« | Exodus 21 | » |
1 These art the lawes whiche thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou bye a seruaunt that is an Hebrue, sixe yeres he shall serue, & in the seuenth, he shall go out free [paying] nothyng.
3 If he came alone, he shall go out alone: and yf he came maryed, his wyfe shall go out with hym.
4 And if his maister haue geuen hym a wyfe, and she haue borne him sonnes or daughters: then the wyfe and her chyldren shalbe her maisters, and he shall go out alone.
5 And yf the seruaunt say: I loue my maister, my wyfe, and my chyldren, I wyll not go out free:
6 His maister shall bryng hym vnto the iudges, and set hym to the doore or the doorepost, and his maister shal bore his eare through with a naule, and he shalbe his seruaunt for euer.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a seruaunt, she shal not go out as the men seruauntes do.
8 If she please not her maister, who hath [nowe] promised her mariage, then shall he let her redeeme her selfe: To sell her vnto a straunge nation shall he haue no power, seyng he despised her.
9 If he haue promysed her vnto his sonne to wyfe, he shall deale with her as men do with their daughters.
10 And if he take hym another wyfe: yet her foode, her rayment, and duetie of maryage shall he not minishe.
11 And if he do not these three vnto her, the shal she go out free & pay no money.
12 He that smyteth a man, that he dye, shalbe slayne for it.
13 If a man lay not awayte, but God deliuer [him] into his hande, then I wyll poynt thee a place whither he shal flee.
14 If a man come presumpteously vpon his neyghbour to slay hym with guyle, thou shalt take him from myne aulter that he dye.
15 He that smyteth his father or his mother, let hym be slayne for it.
16 He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, if he be proued vppon hym, shalbe slayne for it.
17 And he that curseth his father or mother, shalbe put to death for it.
18 If men stryue together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fyste, and he dye not, but lyeth in his bed:
19 If he rise agayne, and walke without vpon his staffe, then shall he that smote hym go quite, saue only he shall beare his charges for leesyng his tyme, and shall paye for his healyng.
20 And if a man smyte his seruaunt or his mayde with a rod, & they dye vnder his hande, he shalbe greeuously punished.
21 And if he continue a day or two, it shal not be reueged, for he is his money.
22 If men striue, & hurt a woman with chylde, so that her fruite depart from her, and yet no destruction folow: then he shalbe sore punished according as the womans husbande wyll laye to his charge, and he shall pay as the dayes men wyll appoynt hym.
23 And if any destruction folowe, then he shall geue life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tothe for tothe, hande for hande, foote for foote,
25 Burnyng for burnyng, wounde for wounde, strype for strype.
26 And if a man smyte his seruaunt or his mayde in the eye, that it perishe, he shall let them go free for the eyes sake.
27 Also if he smyte out his seruaunt or his maydes tothe, he shall let them go out free for the tothes sake.
28 If an oxe gore a man or a woman, that they dye, then the oxe shalbe stoned, and his fleshe shall not be eaten: but the owner of the oxe shall go quite.
29 If the oxe were wont to pushe with his horne in time past, and it hath ben tolde his maister, and he hath not kept him, but that he hath killed a man or a woman: then the oxe shalbe stoned, and his owner shall dye also.
30 If there be set to hym a sume of money, then he shal geue for the redeeming of his life whatsoeuer is layde vpo him.
31 And whether he haue gored a sonne or a daughter, accordyng to the same iudgement shall it be done vnto him.
32 But if it be a seruaunt or a mayde that the oxe hath gored, then he shall geue vnto their maister thirtie sicles, and the oxe shalbe stoned.
33 If a man open a well, or digge a pitte, and couer it not, and an oxe or an asse fall therein:
34 The owner of the pitte shall make it good, & geue money vnto their maister, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 If one mans oxe hurt another, that he dye: then they shall sell the lyue oxe, and deuide the money, and the dead oxe also they shall deuide.
36 Or if it be knowen that the oxe hath vsed to pushe in tyme past, & his maister hath not kept hym: he shall paye oxe for oxe, and the dead shalbe his owne.
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.