Ephesians 1 | » |
1 Paul an apostle of Iesus Christe by the wyll of God: To the saintes which are at Ephesus, and to the faythfull in Christe Iesus:
2 Grace be with you, and peace, from God our father, & from the Lorde Iesus Christe.
3 Blessed be God, the father of our Lorde Iesus Christe, whiche hath blessed vs in all spirituall blessyng, in heauenly thynges by Christe:
4 According as he had chosen vs in hym before the foundation of the world, that we shoulde be holy, and without blame before hym, through loue.
5 Who hath predestinate vs into the adoption of childre, by Iesus Christ vnto hym selfe, according to the good pleasure of his wyll:
6 To the prayse of the glorie of his grace, wherein he hath made vs accepted in the beloued.
7 In whom we haue redemption through his blood, the forgeuenesse of sinnes, accordyng to the rychesse of his grace,
8 Wherein he hath abounded towarde vs in all wysedome and prudence.
9 And hath opened vnto vs the misterie of his wyll, accordyng to his good pleasure which he had purposed in himselfe.
10 That in the dispensation of the fulnesse of the tymes, he myght gather together in one all thinges in Christe, both which are in heauen, and which are in earth, in hym.
11 In whom also we are chosen, beyng predestinate accordyng to the purpose of hym who worketh all thynges after the councell of his owne wyll:
12 That we shoulde be vnto the prayse of his glorie, whiche before beleued in Christe.
13 In whom also ye, after that ye heard the worde of trueth, the Gospell of your saluation, wherin also after that ye beleued, were sealed with the holy spirite of promyse,
14 Whiche is the earnest of our inheritaunce, vnto ye redemption of the purchased possession, vnto the prayse of his glorie.
15 Wherfore I also after that I hearde of the fayth which ye haue in the Lorde Iesus, and loue vnto all the saintes,
16 Ceasse not to geue thankes for you, makyng mention of you in my prayers:
17 That the God of our Lorde Iesus Christe, the father of glorie, may geue vnto you the spirite of wisdome and reuelation, in the knowledge of hym:
18 The eyes of your myndes beyng lightened, that ye maye knowe what the hope is of his callyng, and what the richesse of the glorie of his inheritaunce [is] in the saintes:
19 And what is the exceedyng greatnesse of his power to vswarde, which beleue, accordyng to the workyng of his myghtie power,
20 Which he wrought in Christe when he raysed hym from the dead, and set him on his ryght hande in heauenly [places]
21 Farre aboue all rule, and power, and myght, and dominion, and euery name that is named, not in this worlde only, but also in the worlde to come.
22 And hath put all thynges vnder his feete, and gaue him [to be] the head ouer all thynges to the Churche,
23 Which is his body, the fulnesse of him that fylleth all in all.
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.