« | Ezekiel 38 | » |
1 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:
2 Thou sonne of man, set thy face towarde Gog, the land of Magog, which is the chiefe prince at Mesech and Tubal: prophecie against him,
3 And say, thus sayth the Lorde God: O Gog, thou chiefe prince of Mesech and Tubal, beholde, I will vpon thee:
4 And I will turne thee backe, and put hookes in thy chawes, I will bring thee foorth and all thyne hoast, both horse and horsemen, all armed with all sortes of armour, a great multitude with speares and shieldes, all handling swordes.
5 They of Paras, of Cush, & Phut, with them [euen] all [hauing] shieldes and helmets.
6 Gomer and all his hoastes, the house of Togarma out of the north quarters and all his hoastes, yea and much people with thee.
7 Therfore prepare thee, set thy selfe in aray with all thy people that are come vnto thee by heapes, & be thou their defence.
8 After many dayes thou shalt be visited, and in the latter yeres thou shalt come into the lande that hath ben turned [and cost] with the sworde, and gathered together againe out of many people vpon the mountaynes of Israel, which haue ben alwayes [subiect] to waste: but it is brought out of the people, and they dwell all safe.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come vp like a storme, as a cloude to couer the lande shalt thou be: thou with al thine hoastes, & a great multitude of people with thee.
10 Moreouer, thus sayth the Lorde God: At the same time shall thinges come into thy minde, so that thou shalt thinke euyll thoughtes.
11 And say, I will vp to the lande of vnwalled villages, I will go to them that be at rest, whiche dwell safely, all dwelling without walles, they haue neither barres nor gates:
12 To spoyle the pray, and to take a bootie, to turne thy hande vpon the desolate places that are [nowe] inhabited, & vpon that people that is gathered together from among the heathen, whiche haue gotten cattell and goodes, and dwell in the mids of the lande.
13 Then shall Saba and Dedan, and the marchauntes of Tharsis with all their lions, say vnto thee: Art thou come to spoyle a pray? hast thou gathered thy people together to take a bootie, to take away siluer and golde, to cary away cattel and good, and to haue a great pray?
14 Therfore, O thou sonne of man, thou shalt prophecie and say vnto Gog, thus sayth the Lord God: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth safe, shalt thou not knowe it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north partes, thou and much people with thee, which ride al vpon horses, [euen] a great multitude and a mightie armie.
16 Yea thou shalt come vpon my people of Israel, as a cloude to couer the lande: this shall come to passe in the latter dayes, and I will bring thee vp into my land, that the heathen may knowe me, when I shalbe sanctified in thee O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus sayth the Lorde God: Art not thou he of whom I haue spoken in olde time by the handes of my seruauntes the prophetes of Israel, which prophecied in those dayes and yeres, that I should bring thee vpon them?
18 At the same time when Gog commeth vp into the lande of Israel, sayth the Lorde God, shall myne indignation rise in my wrath:
19 For in my ielousie and fire of my wrath haue I spoken it, surely at that time ther shalbe a great shaking in the lande of Israel.
20 The very fisshes in the sea, the foules in the ayre, the beastes of the fielde, and all that moue and crepe vpon the earth, and all the men that are vpon the earth, shall tremble at my presence: the hilles also shalbe turned vpside downe, the staires shall fall, and all walles shall fall downe to the grounde.
21 I will call for a sworde vpon hym in all my mountaynes, sayth the Lorde God: so that euery mans sworde shalbe vpon another.
22 With pestilence and blood wil I pleade against him: stormie rayne and haylestones, fire and brimstone wil I cause to rayne vpon him and all his hoastes, yea and vpon all that great people that is with him.
23 Thus will I be magnified, sanctified, and knowen in the eyes of many nations: and they shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
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.