« | 2 Samuel 5 | » |
1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to Dauid vnto Hebron, and sayde thus: Beholde, we are thy bone, and thy fleshe.
2 And in time past whe Saul was our king, thou leddest Israel in and out: and the Lord hath sayd to thee, thou shalt feede my people Israel, & thou shalt be a captayne ouer Israel.
3 And so all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and king Dauid made a couenaunt with them in Hebron before the Lorde: and they annointed Dauid king ouer Israel.
4 Dauid was thirtie yeres olde when he began to raigne, and he raigned fourtie yeres.
5 In Hebron he raigned ouer Iuda seuen yeres and sixe monethes: and in Hierusalem he raigned thirtie and three yeres ouer all Israel and Iuda.
6 The king also and his men went to Hierusalem vnto the Iebusites the inhabitauntes of the lande, whiche spake vnto Dauid, saying: Except thou take away the blinde and the lame, thou shalt not come in hyther: For they said, Thou art not able to come in hyther.
7 Neuerthelesse, Dauid toke the strong hold of Sion: the same is the citie of Dauid.
8 And Dauid sayde the same day: Whosoeuer smyteth the Iebusites, and getteth vp to the gutters of the houses, and smyteth the lame and the blinde, hated of Dauid soule, [I will preferre him.] Wherfore they said: The blinde and the lame shal not come into that house.
9 And so Dauid dwelt in the towre, and called it the citie of Dauid, and buylt round about it, from Millo & inward.
10 And Dauid prospered and grewe, and ye Lord God of hoastes was with him.
11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to Dauid, and Cedar trees, & carpenters, and masons for walles: and they buylt Dauid an house.
12 And Dauid perceaued that the Lord had stablished him king ouer Israel, & that he had exalted his kingdome for his people Israels sake.
13 And Dauid toke him mo concubines and wyues out of Hierusalem, after he was come from Hebron, and mo sonnes & daughters were yet borne to Dauid.
14 And these be the names of the sonnes that were borne vnto him in Hierusalem: Samua, Sobab, Nathan, & Solomon,
15 Ibhar also and Elisua, Nepheg, and Iaphia,
16 Elisama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
17 But when the Philistines hearde that they had annoynted Dauid king ouer Israel, they came all vp to seke Dauid: And assoone as Dauid hearde of it, he gat him to an holde.
18 And when the Philistines came, they spread them selues in the valley of Raphaim.
19 And Dauid asked counsel of the Lord, saying: Shall I go vp to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliuer them into my handes? And the Lorde aunswered vnto Dauid: Go vp, for I will doubtlesse deliuer the Philistines into thy handes.
20 And Dauid came to Baal Perazim, and smote them there, and sayde: The Lorde hath deuided myne enemies asunder before me, as waters be deuided asunder: And therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
21 And there they left their images, and Dauid and his men burnt them.
22 And the Philistines came yet againe, and layde them selues in the valley of Rephaim.
23 And when Dauid asked counsel of the Lorde, he aunswered, Thou shalt not go vp: but compasse them on the backsyde, and come vpon them ouer against the Mulbery trees.
24 And when thou hearest the noyse of a thing goyng in the toppe of the Mulbery trees, then remoue: for then shall the Lorde go out before thee, to smyte the hoast of the Philistines.
25 And Dauid did as the Lorde had commaunded him: and smote the Philistines from Geba, vntill thou come to Gazer.
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.