« | 2 Kings 2 | » |
1 And it chaunced, that whe the Lord would take vp Elias into heauen by a whorle wind, Elias went with Elisa from Gilgal.
2 And Elias saide vnto Elisa: Tary here I praye thee, for the Lorde hath sent me to Bethel. Elisa saide vnto him: As the Lorde lyueth, and as thy soule liueth, I will not leaue thee. And they came downe to Bethel,
3 And the children of the prophetes that were at Bethel came out to Elisa, and saide vnto him: knowest thou not how that the Lord wyll take away thy maister from thy head this day? He saide: I knowe it also, holde you your peace.
4 And Elia saide vnto him: Elisa, tary here I praye thee, for the Lorde hath sent me to Iericho. He saide: As the Lorde lyueth, and as thy soule lyueth, I will not leaue thee. And so they came to Iericho.
5 And the children of the prophetes that were at Iericho came to Elisa, and said vnto him: Knowest thou not, that the Lorde wil take away thy maister from thy head this day? He aunswered: I know it also, holde ye your peace.
6 And Elias said vnto him: Tary I pray thee here, for the Lorde hath sent me to Iordane. He saide: As the Lord liueth, & as thy soule lyueth, I wyll not leaue thee. And so they two went together.
7 And fiftie men of the sonnes of the prophetes came & stoode on the other syde a farre of: and they two stoode by Iordane.
8 And Elias toke his mantell, & wrapt it together, and smote the waters, and they were deuided parte the one way, and part the other, so that they two went ouer through the drye lande.
9 And it fortuned, that assoone as they were ouer, Elias saide vnto Elisa: Aske what I shal do for thee, yer I be taken away from thee. And Elisa saide: I pray thee let thy spirite be double vpon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked an hard thing: Neuerthelesse, if thou see me whe I am taken away from thee, thou shalt haue it so: yf thou do not, it shall not be.
11 And it fortuned, that as they went walking and talking: beholde, there appeared a charet of fyre, and horses of fyre, & parted them both a sunder, and Elias went vp through the whorle winde into heauen.
12 And Elisa sawe, and cryed: O my father, O my father, the charet of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he sawe him no more: and he toke his owne clothes, and rent them in two peeces.
13 He toke vp also the mantell of Elias that fell from him, and went backe againe, and stoode by Iordanes syde.
14 And toke the mantel of Elias that fel from him, and smote the waters, & he said: Where is the Lord God of Elias, & he him selfe? And when he had smitten the waters, they parted this waye and that waye: and Elisa went ouer.
15 And when the childre of the prophetes which were at Iericho sawe him from a farre, they sayde, The spirite of Elias doth rest on Elisa: And they came to meete him, and fel to the grounde before him,
16 And saide vnto him: See, now there be with thy seruauntes fiftie strong men, let the go we pray thee & seeke thy maister: yf happly the spirite of the Lorde hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. And he saide: Ye shall send none.
17 And when they laye vpon him tyll he was ashamed, he said: Send. They sent therefore fiftie men, which sought him three dayes, but found him not.
18 And when they came againe to him (which taryed at Iericho) he saide vnto them: Did I not saye vnto you, that ye should not go?
19 And the men of the citie saide vnto Elisa: beholde sir, the dwelling of this citie is pleasaunt, as thou thy selfe seest: but the water is naught, & the grounde barren.
20 He saide: Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21 And he went vnto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in thyther, and saide, thus saith the Lord: I haue healed these waters, there shall not come hencefoorth either death or barennesse.
22 So the waters were healed vnto this day, according to the saying of Elias, which he spake.
23 And he went vp from thence vnto Bethel: And as he was going vp the way, there came litle children out of the citie, and mocked him, & saide vnto him: Go vp thou balde head, go vp thou balde head.
24 And he turned backe, and loked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lorde: And there came two shee beares out of the wood, and tare fourtie and two children of them.
25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he turned againe to Samaria.
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.