« | Ezekiel 3 | » |
1 After this said he vnto me: Thou sonne of man, eate whatsoeuer thou findest, eate this roule, and go thy way and speake vnto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me with this roule.
3 And he saide vnto me, Thou sonne of man, thy belly shall eate, and thy bowels shalt thou fill with this roule that I geue thee: Then dyd I eate, and it was in my mouth sweeter then honie.
4 And he saide vnto me, Thou sonne of man, go, get thee vnto the house of Israel, and declare my wordes vnto them.
5 For not to a people of profounde lippes and harde language art thou sent, but vnto the house of Israel:
6 Not to many nations whiche haue profounde lippes and harde languages, whose wordes thou vnderstandest not: otherwise if I had sent thee vnto them, they would haue hearkened vnto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken vnto thee, for they will not hearken vnto me: for al the house of Israel haue stiffe foreheades, & stubburne heartes.
8 Beholde therefore, I haue made thy face strong against their faces, & thy forehead strong against their foreheades.
9 As an Adamant, harder then the flint stone haue I made thy forehead: thou shalt not feare them, nor be abashed at their lookes: for they are a rebellious house.
10 He sayde moreouer vnto me, Thou sonne of man, all my wordes that I shall speake vnto thee, receaue in thyne heart, and hearken with thyne eares.
11 And go, get thee to the captiuitie, to the chyldren of thy people, and thou shalt speake vnto them, and shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord God, whether they will heare, or leaue.
12 With that the spirite tooke me vp, and I hearde behinde me a voyce of a great rushing [to wit] Blessed be the glory of Iehouah from his place.
13 [I hearde] also the noyse of the winges of the beastes ioyning one with another, and the ratling of the wheeles that were before them, euen a noyse of great rushing.
14 Nowe when the spirite lift me vp and tooke me away, I went in bitternesse and furie of my spirite: but the hande of the Lorde vpon me was strong.
15 Then I came to the captiues in Thelabib that dwelt by the riuer Chebar, and I sate where they sate, and I remayned there seuen dayes, astonished among them.
16 And when the seuen dayes were expired, the Lorde saide vnto me,
17 Thou sonne of man, I haue made thee a watchman vnto the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt heare the worde at my mouth, and geue them warning from me.
18 When I shall say vnto the wicked, Thou shalt surely dye, and thou geuest not him warning, nor speakest to admonishe the wicked of his euill way, and so to liue: then shal the same vngodly man dye in his owne vnrighteousnesse, but his blood wyl I require of thyne hand.
19 Neuerthelesse, if thou geue warning vnto the wicked, and he yet turne not from his vngodlynesse and from his wicked way: he shall dye in his owne wickednesse, but thou hast deliuered thy soule.
20 Nowe if a righteous man go from his righteousnesse and do the thing that is euyll I wyll lay a stumbling blocke before him: and he shall dye, because thou hast not geuen him warning, dye shall he in his owne sinne, so that his righteousnesse whiche he hath done, shall not be thought vpon: but his blood will I require at thyne hande.
21 Neuerthelesse, if thou exhortest that righteous that he sinne not, and so the righteous do not sinne: then shall he liue, because he hath receaued thy warning, and thou hast deliuered thy soule.
22 And there came the hand of the Lord vpon me, and he sayd vnto me: Stande vp, and go into the fielde, that I may there talke with thee.
23 So when I had risen vp, and gone foorth into the fielde: beholde, the glorie of the Lord stoode there, like the glorie which I sawe by the riuer Chebar: then fell I downe vpon my face.
24 And the spirite came into me, whiche set me vp vpon my feete, and spake vnto me, and said vnto me: Go thy way, and shut thy selfe in thyne house.
25 Beholde O thou sonne of man, they haue prepared bandes against thee, and they wyll binde thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them.
26 And I will make thy tongue cleaue to the roofe of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumbe, and not be as a reprouer vnto them: for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speake vnto thee, I wyl open my mouth, and thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God: Whoso heareth, let hym heare, whoso leaueth of, let him leaue: for they are a rebellious house.
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.