« | 2 Samuel 10 | » |
1 After this, the king of the children of Ammon dyed, and Hanon his sonne raigned in his steade.
2 Then saide Dauid: I will shewe kindnesse vnto Hanon the sonne of Nahas, as his father shewed kindnesse vnto me. And Dauid sent to comfort him by the hand of his seruauntes, ouer his father: And Dauids seruauntes came in to the land of the children of Ammon.
3 And the princes of the children of Ammon sayde vnto Hanon their lorde: Thinkest thou that Dauid doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comfortours to thee? Hath not Dauid rather sent his seruauntes vnto thee, to searche the citie, and to spie it out, and to ouerthrowe it?
4 Wherefore Hanon toke Dauids seruauntes, and shaued of the one halfe of their beardes, & cut of their garmetes in the middle, euen hard to the buttockes of them, and sent them away.
5 When they tolde it vnto Dauid, he sent to meete them (for they were men exceedingly ashamed) and the king said: Tary at Iericho vntill your beardes be growen, and then returne.
6 And when the children of Ammon sawe that they stancke in the sight of Dauid, they sent & hyred the Syrians of the house of Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba 20 thousand footemen, and of king Maacha a thousand men, and of Istob twelue thousand men.
7 And when Dauid heard of it, he sent Ioab and all the hoast of strong men.
8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put their armie in aray at the entring in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, of Rehob, Istob, and Maacha, were by them selues in the fielde.
9 Whe Ioab sawe that the front of the battaile was against him before and behinde, he chose of all the choyse of Israel, and put them in aray against the Syrians.
10 And the rest of the people he deliuered into the hand of Abisai his brother, that he might put them in aray against the children of Ammon.
11 And he saide: If the Syrians be stronger then I, thou shalt helpe me: But if the children of Ammon be to strong for thee, I will come and succour thee.
12 Therefore quite thee lyke a man, and let vs be valiaunt for our people and for the cities of our God: And the Lorde do that which is good in his owne eyes.
13 And Ioab proceeded foorth, & the people that was with him, to fight against the Syrians: but they fled before him.
14 And when the children of Ammon sawe that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abisai, and entred into the citie: And so Ioab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Hierusalem.
15 And whe the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered them together.
16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the ryuer, and they came to Helam: & Zoba the captayne of the hoast of Hadarezer went hefore them.
17 And when it was shewed Dauid, he gathered al Israel together, & passed ouer Iordane, and came to Helam: And the Syrians set them selues in aray against Dauid, and fought with him.
18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and Dauid destroyed seuen hundred charets of the Syrians, & fourtie thousand horsemen, and smote Zoba the captaine of their hoast, which also dyed there.
19 And when all the kinges that were seruauntes to Hadarezer, saw that they fel before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and serued them: and so the Syrians feared to helpe the children of Ammon any more.
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.