« | Acts 18 | » |
1 After these thynges, Paul departed fro Athens, & came to Corinth,
2 And found a certaine Iewe, named Aquila, borne in Ponthus, lately come fro Italie with his wyfe Priscilla (because that Claudius had commaunded all Iewes to depart from Rome) and he came vnto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought (for their craft was to make tentes)
4 And he disputed in the synagogue euery Sabboth, and exhorted the Iewes and the Grekes.
5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come fro Macedonia, Paul was constrayned by the spirite to testifie to the Iewes that Iesus was Christe.
6 And when they sayde contrary, and blasphemed, he shoke his rayment, & said vnto them: Your blood be vpon your owne heades. From hencefoorth wyll I go blamelesse vnto the gentiles.
7 And he departed thence, and entred into a certaine mans house, named Iustus, a worshipper of God, whose house ioyned harde to the synagogue.
8 And one Crispus the chiefe ruler of the synagogue beleued on the Lorde, with all his housholde: and many of the Corinthians hearyng, beleued, and were baptized.
9 Then spake the Lorde to Paul in the nyght by a vision: Be not afrayde, but speake, and holde not thy peace:
10 For I am with thee, and no man shal inuade thee to hurt thee. For I haue much people in this citie.
11 And he continued there a yere and sixe monethes, and taught the word of God among them.
12 And when Gallio was the deputie of Achaia, the Iewes made insurrection with one accord against Paul, & brought hym to the iudgement seate,
13 Saying: This felow counselleth men to worship God contrary to the lawe.
14 And when Paul nowe was about to open his mouth, Gallio sayde vnto the Iewes: Yf it were a matter of wrong, or an euyll deede, O ye Iewes, reason woulde that I shoulde beare with you:
15 But yf it be a question of wordes and names, or of your lawe, loke ye to it your selues: for I wyll be no iudge of such matters.
16 And he draue them fro the iudgement seate.
17 Then all the Grekes toke Softenes the chiefe ruler of ye synagogue, & smote hym before the iudgement seate: And Gallio cared for none of those thinges.
18 And Paul after this, taried there yet a good whyle, and then toke his leaue of the brethren, & sayled thence into Syria, (Aquila & Priscilla accompanying him) And he shore his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vowe.
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left the there, but he hym selfe entred into the synagogue, & reasoned with ye Iewes.
20 When they desired him to tary longer tyme with them, he consented not:
21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must needes at this feast that commeth be in Hierusalem: but I wyll returne agayne vnto you yf God wyll. And he sayled from Ephesus.
22 And whe he was come vnto Cesarea, and ascended vp & saluted the Churche, he went to Antioche.
23 And whe he had taried there a while, he departed, and went ouer al the countrey of Galatia and Phrygia by order, strengthyng all the disciples.
24 And a certaine Iewe, named Apollos, borne at Alexandria, came to Ephesus, an eloquent man, and myghtie in the scriptures.
25 The same was infourmed in the way of the Lorde, and spake feruently in the spirite, & taught diligently the thynges of the Lorde, and knewe but the baptisme of Iohn only.
26 And the same began to speake boldly in the synagogue. Whom when Aquila and Priscilla had hearde, they toke him vnto them, and expounded vnto him the way of God more perfectly.
27 And when he was disposed to go into Achaia, the brethre wrote, exhorting the disciples to receaue hym: Which when he was come, helped them much which had beleued through grace.
28 For he ouercame the Iewes myghtilye, and that openly, shewyng by the scriptures, that Iesus was Christe.
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.