« | 2 Samuel 16 | » |
1 And when Dauid was a litle past the toppe [of the hill] beholde, Ziba the seruaunt of Miphiboseth mette him with a coople of asses sadled, & vpon them two hundred loues of bread, & one hundred bunches of resinges, and an hundred of dried figges, & a bottel of wyne.
2 And the king sayde vnto Ziba: What meanest thou with these? And Ziba sayde: They be Asses for the kinges houshold to ryde on, and bread and fruit for the young men to eate, and wine, that such as be faynt in the wildernesse may drinke.
3 And the king sayde: Where is thy maisters sonne? Ziba aunswered vnto the king, Behold he tarieth still at Hierusalem: For he sayde, This day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdome of my father.
4 Then sayd the king to Ziba: Behold, thyne are all that pertayned vnto Miphiboseth. And Ziba sayde: I humbly beseche thee that I may finde grace in thy sight, my lorde O king.
5 And when king Dauid came to Bahurim, beholde, thence came out a man of the kinred of the house of Saul, named Semei the sonne of Gera, and he came out cursing.
6 And he cast stones at Dauid, and at all the seruauntes of Dauid: And all the people and al the men of warre were on his right hande, and on his left.
7 And thus sayd Semei when he cursed: Come foorth, come foorth thou bloodsheder, and thou man of Belial.
8 The Lord hath brought vpon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose steade thou hast raigned, and the Lorde hath deliuered the kingdome into the hande of Absalom thy sonne: And beholde, thou art come to thy mischiefe, because thou art a bloodsheder.
9 Then sayde Abisai the sonne of Zaruia vnto the king: Why doth this dead dogge curse my lord the king? let me go nowe, and take of the head of him.
10 And the king sayde: What haue I to do with you ye sonnes of Zaruia? for he curseth euen because the Lord hath bidden him curse Dauid: Who dare then say, Wherfore hast thou done so?
11 And Dauid sayde to Abisai, and to all his seruautes, Behold, my sonne which came of myne owne bowels, seketh my lyfe: How much more then may this sonne of Iemini do it? Suffre him to curse, for the Lorde hath bidden him.
12 It may be that the Lorde will loke on myne affliction, and do me good for his cursing this day.
13 And as Dauid and his men went by the way, Semei went along on the hilles syde ouer against him, & cursed as he went, and threwe stones at him, and cast duste.
14 And the king and all that were with him came weery, and refreshed them selues there.
15 And Absalom & al the people the men of Israel came to Hierusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.
16 And assoone as Husai the Arachite Dauids frend, was come vnto Absalo, Husai sayde vnto Absalom: God saue the king, God saue the king.
17 And Absalom sayde to Husai: Is this the kindnesse to thy frende? Why wentest thou not with him?
18 Husai aunswered vnto Absalom, Nay not so: But whom the Lorde and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, & with him wil I dwell.
19 And moreouer, vnto whom shal I do seruice? not to his sonne? And as I was seruaunt before thy father, so will I before thee.
20 Then spake Absalom to Ahithophel: Geue counsel what we shall do.
21 And Ahithophel said vnto Absalom: Get thee in vnto thy fathers cocubines whiche he hath left to kepe the house, and all Israel shal heare, that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hades of al that are with thee, be strong.
22 And so they spread Absalom a tent vpon the toppe of the house, and Absalom went in vnto his fathers concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 And the counsel of Ahithophel whiche he counseled in those dayes, was as a man had asked counsel at the oracle of God: euen so was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with Dauid and with Absalom.
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.