« | Acts 4 | » |
1 And as they spake vnto ye people, the priestes & the ruler of the temple, and the saducees, came vpon them,
2 Takyng it greuously that they taught the people, and preached in Iesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they layde handes on them, and put them in holde, vntyll the next day: for it was nowe euentyde.
4 Howbeit, many of them which hearde the worde, beleued: and the number of the men was about fyue thousande.
5 And it came to passe on the morowe, that their rulers, and elders, & scribes,
6 And Annas the chiefe priest, and Caiaphas, and Iohn, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kynrede of the hye priestes, were gathered together at Hierusalem.
7 And when they had set them before them, they asked: by what power, or in what name haue ye done this?
8 Then Peter, full of the holy ghost, sayde vnto them: Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deede done to the sicke man, by what meanes he is made whole:
10 Be it knowen vnto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Iesus Christe of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raysed agayne from the dead: euen by hym doth this man stande here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was cast asyde of you buylders, which is the head of the corner:
12 Neither is there saluation in any other. For among men vnder heauen, there is geuen none other name, wherin we must be saued.
13 Nowe when they sawe the boldnesse of Peter and Iohn, and vnderstoode that they were vnlearned and lay men, they marueyled, and they knewe them that they had ben with Iesu:
14 And beholdyng also the man which was healed, standyng with them, they coulde not say agaynst it,
15 But commaundyng them to go asyde out of the counsel, and counseled among them selues,
16 Saying: What shall we do to these men? For a manifest signe is done by them, and is openly knowen to all them that dwell in Hierusalem, and we can not denie it.
17 But that it be noysed no farther among the people, let vs threaten and charge them that they speake hencefoorth to no man in this name.
18 And they called them, and commaunded them, that in no wyse they shoulde speake, nor teache in the name of Iesu.
19 But Peter and Iohn aunswered, and sayde vnto them: Whether it be ryght in the syght of God, to hearken vnto you more then to God, iudge ye.
20 For we cannot but speake that, which we haue seene and hearde.
21 So threatned they them, and let them go, and founde nothyng how to punishe them, because of the people: For all men praysed God, because of that which was done.
22 For the man was about fourtie yere olde, on whom this miracle of healyng was shewed.
23 Then assoone as they were let go, they came to their felowes, and shewed all that the hye priestes and elders had sayde vnto them.
24 And when they hearde that, they lyft vp their voyces to God with one accorde, and sayde: Lorde, thou art God, which hast made heauen and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
25 Which by the mouth of thy seruaunt Dauid, hast sayde: Why dyd the Heathen rage, & the people imagine vayne thynges?
26 The kynges of the earth stoode vp, and the rulers came together, agaynst the Lorde, and agaynst his Christe.
27 And of a trueth, agaynst thy holye chylde Iesus, who thou hast anoynted, both Herode and also Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, gathered them selues together,
28 For to do whatsoeuer thy hande & thy counsel determined before to be done.
29 And nowe Lorde, beholde their threatnynges, & graunt vnto thy seruauntes, that with all boldensse they may speake thy worde.
30 So that thou stretch foorth thyne hande, that healyng, and signes, and wonders, be done by the name of thy holy chylde Iesus.
31 And assoone as they had prayed, the place moued where they were assembled together, and they were all fylled with the holy ghost, and they spake the worde of God boldely.
32 And the multitude of them that beleued, were of one heart, and of one soule: Neither sayde any of them, that ought of ye thynges which he possessed, was his owne: but they had all thinges common.
33 And with great power gaue the Apostles witnesse of the resurrection of the Lorde Iesu: And great grace was with them all.
34 Neither was there any among them, that lacked: For as many as were possessers of landes, or houses, solde them, & brought the price of the thynges that were solde,
35 And layed it downe at the Apostles feete: And distribution was made vnto euery man, accordyng as he had neede.
36 And Ioses, which was also called of the Apostles Barnabas (that is to say) the sonne of consolation, being a Leuite, and of the countrey of Cypers,
37 When he had lande, solde it, and layde the money downe at the Apostles 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.