« | Exodus 3 | » |
1 Moyses kept the sheepe of Iethro his father in lawe, priest of Madian: and he droue the flocke to the backesyde of the desert, aud came to the mountayne of God Horeb.
2 And the angell of the Lorde appeared vnto hym in a flambe of fire out of the middes of a busshe: And he loked, and beholde the busshe burned with fire, and the busshe was not consumed.
3 Therfore Moyses sayde: I wyll go nowe and see this great syght, howe it commeth that the busshe burneth not.
4 And when ye Lorde sawe that he came for to see, God called vnto him out of the middes of the busshe, & sayde: Moyses, Moyses? And he answered, here am I.
5 And he said: Draw not nigh hither, put thy shoes of thy feete, for the place whereon thou standest, is holy ground.
6 And he sayde: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isahac, and the God of Iacob. And Moyses hid his face, for he was afrayde to loke vpon God.
7 And the Lorde saide: I haue surely seene the trouble of my people which are in Egypt, and haue heard their crie from the face of their taske maisters: for I knowe their sorowes,
8 And am come downe to deliuer the out of the hande of the Egyptians, and to bryng them out of that lande, vnto a good lande & a large, vnto a lande that floweth with mylke and hony, euen vnto the place of the Chanaanites, and Hethites, and Amorites, and Pherizites, and Heuites, and of the Iebusites.
9 Nowe therfore beholde the complaint of the chyldren of Israel is come vnto me: and I haue also seene the oppressio wherwith ye Egyptians oppressed them.
10 Come thou therfore, and I wyll sende thee vnto Pharao, that thou mayest bryng my people the chyldren of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moyses saide vnto God: what am I to go vnto Pharao, and to bryng the chyldren of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he aunswered. For I wyll be with thee: and this shalbe a token vnto thee that I haue sent thee, After that thou hast brought the people out of Egypt, ye shall serue God vpon this moutayne.
13 And Moyses sayde vnto God: behold [when] I come vnto the chyldren of Israel, and shall say vnto them: the God of your fathers hath sent me vnto you. And if they saye vnto me, what is thy name? what answere shall I geue the?
14 And God aunswered Moyses: I am that I am. And he said: This shalt thou say vnto the chyldren of Israel, I am, hath sent me vnto you.
15 And God spake further vnto Moyses, Thus shalt thou say vnto the chyldren of Israel: The Lorde God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isahac, and the God of Iacob hath sent me vnto you: This is my name for euer, and this is my memoriall into generation and generation.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and thou shalt saye vnto them, The Lorde God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isahac, and the God of Iacob appeared vnto me, and sayde: In visityng, haue I visited you, and know that which is done to you in Egypt.
17 And I haue sayde: I wyll bryng you out of the tribulation of Egypt, vnto the land of the Chanaanites, and Hethites, and Amorites, and Pherizites, and Heuites, and Iebusites, euen into a land which floweth with milke & hony.
18 And they shall heare thy voyce: Then both thou and the elders of Israel shall go vnto the kyng of Egypt, and say vnto him: The Lord God of the Hebrues hath met with vs, and nowe let vs go [we beseche thee] three dayes iourney into the wyldernesse, and do sacrifice vnto the Lorde our God.
19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt wyl not let you go, no not in a mightie hande.
20 And I wyll stretche out my hande, & smyte Egypt with al my wonders whiche I wyll do in the middes therof, and after that he wyll let you go.
21 And I wyll get this people fauour in the syght of the Egyptians, so that when ye go, ye shall not go emptie:
22 But a wyfe shall borowe of her neighbour, and of her that soiourneth in her house, iewels of syluer, and iewels of golde, and rayment: and ye shall put them on your sonnes and daughters, & shall robbe the Egyptians.
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.