« | Exodus 14 | » |
1 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses, saying:
2 Speake to the chyldre of Israel, that they turne & pitch their tentes before Pi-hahiroth betweene Migdol and the sea, ouer agaynst Baal-sephon, and before that shall they pitche by the sea.
3 For Pharao wyll say of the chyldren of Israel: they are tangled in the lande, the wyldernesse hath shut them in.
4 And I wyll harden Pharaos heart, that he shall folowe after you, and I wyll get me honour vpon Pharao, and vpon al his hoast: The Egyptians also shall knowe that I am the Lorde. And they dyd euen so.
5 And it was tolde the kyng of Egypt that the people fledde. And the heart of Pharao and of his seruauntes turned agaynst the people, and they said: Why haue we done this, that we haue let Israel go out of our seruice?
6 And he made redy his charette, and toke his people with hym.
7 And toke sixe hundred chosen charets, and all the charets of Egypt, and capitaynes vpon euery one of them.
8 And the Lorde hardened the heart of Pharao kyng of Egypt, and he folowed after ye children of Israel: but the childre of Israel went out with an hye hande.
9 And the Egyptians folowed after the, and al the horses and charettes of Pharao, and his horsemen, and his hoast ouertoke them pitchyng of their tent by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth before Baal-sephon.
10 And when Pharao drewe nygh, the chyldren of Israel lift vp their eyes, and beholde, the Egyptians folowed after them, and they were sore afrayde: and the chyldren of Israel cryed out vnto the Lorde.
11 But they sayde vnto Moyses: because there were no graues in Egypt, hast thou therfore brought vs away for to dye in the wildernesse? Wherfore hast thou serued vs thus, for to carry vs out of Egypt?
12 Dyd not we tell thee this in Egypt, saying, let vs be in rest, that we maye serue the Egyptians? For it had ben better for vs to haue serued the Egyptians, then for to dye in the wyldernesse.
13 And Moyses saide vnto the people: Feare ye not, stande styll, and beholde the saluation of the Lorde whiche he wyll shewe to you this day: For ye that haue seene the Egyptians this day, shal see them no more for euer.
14 The Lorde shall fyght for you, and ye shall holde your peace.
15 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moyses: Wherfore cryest thou vnto me? speake vnto the children of Israel that they go forwarde.
16 But lyft thou vp thy rod, and stretche out thy hande ouer the sea, and deuide it a sunder, and let the children of Israel go on drye grounde through the middes of the sea.
17 And beholde I [euen] I wyll harden the heart of the Egyptians, and they shall folowe after them: and I wyll get me honour vpon Pharao, and vpon all his hoast, and vpon his charettes, and vpon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shal know that I am the Lorde, when I haue gotten me honour vpo Pharao, vpon his charets, and vpon his horsemen.
19 And the angell of God which went before the hoast of Israel, remoued and went behynde them: and the pyller of the cloude went from before their face, and stoode behynde them,
20 And came betweene the tentes of the Egyptians, and the tentes of Israel, and it was a cloude and darknesse, and gaue lyght by nyght: and all the nyght long the one came not at the other.
21 And Moyses stretched out his hande ouer the sea, & the Lorde caused the sea to go backe by a very strong east wynde all that nyght, and made the sea drye [lande] and the waters were deuided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the middest of the sea vppon the drye [grounde,] and the waters were a wall vnto them on their ryght hande and on their left hande.
23 And the Egyptians folowed, & went in after them to the myddest of the sea, euen all Pharaos horses, his charettes, and his horsemen.
24 And in the mornyng watche, the Lord loked vnto the hoast of the Egyptians out of the pyller of the fire and of the cloude, and troubled the hoast of the Egyptians.
25 And toke of his charet wheeles, and caryed them away violently: So that the Egyptians sayde, Let vs flee fro the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them agaynst the Egyptians.
26 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moyses: Stretche out thyne hande ouer the sea, that the waters may come againe vpon the Egyptians, vpon their charets, and vpon their horsemen.
27 And Moyses stretched foorth his hand ouer the sea, and it came agayne to his course early in the mornyng, and the Egyptians fled agaynst it: and the Lorde ouerthrewe the Egyptians in the middest of the sea.
28 And the water returned, and couered the charettes, and the horsemen, and all the hoast of Pharao that came into the sea after them, so that there remayned not one of them.
29 But the children of Israel walked vppon drye [lande] through the middest of the sea, and the waters were a wall vnto them on the right hande of them, and on the left.
30 Thus the Lorde deliuered Israel the selfe same daye out of the hande of the Egyptians: and Israel sawe the Egyptians dead vpon the sea syde.
31 And Israel sawe that myghtie power which the Lorde shewed vpon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lorde, and beleued the Lorde and his seruaunt Moyses.
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.