« | Ezekiel 12 | » |
1 The worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:
2 Thou sonne of man, thou dwellest in the middest of a rebellious house, which haue eyes to see and yet see not, eares haue they to heare, and yet heare they not: for they are a rebellious house.
3 Therfore (O thou sonne of man) prepare thee instrumentes to flit with, & remoue on the day time that they may see, yea [euen] in their sight shalt thou go from thy place to another place, yf peraduenture they wyll consider that they be a rebellious house.
4 Thou shalt bryng foorth thine instrumentes as stuffe to flit with by the day tyme in their sight, and thou thy selfe shalt go foorth also at euenyng before their eyes, as they that go foorth to flit.
5 Digge through the wall in their sight, and cary out therby.
6 In their sight shalt thou beare vpon thy shouldiers, and cary it foorth in the darke: hide thy face, that thou see not the earth, for I haue made thee a shewe token vnto the house of Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commaunded, I brought foorth my stuffe by day as the stuffe of one that goeth into captiuitie: and in the euening I digged through the wall with my handes, and brought it foorth in the darke, and bare it vpon my shoulder in their sight.
8 And in the mornyng came the worde of the Lorde vnto me, saying:
9 Thou sonne of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, sayd vnto thee, What doest thou?
10 Then tell them, thus saith the Lorde God, This burden toucheth the prince at Hierusalem, and all the house of Israel that dwell among them.
11 Tell them, I am your shewe token, lyke as I haue done, so shall it be done vnto them, they shall go into bondage and captiuitie.
12 The prince that is among them shall loade his shoulders in the darke and get hym away, they shall breake downe the wall to cary through by it: he shall couer his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.
13 My net will I spreade out vpon him, and he shalbe caught in my net, and I wyll bryng hym to Babylon in the lande of the Chaldees, which he shall not see, and yet shall he dye there.
14 As for all his helpers & all his bandes that be about hym, I wyll scatter them towarde all the wyndes, and drawe out a sworde after them.
15 So when I haue scattered them among the heathen and strowed them in the landes, they shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
16 But I will leaue a litle number of the from the sworde, hunger, and pestilence, to tell all their abhominations among the heathen where they come, that they may knowe howe that I am the Lord.
17 Moreouer, the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:
18 Thou sonne of man, with a fearfull tremblyng shalt thou eate thy bread, with vnquietnesse & sorowe shalt thou drynke thy water.
19 And vnto the people of the lande speake thou: Thus saith the Lord God to them that dwell in Hierusalem, and to the lande of Israel: they shall eate their bread with sorowe, and drynke their water with desolation: yea the lande with the fulnesse therof shalbe layde waste for the wickednesse of all them that dwell therin.
20 And the cities that nowe be well inhabited, shalbe voyde, & the lande desolate, that ye may knowe that I am the Lorde.
21 Yet came the worde of the Lorde vnto me agayne, saying:
22 Thou sonne of man, what maner of prouerbe is that which ye vse in the lande of Israel, saying: The dayes are slacke in comyng, & all visions fayle?
23 Tell them therfore, thus saith the Lord God, I wyll make that prouerbe to ceasse, and they shall no more vse it as a prouerbe in Israel: but say vnto them, the dayes are at hande, and the effect of euery vision.
24 There shall no vision be any more in vayne, neither any flattering diuination within the house of Israel:
25 For I the Lorde speake it, and whatsoeuer I shall speake, it shalbe perfourmed, and not be slacke in commyng any more, yea euen in your dayes O rebellious house, wyll I speake the thyng & bryng it to passe, saith the Lorde God.
26 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:
27 Beholde thou sonne of man, the house of Israel saith [on this maner] The vision that he seeth, it wyll be many a day or it come to passe: it is farre of yet the tyme that he prophecieth of.
28 Therfore say thus vnto them, thus saith the Lorde God, All my wordes shall no more be delayed, loke what I speake, that same shall come to passe, saith the Lorde God.
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.