« | Ezekiel 44 | » |
1 After this, he brought me againe to the outward gate of the sanctuarie on the east side, and that was shut.
2 Then saide the lorde vnto me: This gate shalbe still shut and not opened, neither shall any man go through it: for the Lorde God of Israel hath entred by it, and it shalbe shut.
3 It is for the prince, the prince him selfe shal sit in it to eate bread before the lord: he shal enter by the way of the porche of that gate, and shal go out by the way of the same.
4 Then brought he me toward the north gate before the house: and as I loked, beholde the glory of the Lorde filled the house of the Lorde, and I fell vpon my face.
5 So the Lorde spake vnto me: O thou sonne of man, set thyne heart, and beholde with thyne eyes, and heare with thyne eares al that I say vnto thee concerning all the ordinaunces of the house of the Lorde, and all the lawes thereof, and marke well the entring in of the house, with euery going foorth of the sanctuarie.
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious [euen] to the house of Israel, thus saith the Lorde God: O house of Israel, ye haue inough of al your abhominations.
7 Seeing ye haue brought into my sanctuary straungers hauing vncircumcized heartes and vncircumcized fleshe, to be in my sanctuarie to pollute my house, when ye offer my bread, fat, and blood, and they haue broken my couenaunt because of all your abhominations:
8 And ye haue not kept the ordinaunces of my holy thinges, and ye haue set kepers to kepe my sanctuarie for you.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lorde God: Of al the straungers that dwell among the children of Israel, no straunger vncircumcized in heart, nor vncircumcized in fleshe, shall enter into my sanctuarie.
10 But the Leuites that went backe from me when Israel went astraye, which strayed from me after their idols, shal beare their iniquitie:
11 And they shalbe ministers in my sanctuary, and kepe the gates of the house, and minister in the house: they shall slay the burnt offeringes, and the sacrifice for the people, and they shal stand before them to serue them.
12 Because they serued before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquitie: therefore haue I lift vp my hande against them, saith the Lorde God, and they shal beare their iniquitie.
13 And they shall not come neare vnto me to do the office of a prieste vnto me, neither shall they come neare vnto any of myne holy thinges in the most holy place: but they shall beare their owne shame and abhominations which they haue done.
14 And I wyll make them kepers of the watch of the house for all the seruice thereof, & for al that shalbe done therin.
15 But the priestes, the Leuites, the sonnes of Sadoc that kept the charge of my sanctuarie when the children of Israel straied from me, shal come to me to do me seruice, to stand before me, and to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lorde God.
16 They shall go into my sanctuarie, and apropche vnto my table to do me seruice, and they shall kepe my charge.
17 Now when they go in at the gates of the innermer court, they shal put on linnen clothes, so that no woollen come vpon them while they do seruice vnder the gates of the innermer court, and with in.
18 They shall haue linnen bonnets vpon their heades, and linnen breeches vpon their loynes: they shal not gird them selues in the sweate.
19 And when they go foorth into the vtter court [euen] to the vtter court of the people, they shall put of the clothes wherein they haue ministred, and laye them in the chamber of the sanctuarie, and put on other apparel, and they shal not sanctifie the people with their clothes.
20 They shall not shaue their heades, nor suffer their here to growe long, but poule their heades onely.
21 Al the priestes that go into the inmost court shal drinke no wine.
22 They shall mary no widowe, neither one that is put from her husband: but a maide of the seede of the house of Israel, or a widowe that hath had a priest before.
23 They shall shewe my people the difference betweene the holy and vnholy, and cause them to discerne betwixt the cleane and vncleane.
24 And in controuersie they shall stand to iudge, and geue sentence after my iudgementes: and my lawes and my statutes shal they kepe in al my solempne feastes, and halowe my Sabbathes.
25 They shall come at no dead person to defile them selues: but with father or mother, sonne or daughter, brother or sister, that hath had yet no husband, may they be defiled.
26 And when he is cleansed, there shalbe reckened vnto him seuen dayes.
27 And when he goeth into the sanctuarie vnto the inner court to minister in the sanctuarie, he shal bring his sinne offring saith the Lorde.
28 There shalbe to them an inheritauce, [euen] I their inheritaunce: but possession shall ye geue them none in Israel, for I am their possession.
29 The meate offering, sinne offring, and trespasse offring shal they eate: & euery dedicate thing in Israel shalbe theirs.
30 And all the first of all the first borne, and euery oblation, [euen] all of euery sort of your oblations shalbe the priestes: ye shall also geue vnto the priestes the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thyne house.
31 But the priestes shal eate nothing that is dead [by it selfe] or torne of foule or of beaste.
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.