« | Genesis 18 | » |
1 And the Lorde appeared vnto hym in the playne of Mamre, and he sate in his tent doore in the heate of the day.
2 And he lift vp his eyes and loked, and loe, three men stoode by hym: And when he sawe them, he ranne to meete them from the tent doore, and bowed hym selfe towarde the grounde,
3 And sayde: Lorde, yf I haue nowe founde fauour in thy sight, passe not away I praye thee from thy seruaunt.
4 Let a litle water, I pray you, be fet, and washe your feete, and refreshe your selues vnder the tree.
5 And I wyll fet a morsell of bread to comfort your heartes withall, and then shall you go your wayes: for euen therefore are ye come to your seruaunt. And they sayde: do euen so as thou hast sayde.
6 And Abraham went apace into the tent vnto Sara, & sayde: Make redy at once three peckes of fine meale, kneade [it] and make cakes vpon the hearth.
7 And Abraham runnyng vnto his beastes, fet a calfe tender and good, and gaue it vnto a young man, and he hasted to make it redy at once.
8 And he toke butter and mylke, and the calfe which he had prepared, and set it before them, and stoode hym selfe by them vnder the tree: & they dyd eate.
9 And they sayde vnto hym: where is Sara thy wife? He aunswered, behold, in the tent.
10 And he sayde: I wyll certaynely returne vnto thee according to the time of lyfe: and lo, Sara thy wyfe shall haue a sonne. That heard Sara in the tent doore, which was behynde hym.
11 Abraham and Sara were both olde, and well stryken in age: and it ceassed to be with Sara after the maner as it is with women.
12 Therefore Sara laughed within her selfe, saying: Nowe I am waxed olde shal I geue my selfe to lust, and my Lorde olde also?
13 And God said vnto Abraham: wherfore dyd Sara laugh, saying, shall I of a suertie beare a chylde, which am olde?
14 Is any thing vnpossible to God? Accordyng to the tyme appoynted wyll I returne vnto thee [euen] according to the time of life: & Sara [shall] haue a sonne.
15 The Sara denied it, saying: I laughed not: for she was afrayde. And he sayde: it is not so, but thou laughedst.
16 And the men rysyng vp from thence, loked toward Sodome: and Abraham went with them to bryng them on the way.
17 And the Lorde sayde: shall I hyde from Abraham that thing which I do.
18 Seyng that Abraham shall surely be a great and a myghtie nation, and all the nations of the earth shalbe blessed in hym?
19 I knowe this also, that he wyll commaunde his chyldren and his householde after him, that they kepe the way of the Lord, and to do iustice and iudgement, that the Lorde may bryng vppon Abraha that he hath spoken vnto him.
20 And the lorde saide: because the crye of Sodome and Gomorrhe is great, and because their sinne is exceding greeuous:
21 I wyll go downe nowe, and see whether they haue done altogether accordyng to that crye whiche is come vnto me: and yf not, I wyll knowe.
22 And the men departed thence, & went to Sodomeward: but Abraham stoode yet before the Lorde.
23 And Abraham drewe neare, and said: Wylt thou also destroye the righteous with the wicked?
24 If there be fiftie ryghteous within the citie, wylt thou destroye and not spare the place for the sake of fiftie ryghteous that are therein?
25 That be farre from thee that thou shouldest do after this maner, and slaye the ryghteous with the wicked, & that the ryghteous should be as the wicked, that be farre from thee: Shall not the iudge of all the worlde do accordyng to ryght?
26 And the Lorde sayde: If I fynde in Sodome fiftie ryghteous within the citie, I wyll spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham aunsweryng, sayde: beholde I haue taken vppon me to speake vnto the Lorde, whiche am but dust and asshes.
28 If there shall lacke fiue of fiftie ryghteous, wylt thou destroy all the citie for [lacke] of fiue? And he saide: If I fynde there fourtie and fiue I wyl not destroy them.
29 And he proceaded to speake vnto hym agayne, and sayde: What yf there shall be fourtie founde there? He aunswered: I wyll not do it for fourties sake.
30 He sayde vnto hym agayne: O let not my lord be angry that I speake: What yf there shall thirtie be founde there? And he sayde: I wyll do nothyng yf I fynde thirtie there.
31 He sayde agayne: O see I haue taken vppon me to speake nowe also vnto my Lord: What if there shalbe twentie founde there? He aunswered, I wyll not destroy [them] for twenties sake.
32 And he sayde: O let not my Lorde be angry, and I wyll speake yet but this once: What if ten shalbe found there? He aunswered, I wil not destroy [them] for tennes sake.
33 And the Lorde went his way assoone as he had left communyng with Abraham, and Abraham [also] turned vnto his place.
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.