« | Genesis 15 | » |
1 After these thynges, the worde of the Lorde came vnto Abram in a vision, saying: feare not Abram I am thy shielde [and] thy exceedyng great rewarde.
2 And Abram sayde: Lorde God what wylt thou geue me when I go chyldelesse, the chylde of the stewardship of my house is this Eleazer of Damasco?
3 And Abram saide: See, to me thou hast geuen no seede: lo [borne] in my house is myne heire.
4 And beholde, the worde of the Lorde came vnto hym, saying, he shall not be thine heire: but one that shall come out of thine own bowels shalbe thine heire.
5 And he brought hym out, and sayde: loke vp vnto heauen, and tell the starres, if thou be able to number them. And he sayde vnto hym: euen so shall thy seede be.
6 And [Abram] beleued the Lord, & that counted he to hym for righteousnesse.
7 And agayne he saide vnto him: I am the Lorde that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to geue thee this lande, & that thou myghtest inherite it.
8 And he sayde: Lorde God wherby shall I knowe that I shall inherite it?
9 He aunswered vnto hym: Take an Heyfer of three yere olde, & a she Goate of three yere olde, and a three yere olde Ramme, a turtle Doue also, & a young Pigeon.
10 He toke therefore all these vnto hym, and deuided them in the middes, and layde euery peece one ouer agaynst another: but the birdes deuided he not.
11 And when the foules fell on the carkases, Abram droue them away.
12 And whe the sunne was downe, there fell a deepe sleepe vpon Abram: and lo, an horrour of great darknesse fell vpon hym.
13 And he sayde vnto Abram: Knowe this of a suertie, that thy seede shalbe a straunger in a lande that is not theirs, and shall serue them, and they shall entreate them euyll foure hundreth yeres.
14 But the nation whom they shall serue wyll I iudge: and afterward shall they come out with great substaunce.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good olde age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shal come hyther agayne: for the wickednesse of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 And so it was, that when the sonne went downe, and it was twylyght, beholde a smokyng furnesse and a fire brande goyng betweene the said peeces.
18 In that same day the Lorde made a couenaunt with Abram, saying: vnto thy seede haue I geuen this lande, fro the ryuer of Egypt, euen vnto the great ryuer, the ryuer of Euphrates.
19 The Kenites and the Kenizites, and the Cadmonites,
20 And the Hethites, and the Perizites, and the Giauntes,
21 The Amorites also, and the Chanaanites, and Girgasites, & the Iebusites.
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.