« | Ezekiel 6 | » |
1 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:
2 Thou sonne of man set thy face to the mountaynes of Israel, that thou mayest prophecie agaynst them,
3 And say, Heare the worde of the Lord God: O ye mountaynes of Israel Thus hath the Lord God spoken to the mountaynes, hylles, riuers, & dales, Beholde I [euen] will bryng a sworde vpon you, and destroy your hye places.
4 Your aulters shalbe destroyed, & your images of the sunne broken downe, your slayne men wyll I cast downe before your idols.
5 And the dead carkases of the children of Israel wyll I cast before their idols, your bones will I scatter rounde about your aulters.
6 In all your dwellyng places your cities shalbe desolate, and the hye places laide waste, so that your aulters shalbe made waste and desolate, your idols shalbe broken and abolished, and your images of the sunne shalbe cut downe, and your workes quite taken away.
7 Your slayne men shall fall among you: and ye shal knowe that I am the Lord.
8 Yet wyll I leaue a remnaunt, that you may haue [some] that shall escape the sworde among the nations, when as ye shalbe scattered through the countreis.
9 And they that escape of you shal thinke vpon me among the heathen where they shalbe in captiuitie, because I haue ben broken with their whorishe heart which hath departed from me, & with their eyes that haue gone a whoryng after their idols: and they shalbe abhorred before their owne eyes for the euils which they haue commited in all their abhominations.
10 And they shall knowe that I am the Lorde, and that I haue not sayde in vayne, that I woulde do this euill vnto them.
11 Thus saith the Lorde God, Smite thine handes together, and stampe with thy feete, and say, Wo worth all the abhominations and wickednesses of the house of Israel: for they shall fall with the sworde, with hunger, and with pestilence.
12 Who so is farre of shall dye of the pestilence, he that is nye at hande shall perishe with the sworde, and the other that are besieged shall dye of hunger: Thus wyll I satisfie my wrathfull displeasure vpon them.
13 And so shall ye knowe that I am the Lorde, when their slayne men shalbe among their idols rounde about their aulters, vpon euery hye hyll, and toppes of mountaynes, and vnder euery greene tree, and vnder euery thicke oke, [euen] in the places where they dyd offer sweete sauour to all their idols.
14 I wyll stretche mine hande out vpon them, and wyll make the lande waste, and desolate from the wildernesse vnto Deblathah through all their habitations: 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.