« | Ezekiel 31 | » |
1 Moreouer, in the eleuenth yere, the first day of ye third moneth, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
2 Thou sonne of man, speake vnto Pharao king of Egypt, and to all his people: whom art thou lyke in thy greatnesse?
3 Behold, Assur is a Cedar in Libanon, with faire braunches, and with thycke shadowing bowes, of a hygh stature, & his top was among the thicke bowes.
4 The waters made him great, and the deepe set him vp on hye, with her riuers running rounde about his plantes, and sent out her litle riuers vnto all the trees of the fielde.
5 Therefore was he higher then all the trees of the fielde, and his bowes were multiplied, & his braunches were long, because of the multitude of the waters, which the deepe sent out.
6 Al foules of the aire made their nestes in his braunches, vnder his bowes did all the beastes of the fielde bring foorth their young, and vnder his shadowe dwelt all mightie nations.
7 Beautiful was he in his greatnesse, and in the length of his braunches: for his roote stoode beside great waters.
8 No Cedar tree might hyde hym in the garden of God, there was no fyrre trees like his braunches, the chestnut trees were not like the bowes of him: all the trees in the garden of God, might not be compared vnto him in his beautie.
9 I made him faire with the multitude of his braunches: insomuch that all the trees in the pleasaunt garden of God had enuie at hym.
10 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God: forsomuch as he hath lift vp him selfe so hye, and hath shot vp his top among the thycke bowes, and his heart is lift vp in his heyght:
11 I haue therfore deliuered hym into the handes of the mightiest among the heathen: he shall handle hym, [for] in his wickednesse haue I cast hym away.
12 And straungers haue destroyed hym, euen the terrible nations, and haue left hym: vpon the mountaynes and vpon al valleys haue his bowes fallen, and his bowes are broken by all the riuers of the land: and all the people of the earth are departed from his shadowe, & haue forsaken hym.
13 Upon his ruine shall all the foules of the ayre remayne, and all the beastes of the fielde shalbe vpon his braunches.
14 So that none of all the trees by the waters shalbe exalted in their heyght, nor shoot vp their toppes among the thycke bowes, neither shall their trees stande in their heyght, as many of them as drinke water: for they are all deliuered vnto death in the neather partes of the earth, in the mids of the children of men among them that go downe to the pit.
15 Thus sayth the Lord God: In the day when he went downe to the graue, I caused a lamentation to be made, I couered the deepe for hym, I restrayned the fluddes thereof, and the great waters were stayed, I caused Libanus to mourne for him, and all the trees of the fielde fainted.
16 I made the heathen shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast hym downe to hell with them that descend into the pit: all the excellent trees of Eden, & the best of Libanus, all that drinke waters, shalbe comforted in the neather partes of the earth.
17 They also went downe to hell with him vnto them that be slayne with the sword, which were his arme [and] dwelt vnder his shadowe in the middest of the nations.
18 To whom art thou thus like in glorie and in greatnesse among the trees of Eden? yet thou shalt be cast downe with the trees of Eden vnto the neather partes of the earth: in the middest of the vncircumcised shalt thou sleepe with them that are slayne with the sworde: This is Pharao and all his multitude, sayth 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.