« | 2 Samuel 23 | » |
1 These also be the last wordes of Dauid: Dauid the sonne of Isai said: and ye man which was ordayned the annoynted of the God of Iacob and the sweete Psalmist of Israel, sayde:
2 The spirite of the Lorde spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spake to me, euen the most mightie of Israel sayde: A ruler ouer men being iust, ruling in ye feare of God:
4 And as the morning lyght when the sunne is vp, a morning in which are no cloudes, [so shal my house be, but not] as the grasse of the earth is by bryghtnesse and rayne.
5 For so shal not my house be with God: For he hath made with me an euerlasting couenaunt, perfect and sure in all poyntes: and this is truly all my health, and all my desyre, that it growe, but not as grasse.
6 But the vngodly man, shall be as a thorne cleane pluckt vp, which can not be taken with handes:
7 But the man that shall touche them, must be defenced with iron, or with the shaft of a speare, and they shalbe burnt with fire in the same place.
8 These be the names of the mightie men whom Dauid had: One that sate in the seate of wisedome, being chiefest among the princes, was Adino of Ezni, he slue eyght hundred at one tyme.
9 After him was Eliazar the sonne of Dodo the sonne of Ahohi, one of the three worthies with Dauid, which defyed the Philistines that were there gathered together to battaile, when the men of Israel were gone vp.
10 He arose and layed on the Philistines, vntill his hand was weery, and claue vnto the sword: And the Lorde gaue great victory the same day, and the people returned after him, only to spoyle.
11 After him was Samma the sonne of Age the Hararite: & the Philistines gathered together besyde a towne, where was a parcell of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines:
12 But he stoode in ye middest of the groud, and defended it, & slue the Philistines: and the Lorde gaue great victorie.
13 These three (which were of the thirtie chiefe captaines) went downe to Dauid in the haruest tyme vnto the caue Adullam: and the hoast of the Philistines pytched in the valley of giauntes.
14 And Dauid was then in an houlde, and the souldiers of ye Philistines were in Bethlehem.
15 And Dauid longed, & saide: Oh that I had of the water that is in the wel by the gate of Bethlehem for to drynke.
16 And the three mightie brake through the hoast of the Philistines, & drue water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and toke and brought it to Dauid: Neuerthelesse he would not drinke thereof, but powred it vnto the Lorde,
17 And saide, The Lorde forbyd that I should do so: Is not this the blood of the men that went in ieoperdie of theyr lyues? & therefore he would not drinke it. And these thinges did these three mightie men.
18 Abisai the brother of Ioab the sonne of Zaruia, was chiefe among the three, & he lyft vp his speare against three hundred, and slue them, & had the name among the three:
19 For he was most excellent of the three, and was their captayne: Howbeit he attayned not vnto [the first] three.
20 And Banaiah the sonne of Iehoida the sonne of a mightie man, valiaunt in actes, of Rabzeel, slue two strog men of Moab: He went downe also, and slue a lion in the middest of a pit in time of snowe.
21 And he slue an Egyptian a goodly bigge man, and the Egyptian had a speare in his hand: But he went downe to him with a staffe, and plucked the speare out of the Egyptians hand, and slue him with his owne speare.
22 These thinges did Banaiah ye sonne of Iehoida, and had the name among the three worthies.
23 He was honorable among thirtie, but he attayned not to [the first] three: And Dauid made him of his counsel.
24 Asahel the brother of Ioab, was one of the thirtie: Elhanan the sonne of Dodo, of Bethlehem:
25 Samma the Harodite, Elica the Harodite,
26 (23:25) Helez the Paltite, Ira the sonne of Acces the Thecoite:
27 (23:26) Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai ye Husathite:
28 (23:27) Zelmon an Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite:
29 (23:28) Heleb the sonne of Baanah an Netophatite, Ithai the sonne of Ribai out of Gibea of the children of Beniamin:
30 (23:29) Banaiah the Pirathonite, Heddai of the ryuer of Gaas:
31 (23:30) Abialbon the Arbathite, Asmaueth the Barhumite:
32 (23:31) Eliahba a Saalbonite: of the sonnes of Iasen, Ionathan:
33 (23:32) Samma the Hararite, Ahiam ye sonne of Sarar an Hararite:
34 (23:33) Eliphelet ye sonne of Aasbai the sonne of Maachathi, Eliam the sonne of Ahithophel the Gilonite:
35 (23:34) Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite.
36 (23:35) Igal the sonne of Nathan of Zoba, Bani the Gadite:
37 (23:36) Zelec the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, which was the harnesse bearer of Ioab the sonne of Zaruia:
38 (23:37) Ira the Iethrite, Gareb ye Iethrite:
39 (23:38) Aria the Hethite: thirtie and seuen in all.
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.