« | Acts 14 | » |
1 And it came to passe in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Iewes, & so spake, that a great multitude both of the Iewes, & also of the Grekes beleued.
2 But the vnbeleuyng Iewes, stirred vp, and corrupted the myndes of the Gentiles agaynst the brethren.
3 Long tyme therfore abode they there, and quyt them selues boldely, with the helpe of the Lorde, which gaue testimonie vnto the worde of his grace, and graunted signes & wonders to be done by their handes.
4 But the multitude of the citie was deuided: and part helde with the Iewes, and part with the Apostles.
5 And when there was an assault made both of the gentiles, and also of the Iewes, with their rulers, to do them violence, and to stone them,
6 They were ware of it, and fled vnto Lystra & Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and vnto the regio that lieth rounde about:
7 And there preached the Gospell.
8 And there sate a certayne man at Lystra, weake in his feete, beyng a creple from his mothers wombe, and neuer had walked.
9 The same hearde Paul speake: which beholdyng hym, and perceauyng that he had sayth to be whole,
10 Sayde with a loude voyce: stande vpryght on thy feete. And he start vp, and walked.
11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lyft vp their voyces, saying in the speache of Lycaonia: Gods are come downe to vs in the lykenesse of men.
12 And they called Barnabas Iupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chiefe speaker.
13 Then Iupiters priest, which was before their citie, brought oxen and garlandes vnto the doore, and woulde haue done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the Apostles, Barnabas & Paul heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying,
15 And saying: Sirs, why do ye these thynges? We are mortall men lyke vnto you, and preach vnto you, that ye shoulde turne from these vanities, vnto the lyuyng God, which made heauen and earth, and the sea, and all thynges that are therin.
16 The which in tymes past suffred all nations to walke in their owne wayes.
17 Neuerthelesse, he left not hym selfe without witnesse, in that he shewed his benefites from heauen, in geuyng vs rayne and fruitefull seasons, fillyng our heartes with foode and gladnesse.
18 And with these sayinges, scarce refrayned they the people, that they had not done sacrifice vnto them.
19 Then thyther came certayne Iewes from Antioche and Iconium: which, whe they had perswaded the people, and had stoned Paule, drewe hym out of the citie, supposyng he had ben dead.
20 Howbeit, as the disciples stoode round about hym, he arose vp, and came into the citie: And the next day, he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached to that citie, and had taught many, they returned agayne to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioche,
22 And strengthed the disciples soules agayne, and exhorted them to continue in the fayth, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kyngdome of God.
23 And when they had ordeyned them elders by election in euery Churche, and had prayed, with fastyng, they commended them to the Lorde, on whom they beleued.
24 And when they had gone throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia,
25 And when they had spoken the worde in Perga, they descended into Attalia,
26 And thence departed by shippe to Antioche, from whence they were committed vnto the grace of God, to the worke which they fulfylled.
27 And when they were come, and had gathered the Churche together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, & howe he had opened the doore of fayth vnto the gentiles.
28 And there they abode long tyme with the disciples.
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.