« | 2 Samuel 9 | » |
1 And Dauid sayde: Is there yet any man left of ye house of Saul? For I wil shewe him mercie for Ionathans sake.
2 And there was of the householde of Saul, a seruaunt whose name was Ziba, and when they had called him vnto Dauid, the king saide vnto him: Art thou Ziba? He said: Thy seruaunt is he.
3 And the king saide: Remaineth there yet any man of the house of Saul, who I may shewe the mercie of God vpon? Ziba aunswered the king: Ionathan hath yet a sonne, which is lame on his feete.
4 The king said vnto him: where is he? Ziba saide vnto the king: Behold, he is in the house of Machir the sonne of Amiel of Lodeber.
5 Then king Dauid sent, & fet him out of the house of Machir the sonne of Amiel of Lodeber.
6 Now when Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathan ye sonne of Saul was come vnto Dauid, he fell on his face, and dyd reuerence: And Dauid saide, Miphiboseth? He aunswered: Beholde thy seruaunt.
7 Dauid saide vnto him: Feare not, for I will surelie shewe thee kindnesse for Ionathan thy fathers sake, and will restore thee all the fieldes of Saul thy father, & thou shalt eate bread on myne owne table continually.
8 And he bowed him selfe, and sayde: What is thy seruaunt, that thou shouldest loke vpon such a dead dogge as I am?
9 Then the king called to Ziba Sauls seruaunt, and said vnto him: I haue geuen vnto thy maisters sonne all that parteyned to Saul and to all his house.
10 Thou therefore, and thy sonnes, and thy seruauntes, shall tyll the land for him, & bring in, that thy maisters sonne may haue foode to eate: But Miphiboseth thy maisters sonne shall eate bread alway vpon my table. For Ziba had fifteene sonnes, & twentie seruauntes.
11 Then saide Ziba vnto the king: According to all that my Lorde the king hath commaunded his seruaunt, so shall thy seruaunt do, that Miphiboseth may eate [as the king saide] vpon my table, as one of the kinges sonnes.
12 Miphiboseth had a sonne that was young, named Micha: and al that dwelt in the house of Ziba, were seruauntes vnto Miphiboseth.
13 And Miphiboseth dwelt in Hierusalem, for he dyd eate continually at the kinges table, and was lame on both his feete.
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.