« | Acts 6 | » |
1 And in those dayes, when the number of ye disciples grewe, there arose a grudge among the Grekes agaynst ye Hebrues, because their wydowes were despysed in the dayly ministerie.
2 Then the twelue called the multitude of the disciples together, and sayde: It is not good that we shoulde leaue the worde of God, and serue tables.
3 Wherfore brethren, loke ye out among you seuen men of honest report, & full of the holy ghost, and wysedome, to who we may commit this busynesse.
4 But we wyll geue our selues continually to prayer, and to the ministerie of the worde.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Steuen, a man full of fayth, and of the holy ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, & Timon, and Permenas, and Nicolas a conuert of Antioche.
6 These they set before the apostles: and whe they had prayed, they layde their handes on them.
7 And the worde of God encreased, & the number of ye disciples multiplied in Hierusalem greatly, and a great companie of the priestes were obedient to ye fayth.
8 And Steuen full of fayth & power, dyd great wonders & miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certaine of the synagogue, which is called [the synagogue] of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and of Alexandria, and of Cilicia, & of Asia, disputyng with Steuen.
10 And they coulde not resiste the wisedome and the spirite by the whiche he spake.
11 Then they priuilie prepared men, whiche sayde, we haue heard him speake blasphemous wordes agaynst Moyses, and agaynst God.
12 And they moued the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came vppon hym, and caught him, and brought him to the counsell.
13 And brought foorth false witnesses, which sayde: This man ceasseth not to speake blasphemous wordes agaynste this holy place and the lawe.
14 For we hearde hym say, that this Iesus of Nazareth shal destroy this place, & shall chaunge the ordinaunces which Moyses gaue vs:
15 And all that sate in the counsell, loking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had ben the face of an angell.
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.