« | Amos 3 | » |
1 Heare this worde that the Lord pronounceth against you O children of Israel [euen] against the whole familie whiche I brought vp from the lande of Egypt, saying:
2 You only haue I knowen of al the families of the earth, therfore I will visite you for all your iniquities.
3 Can two walke together, except they be agreed?
4 Wyll a lion roare in the forest when he hath no pray? or wil a lions whelpe crye out of his denne, if he haue taken nothing?
5 Can a birde fal in a snare vpon the earth where no fouler is? or wil he take vp the snare from the earth, and haue taken nothing at all?
6 Or shall a trumpet be blowen in the citie, & the people be not afrayde? or shall there be euyll in a citie, and the Lorde hath not done it?
7 Surely the Lord God wil do nothing, but he reuealeth his secrete vnto his seruauntes the prophetes.
8 The lion hath roared, who wil not be afrayde? The Lorde God hath spoken, who can but prophecie?
9 Proclame in the palaces at Asdod, and in the palaces in the lande of Egypt, and say: Assemble your selues vpon the mountaynes of Samaria, and beholde the great tumultes in the mids thereof, and the oppressed in the mids therof:
10 For they know not to do right, sayth the Lorde, they store vp violence and robberie in their palaces.
11 Therfore thus sayth the Lord God, An aduersarie [shall come] euen round about the countrey, and shall bring downe thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shalbe spoyled.
12 Thus sayth the Lorde, As the sheephearde taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legges or a peece of an eare: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus [as in] a couche.
13 Heare and testifie in the house of Iacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hoastes:
14 That in the day that I shall visite the transgressions of Israel vpon hym, I wil also visite the aulters of Bethel, and the hornes of the aulter shalbe broken of, and fall to the grounde.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the sommer house, and the houses of yuorie shall perishe, and the great houses shalbe consumed, saith the Lord.
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.