« | Ezra 10 |
1 And when Esdras prayed after this maner, and knowledged, wept, and lay before the house of God, there resorted vnto hym out of Israel a very great congregation, of men, and women, and children: and the people wept very sore.
2 And Sechania the sonne of Iehiel, one of the children of Elam, aunswered, and sayde vnto Esdras: We haue trespassed against our God, & haue taken straunge wyues of the people of the lande: Yet nowe there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
3 For nowe we will make a couenaunt with our God, and put away all the wiues and such as are borne of them, according to the counsel of the Lorde: and we wil be in the feare of the commaundementes of our God, that we may do according to the lawe.
4 Get thee vp, for this matter belongeth vnto thee, we also will be with thee: be of good comfort therfore, and do it.
5 Then rose Esdras, and toke an oth of the chiefe priestes and Leuites, and of all Israel, that they should do according to this worde: And they sware.
6 And Esdras rose vp from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Iohanan the sonne of Eliasib: and when he came thyther, he dyd eate no bread, nor dronke water: for he mourned, because of the transgression of the people that had ben in captiuitie.
7 And they caused a proclamation to go throughout Iuda & Hierusalem vnto al them of the captiuitie, that they shoulde gather them selues together vnto Hierusalem:
8 And that whosoeuer came not within three dayes, according to the deuice of the rulers and elders, all his substaunce should be forfayted, and he should be put out from the congregation of them of the captiuitie.
9 Then all the men of Iuda and Beniamin gathered them selues together vn- Hierusalem within three dayes, euen the twentith day of the nynth moneth: & all the people sate in the streete of the house of God, and trembled, because of this matter, and for the rayne.
10 And Esdras the priest stoode vp, and sayd vnto them: Ye haue transgressed, & haue taken straunge wyues, to make the trespasse of Israel yet more.
11 Confesse now therfore vnto the Lord God of our fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate your selues from the people of the lande, and from the straunge wyues.
12 And all the congregation aunswered, and sayde with a loude voyce: It shalbe so, and we will do as thou hast sayde.
13 But the people are many, and it is a rayny weather, & the people are to faynt to tary without in the streete, neither is this a worke of one day or two: for we haue offended very sore in this thing.
14 Let our rulers stande therefore in all the congregation, and let al them which haue taken straunge wyues in our cities come at the time appoynted, and let the elders of euery citie and their iudges be with them, till the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from vs.
15 Then were appoynted Ionathan the sonne of Asahel, and Iahasia the sonne of Thecua ouer this matter: & Mesullam and Sabathai the Leuites helped them.
16 And the children of the captiuitie dyd euen so: And Esdras the priest, and the auncient heads through the house of their fathers, all men of great fame, separated themselues, & sate them downe in the first day of the tenth moneth to examine the matter.
17 And vntill the first day of the first moneth they were finishing the businesse, with al the men that had taken straunge wyues.
18 And among the children of the priestes there were men found that had taken straunge wiues, namely among the children of Iesua, the sonne of Iosedec, and of his brethren, Maasia, and Eliezer, Iarib, and Gedalia.
19 And they gaue their handes that they woulde put away their wiues: and they that had trespassed, gaue a ramme for their trespasse.
20 And among the children of Immer: Hanani, and Zebadia.
21 Among the children of Harim: Maasia, Elia, Semeia, Iehiel, and Uzziah.
22 Among the children of Pashur: Elioenai, Maasia, Ismael, Nethanel, Iosabad, and Elasah.
23 Among the Leuites: Iosabad, Semei, and Celaia (whiche same is Celitah) Phathaiah, Iuda, and Eliezer.
24 Among the singers also, Eliasib: And among the porters, Sellum, and Telem, and Uri.
25 And of Israel: Among the children of Pharos, Remeia, Iesia, Melchia, Miamin, Eliezer, Melchia, & Banaiah.
26 Among the children of Elam: Mathama, Zacharia, Iehiel, Abdi, Ierimoth, and Elia.
27 Among the children of Zatthu: Elioenai, Eliasib, Mathania, Ierimoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 Among the children of Bebai: Iehohanan, Hanania, Zabbai, and Athalai.
29 Among the children of Bani: Mesullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Iasub, Saal, and Ieramoth.
30 Among the children of the captayne of Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaia, Maasia, Mathania, Besalel, Bennui, & Manasse.
31 Among the children of Harim: Eliezer, Isuah, Melchiia, Semeia, and Simeon,
32 Beniamin, Malluch, and Semariah.
33 Among the children of Hasum: Matthenai, Mathatha, Zabad, Eliphelet, Ieremai, Manasse, and Semei.
34 Among the children of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
35 Banea, Badaia, Cheliau,
36 Uaniah, Maremoth, Eliasib,
37 Mathaniah, Mathanai, Iasi,
38 Bani, Bennui, and Semei,
39 Selemia, Nathan, Adaiah,
40 Machnadebai, Sasai, Sarai,
41 Asarel, Selennahu, and Semariah,
42 Sallum, Amaria, and Ioseph.
43 Among the children of Nebo, Iehiel, Mathathia, Zabad, Zabina, Iadau, Ioel, and Banaia.
44 All these had taken straunge wyues, and among the same there were some that had children by the wyues.
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.