Ezekiel 1 | » |
1 It came to passe in the thirtith yere in the fourth [moneth] in the fifth day of the moneth, that (I beyng in the middes of the captiuitie, by the riuer Chebar) the heauens were opened, and I sawe visions of God:
2 In the fifth [day] of the moneth, which was the fifth yere of kyng Ioakins captiuitie,
3 The worde of the Lorde came to Ezechiel the priest the sonne of Buzi, in the lande of the Chaldeans by the riuer Chebar, where the hand of the Lord was vpon hym.
4 And I looked, and beholde a stormie wind came out of the north, a great cloude, and a fire folding it selfe [in the cloude] and a brightnes rounde about it, and foorth of the middes therof as the colour of amber out of the middes of the fire.
5 And out of the middes therof, the likenesse of foure beastes [appeared] and this was their fourme, they had the likenesse of a man.
6 And euery one had foure faces, and euery one of them had foure wynges.
7 Their feete were straight feete, and the sole of their feete lyke the sole of calues feete, and they glistered as the appearaunce of brasse burnished.
8 From vnder their wynges vpon all the foure corners they had mens handes: and they foure had their faces and their wynges.
9 Their wynges were ioyned one to another: when they went they looked not backe, but eche one went straight forwarde.
10 But [touching] the similitude of their faces, they foure had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side, and they foure had the face of an oxe on the left side, the foure also had the face of an Egle.
11 Thus were their faces, and their winges were spread out aboue, so that two wynges of euery one were ioyned one to another, and two wynges couered euery one of their bodyes.
12 Euery one went straight forward: whyther as the spirite led them, thither thei went, & returned not in their going.
13 And the fashion of the beastes, their appearaunce was lyke coales of fire, burning like the appearaunce of cressets, it ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightening.
14 And the beastes ranne, and returned like lightening.
15 When I had considered the beastes, beholde a wheele vpon the earth nye to the beastes, to euery of the foure before his face.
16 The fashion & worke of the wheeles was lyke the colour of Tharsis, and they foure had one fashion, and their fashion & their worke [was] as though it were a wheele in ye middle of a wheele.
17 When they went, they went vpon their foure sides: they returned not backe when they went.
18 They had ringes, and heyght, and were feareful to beholde: & their ringes were full of eyes rounde about them foure.
19 When the beastes went, the wheeles went also by them: and when the beastes were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lyft vp.
20 Whyther soeuer the spirite [was] to go, they went, and thyther [was] the spirite to go, and the wheeles were lyft vp before them: for the spirite of the beastes were in the wheeles.
21 When the beastes went, they went, & when thei stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp before the, for ye spirite of ye beastes was in the wheeles.
22 And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heades of the beastes, was like the colour of christall wonderfull, spread ouer their heades aboue.
23 And vnder the firmament their winges were stretcht foorth one towardes another, euery one had two couering them, and euery one had two couering them, [euen] their bodyes.
24 And when they went, I hearde the noyse of their wynges, lyke the noyse of great waters, as it had ben the voyce of the almightie, the voyce of speache, as the noyse of an hoast: when they stoode, they let downe their winges.
25 And there was a noyse from aboue the firmament that was ouer their heades: when they stoode, they let downe their wynges.
26 And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heades, there was the fashion of a throne lyke a Saphir stone: and vpon the similitude of the throne by appearaunce, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it.
27 And I sawe as the appearaunce of amber [and] as the similitude of fire rounde about within, from the appearaunce of his loynes vpward: and from the appearaunce of his loynes downewarde I sawe as the lykenesse of fire, and brightnesse rounde about it.
28 As the likenesse of a bowe that is in a cloude in a raynie day, so was the appearaunce of the brightnesse rounde about: this was the appearaunce of the similitude of the glory of God, & when I sawe it, I fell vpon my face and hearkened vnto the voyce of one that spake.
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.