« | Exodus 7 | » |
1 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moyses: behold, I haue made thee Pharaos God: and Aaron thy brother shalbe thy prophete.
2 Thou shalt speake all that I commaunde thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speake vnto Pharao, that he sende the children of Israel out of his lande.
3 And I will harden Pharaos heart, and multiplie my miracles & my wonders in the lande of Egypt.
4 But Pharao shall not hearken vnto you, that I may set my hande vpon Egypt, and bryng out myne armies, and my people the chyldren of Israel out of the land of Egypt in great iudgmentes.
5 And the Egyptians shall knowe that I am the Lord, when I stretch foorth my hande vpon Egypt, and bryng out the children of Israel fro among them.
6 Moyses and Aaron did as the Lord commaunded them, [euen] so did they.
7 Moyses was fourescore yere olde, and Aaron fourescore and three, when they spake vnto Pharao.
8 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses and Aaron, saying:
9 If Pharao speake vnto you, saying, shewe a miracle for you: thou shalt say vnto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharao, that it may be a serpent.
10 Then went Moyses and Aaron in vnto Pharao, and dyd euen as the Lorde had commaunded: and Aaron caste foorth his rodde before Pharao, and before his seruauntes, and it [turned] to a serpent.
11 Then Pharao called for the wyse men, and enchaunters: and those sorcerers of Egypt dyd in like maner with their sorcerie.
12 For they cast downe euery man his rod, and they [turned] to serpentes: but Aarons rodde did eate vp their roddes.
13 And he helde Pharaos heart that he hearkened not vnto them, euen as the Lorde had sayde.
14 The Lorde also sayde vnto Moyses: Pharaos heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee vnto Pharao in the morning, loe, he wyll come vnto the water, and thou shalt stand vpo the ryuers brincke agaynst he come: and the rodde whiche was turned to a serpent, shalt thou take in thyne hande:
16 And thou shalt say vnto hym: the Lorde God of the Hebrewes hath sent me vnto thee, saying: Let my people go, that they may serue me in the wyldernesse: and beholde, hytherto thou wouldest not heare.
17 Thus sayeth the Lord, In this thou shalt knowe that I am the Lorde: beholde, I wyll smyte with the rodde that is in my hande, the waters whiche are in the ryuers, and they shalbe turned to blood.
18 And the fishe that is in the riuer, shall dye: and the ryuer shall corrupt, and it shall greeue the Egyptians to drinke of the water of the ryuer.
19 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses: say vnto Aaron, Take thy rodde, and stretche out thyne hand ouer the waters of Egypt, ouer their streames, ouer their riuers and pondes, and all pooles of water whiche they haue, that they may be blood, and that there may be blood throughout all ye lande of Egypt, both in [vesselles] of wood, & also of stone.
20 And Moyses and Aaron did euen as the Lorde commaunded: and he lyfte vp the rodde, and smote the waters that were in the ryuer in the sight of Pharao, and in the sight of his seruauntes: and all the water that was in the ryuer, turned into blood.
21 And the fishe that was in the ryuer dyed: and the ryuer corrupted, and the Egyptians coulde not drinke of the waters of the ryuer, and there was blood throughout all the lande of Egypt.
22 And the enchaunters of Egypt dyd lykewyse with their sorceries, and he heardened Pharaos heart, neyther did he hearken vnto them, as the Lorde had sayde.
23 And Pharao turned him selfe, and went agayne into his house, and set not his heart thervnto.
24 And the Egyptians dygged rounde about the ryuer for water to drinke: for they coulde not drinke of the water of the ryuer.
25 And it continued seuen dayes after that the Lorde had smyten the ryuer.
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.