Ecclesiastes 1 | » |
1 The wordes of the preacher ye sonne of Dauid kyng of Hierusalem.
2 All is but most vayne vanitie saith the preacher, & all is most vayne [I say] and but playne vanitie.
3 For what els hath a man of all the labour that he taketh vnder the sunne?
4 One generation passeth away, another commeth: but the earth abideth styll.
5 The sunne aryseth, the sunne goeth downe, and returneth to his place, that he may there ryse vp agayne.
6 The wynde goeth towarde the south and turneth vnto the north, fetcheth his compasse, whirleth about, and goeth foorth, and returneth agayne to his circuites from whence he dyd come.
7 All fluddes runne into the sea, and yet is the sea it selfe not fylled: For loke vnto what place the waters runne, thence they come to flowe agayne.
8 All thinges are so harde to be knowen, that no man can expresse them: The eye is not satisfied with sight, the eare is not fylled with hearyng.
9 The thyng that hath ben, commeth to passe agayne, and the thyng that hath ben done, shalbe done agayne: There is no newe thyng vnder the sunne.
10 Is there any thyng wherof it may be sayde, lo this is newe? for it was long ago in the tymes that haue ben before vs.
11 The thyng that is past is out of remembraunce: euen so the thynges that are for to come, shal no more be thought vpon among them that come after.
12 I my selfe the preacher was kyng of Israel at Hierusalem,
13 And dyd applie my mynde to seke out & searche for knowledge of all thynges that are done vnder heauen: Such trauayle and labour hath God geuen vnto the children of men, to exercise them selues therin.
14 Thus haue I considered all these thynges that come to passe vnder the sunne: and lo, they are all but vanitie and vexation of mynde.
15 The croked can not be made straight, nor the imperfection of thynges can be numbred.
16 I communed with myne owne heart, saying: lo I am come to great estate, and haue gotten more wisdome then all they that haue ben before me in Hierusalem.
17 Yea, my heart had great experience of wisdome & knowledge: for thervnto I applied my mynde, that I myght knowe what were wisdome and vnderstandyng, what were errour and foolishnesse: and I perceaued that this was also but a vexation of mynde.
18 For where much wisdome is, there is also great trauayle and disquietnesse: and the more knowledge a man hath, the more is his care.
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.