« | 2 Kings 24 | » |
1 In his dayes came Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon vp, & Iehoakim became his seruaunt three yeres: and then turned, and rebelled against him.
2 And the Lord sent against him bandes of the Chaldes, and bandes of the Syrians, and bandes of the Moabites, and bandes of the Ammonites: and sent them against Iuda to destroye it, according to the saying of the Lorde which he spake by his seruauntes the prophetes.
3 Onely at the bidding of the Lorde happened it so to Iuda, to put them out of his sight for the sinnes of Manasse, according to all that he did.
4 And for the innocent blood that he shed, and filled Hierusalem with innocent blood: and the Lorde would not be reconciled.
5 The rest of the wordes that concerne Iehoakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the booke of the cronicles of the kinges of Iuda?
6 And so Iehoakim slept with his fathers: and Iehoachin his sonne raigned in his steade.
7 And the king of Egypt came no more out of his lande: For the king of Babylon had taken from the ryuer of Egypt vnto the ryuer of Euphrates, all that pertayned to the king of Egypt.
8 Iehoachin was eighteene yeres olde when he began to raigne, and raigned in Hierusalem three monethes: His mothers name also was Nehusta, the daughter of Elnathan of Hierusalem.
9 And he did that which was euil in the sight of the Lorde, according to all as his father had done.
10 In that tyme came the seruauntes of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon vp against Hierusalem, & the citie was besieged.
11 And Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came against the citie, and his seruauntes did besiege it.
12 And Iehoachin the king of Iuda, came out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother, his seruauntes, his lordes, and his chamberlaynes: and the king of Babylon toke him in the eight yere of his raigne.
13 And he carryed out thence al the treasures of the house of the Lorde, and the treasure of the kinges house, and brake al the vessels of golde which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lorde, as the Lorde had sayde.
14 And he carryed away all Hierusalem, and al the lordes, and all the strong men of warre, euen ten thousand, into captiuitie, and all the craftesmen, & kepers, none remaining saue the poore common people of the lande.
15 And he carryed away Iehoachin to Babylon, and the kinges mother, and the kinges wyues, his chamberlaynes: & them that were mightie in the lande those carryed he away into captiuitie, from Hierusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the actiue men of warre, euen seuen thousand, and craftesmen, and porters a thousand, all that were strong and apt for warre, did the king of Babylon bryng to Babylon captiue.
17 And the king of Babylon made Mathania his fathers brother king in his steade, and chaunged his name to Zedekia.
18 Zedekia was twentie and one yeres olde when he began to raigne, and he raigned aleuen yeres in Hierusalem: His mothers name also was Hamital, the daughter of Ieremia of Libna.
19 And he did euill in the sight of the Lorde, according to all as Iehoachin had done.
20 For the wrath of the Lorde was moued against Hierusalem & Iuda, vntill he cast them out of his sight: And Zedekia rebelled against the king of Babylon.
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.