smyte the grounde. And he smote thrise, and ceassed.
19 And the man of God was angry with him, and saide: Thou shouldest haue smitten fiue or sixe tymes, and then thou haddest smytten Syria till thou haddest made an end of them: where now thou shalt smyte Syria but thrise.
20 And so Elisa dyed, & they buried him: and the souldiers of the Moabites came into the lande the same yere.
21 And it chaunced as some of them were burying a man, and spyed the souldiers, they cast ye man into the sepulchre of Elisa: And when the man was roulled downe, and touched the bones of Elisa, he reuiued, and stoode vpon his feete.
22 But Hazael king of Syria vexed Israel all the dayes of Iehoahaz.
23 And the Lorde had mercie on them, and pitied them, and had respect vnto them, because of his appoyntment made with Abraham, Isahac, and Iacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from him as yet.
24 So Hazael the king of Syria dyed, & Benhadad his sonne raigned in his steade.
25 And Iehoas the sonne of Iehoahaz went againe, and toke out of the hande of Benhadad the sonne of Hazael, the cities which he had taken away out of the hande of Iehoahaz his father in warre: For three times did Ioas beate him, and restored the cities vnto Israel againe.
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.