« | Ecclesiastes 12 |
1 (12:2) Remember thy maker the sooner in thy youth, or euer the dayes of aduersitie come, and or the yeres drawe nye when thou shalt say, I haue not pleasure in them:
2 (12:3) Before the sunne, the light, the moone, and starres be darkened, and or the cloudes turne agayne after the rayne:
3 (12:4) When the kepers of the house shall tremble, and when the strong men shall bowe them selues, when the milners stand styll because they be so fewe, and when the sight of the windowes shall waxe dimme:
4 (12:5) When the doores in the streetes shalbe shut, and when the voyce of the milner shalbe layde downe, when men shall ryse vp at the voyce of the byrde, and when all the daughters of musicke shalbe brought lowe:
5 (12:6) When men shall feare in hye places, and be afraide in the streetes, when the Almonde tree shall florishe and be laden with the grashopper, and when all lust shal passe: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streetes.
6 (12:7) Or euer the siluer lace be taken away, and or the golden well be broken: Or the pot be broken at the well, and the wheele broken vpon the cesterne.
7 (12:8) Then shall the dust be turned agayne vnto earth from whence it came, and the spirite shall returne vnto God who gaue it.
8 (12:9) All is but vanitie (saith the preacher) all is but playne vanitie.
9 (12:10) The preacher was yet more wyse, and taught the people knowledge, he gaue good heede, sought out the ground, and set foorth many parables:
10 His diligence was to finde out acceptable wordes, right scripture, & the wordes of trueth.
11 For the wordes of the wyse are like prickes and nayles that go thorowe, of the auctoures of gatheringes [which] are geuen of one shephearde.
12 Therefore beware my sonne of that doctrine that is beside this: for to make many bookes, it is an endlesse worke, and to muche studie weerieth the body.
13 Let vs heare the conclusion of all thinges, Feare God, and kepe his commaundementes: for that toucheth all men.
14 (12:13) For God shall iudge all workes and secrete thinges, whether they be good or euyll.
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.