« | Deuteronomy 10 | » |
1 In the same season the Lorde sayde vnto me: hewe thee two tables of stone lyke vnto the first, and come vp vnto me into the mount, and make thee an arke of wood.
2 And I wyll wryte in the tables, the wordes that were in the first tables whiche thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the arke.
3 And I made an arke of Sittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone lyke vnto the first, and went vp into the mountayne, hauyng the two tables in myne hande.
4 And he wrote in the tables according to the first wrytyng, the ten commaundementes whiche the Lord spake vnto you in the mount out of the myddes of the fire, in the day when you were gathered together: and the Lorde gaue them vnto me.
5 And I departed, and came downe from the hyll, and put the tables in the arke whiche I had made, and there they be, as the Lorde commaunded me.
6 And the chyldren of Israel toke their iourney from Beroth of the chyldren of Iakan to Mosera, where Aaron dyed and was buryed, and Eleazer his sonne became priest in his steade.
7 From thence they departed vnto Gudgodah: and from Gudgodah to Iethebath, a lande whiche hath riuers of waters.
8 The same season the Lorde seperated the tribe of Leui, to beare the arke of the couenaunt of the Lorde, and to stande before the Lorde, and to minister vnto hym, and to blesse in his name vnto this day.
9 Wherefore the Leuites haue no part nor inheritaunce with their brethren: but the Lorde is their inheritaunce, as the Lorde thy God hath promised them.
10 And I taryed in the mount, euen as at the first time, fourtie dayes and fourtie nyghtes: and the Lorde hearde me at that tyme also, and the Lorde would not destroy thee.
11 And the Lorde sayde vnto me: Arise, and go foorth in the iourneys before the people, that they may go in and possesse the lande whiche I sware vnto their fathers to geue vnto them.
12 And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to feare the Lorde thy God, and to walke in all his wayes, to loue hym, and to serue the Lord thy God with all thyne heart, and with all thy soule?
13 Namely, that thou kepe the comaundementes of the Lorde, and his ordinaunces whiche I commaunde thee this day for thy wealth.
14 Beholde, heauen and the heauen of heauens, is the Lordes thy God, and the earth with all that therin is.
15 Notwithstandyng, the Lorde had a delight in thy fathers to loue them, and chose their seede after them, euen you aboue all nations, as thou seest this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskinne of your heart, and be no more stifnecked.
17 For the Lorde your God, is God of Gods, and Lorde of Lordes, a great God, a mightie and a terrible, whiche regardeth no mans person, nor taketh rewarde.
18 He doth right vnto the fatherlesse and wydowe, and loueth the straunger, to geue hym foode and rayment.
19 Loue ye therfore the straunger also: for ye were straungers your selues in the lande of Egypt.
20 Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God, and hym only shalt thou serue, to hym shalt thou cleaue, and sweare by his name.
21 He is thy prayse, & thy God that hath done for thee these great and terrible thinges whiche thyne eyes haue seene.
22 Thy fathers went downe into Egypt with threscore and ten persons: and nowe the Lorde thy God hath made thee & multiplied thee as the starres of heauen.
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.