« | Deuteronomy 30 | » |
1 When all these wordes are come vpon thee, the blessyng and the curse whiche I haue set before thee, thou shalt turne vnto thine heart, among all the nations whyther the Lorde thy God hath dryuen thee,
2 And come agayne vnto the Lorde thy God, and hearken vnto his voyce in all these thynges that I commaunde thee this day, thou, and thy children, with all thine heart, and all thy soule:
3 And the Lorde thy God wyll turne thy captiuitie and haue compassion vpon thee, and wyll turne and fetche thee agayne from all the nations among which the Lord thy God had scattered thee.
4 Though thou wast cast vnto the extreme partes of heauen: euen from thence wyll the Lorde thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lorde thy God wyll bryng thee into the lande whiche thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt enioy it: And he wyll shewe thee kindnesse, and multiplie thee aboue thy fathers.
6 And the Lorde thy God wyll circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seede, that thou mayest loue the Lorde thy God, with all thine heart, and all thy soule, that thou mayest lyue.
7 And the Lorde thy God wyll put all these curses vpon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, and that persecute thee.
8 But thou shalt turne, and hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, and do all his commaundementes which I commaunde thee this day:
9 (And the Lorde thy God wyll make thee plenteous in al the workes of thine hande, in the fruite of thy body, and in the fruite of thy cattell, and in the fruite of thy lande, for thy wealth: For the Lorde wyll turne agayne and reioyce ouer thee to do thee good, as he reioyced ouer thy fathers.
10 If thou hearken only vnto the voyce of the Lorde thy God, to kepe his commaundementes and his ordinaunces which are written in the booke of this lawe, and if thou turne vnto the Lorde thy God with all thine heart and all thy soule.)
11 For the commaundement which I comaunde thee this day, is not hidden from thee, neither farre of.
12 It is not in heauen, that thou needest to say: Who shall go vp for vs to heauen, and bryng it vnto vs, that we may heare it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyonde the sea, that thou shouldest say: Who shall go ouer the sea for vs, and bryng it vnto vs, that we may heare it, and do it?
14 But the worde is very nye vnto thee, euen in thy mouth, and in thine heart, that thou do it.
15 Beholde I haue set before thee this day, lyfe and good, death and euyll:
16 For where as I commaunde thee this day, to loue the Lorde thy God, to walke in his wayes, and to kepe his commaundementes, his ordinaunces, and his lawes, [yf thou so do] thou shalt lyue and multiplie, and the Lorde thy God shall blesse thee in the lande whyther thou goest to possesse it.
17 But and yf thine heart turne away, so that thou wylt not heare, but shalt go astray and worship straunge gods, and serue them:
18 I pronounce vnto you also this day, that ye shall surely perishe, and that ye shall not prolong your dayes vpon the lande whyther thou passest ouer Iordane to go and possesse it.
19 I call heauen and earth to recorde this day agaynst you, that I haue set before you, lyfe and death, blessyng and cursyng: Therfore choose lyfe, that both thou and thy seede may lyue:
20 That thou mayest loue the Lord thy God, and be obedient to his voyce, and cleaue vnto hym: For he is thy life, & the length of thy dayes, that thou mayest dwell vpon the earth, which the Lord sware vnto thy fathers, Abraham, Isahac, and Iacob, to geue them.
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.