« | Amos 6 | » |
1 Wo to them that are at ease in Sion, and trust in the mountayne of Samaria, which were famous at the beginning of the nations, & the house of Israel came to them.
2 Go you vnto Calneh, and see, and from thence go you to Hemath the great, then go downe to Gath of the Philistines: be they better then these kingdomes? or the border of their lande greater then your border?
3 Ye that put farre away the euyll day, and approche to the seate of iniquitie.
4 They lye vpon beddes of yuorie, and stretche them selues vpon their couches, and eate the lambes out of the flocke, and the calues out of the stall.
5 They sing to the sounde of the viole, they inuent to them selues instrumentes of musicke, like Dauid.
6 They drinke wine in bowles, and annoynt them selues with chiefe ointmentes: but no man is sorie for the affliction of Ioseph.
7 Therfore nowe shall they go captiue with the first that go captiue, and the sorowe of them that stretched them selues is at hande.
8 The Lorde God hath sworne by hym selfe, sayth the Lorde God of hoastes: I abhorre the excellencie of Iacob, and hate his palaces, therfore will I deliuer vp the citie, with all that is therin.
9 And if there remayne ten men in one house, they shall dye,
10 And his vncle shall take him vp, and burne him, to cary out the bones out of the house, & shall say vnto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? And he shal say, None. Then shal he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not remember the name of the Lorde.
11 For behold the Lord commaundeth, and he will smyte the great house with breaches, & the litle houses with cleftes.
12 Shal horses run vpo the rocke? or wil one plowe there with oxen? for ye haue turned iudgement into gall, & the fruite of righteousnesse into wormewood.
13 Ye reioyce in a thing of naught, ye say: Haue not we gotten vs hornes by our owne strength?
14 But behold, I wil rayse vp against you a nation O house of Israel, sayth the Lorde God of hoastes, and they shall afflict you from the entring of Hemath, vnto the riuer of the wildernesse.
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.