« | Genesis 26 | » |
1 And there fell a famine in the land, besides the first that was in the dayes of Abraham: And Isahac went vnto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, vnto Gerar.
2 And the Lorde appeared vnto hym, and sayde: Go not downe into Egypt, [but] abyde in the lande whiche I shall shewe vnto thee.
3 Soiourne in this lande, and I wyl be with thee, and wyll blesse thee: for vnto thee and vnto thy seede I wyll geue all these countreys, and I wyll perfourme the othe whiche I sware vnto Abraham thy father.
4 And wyl make thy seede to multiplie as the starres of heauen, and wyll geue vnto thy seede al these countreys: and in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed:
5 Because that Abraham hearkened vnto my voyce, & kept my ordinaunce, my commaundementes, my statutes, and my lawes.
6 And Isahac dwelled in Gerar.
7 And the men of the place asked [him] of his wyfe. And he sayde, she is my sister: for he feared to say, she is my wyfe, lest the men of the place shoulde haue kylled hym, because of Rebecca, whiche was beautifull to the eye.
8 And after he had ben there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines loked out at a windowe, & sawe Isahac sportyng with Rebecca his wyfe.
9 And Abimelech called Isahac, and said: beholde, she is of a suretie thy wife, and why saydest thou, she is my sister? To whom Isahac aunswered: because I thought that I might peraduenture haue dyed for her sake.
10 Abimelech said: why hast thou done this vnto vs? one of the people myght lyghtly haue lyne by thy wyfe, and so shouldest thou haue brought sinne vpon vs.
11 And so Abimelech charged al his people, saying: He that toucheth this man or his wyfe, shall dye the death.
12 Then Isahac sowed in that lande, and receaued in the same yere an hundred folde: and the Lorde blessed hym.
13 And the man waxed myghtie, & went foorth, and grewe tyll he was exceeding great.
14 For he had possessio of sheepe, of oxen, and a myghtie housholde: and therfore the Philistines had enuie at hym.
15 For the Philistines stopped and fylled vp with earth all the welles which his seruauntes had digged in his father Abrahams tyme.
16 And Abimelech sayde vnto Isahac: Get thee from vs, for thou art mightier then we a great deale.
17 Therefore Isahac departed thence, and abode in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isahac returning, digged againe the welles of water which they digged in the dayes of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham, & named them after the same names by the which his father had named them.
19 Isahacs seruauntes digged in the valley, and founde a well of springyng water.
20 And the heardmen of Gerar did striue with Isahacs heardmen, saying: the water is ours. Then called he the well contention, because they stroue with hym.
21 And they digged another well, and stroue for that also: and he called the name of it enmitie.
22 And then he departed thence, & digged another well, for the which they stroue not. Therfore called he it roomth, saying: the Lorde hath made vs nowe roome that we may encrease vpon the earth.
23 And he went vp thence to Beer-seba.
24 And the Lorde appeared vnto hym the same night, and sayde: I am the God of Abraham thy father, feare not, for I am with thee, and wyl blesse thee and multiple thy seede for my seruaunt Abrahams sake.
25 And he builded an aulter there, and called vpon the name of the Lorde, and pitched his tent: and there Isahacs seruauntes dygged a well.
26 Then came Abimelech to him from Gerar, and Ahuzath his friende, and Phicol the captaine of his armie.
27 And Isahac sayde vnto them: wherfore come ye to me, seyng ye hate me, and haue put me away from you?
28 Whiche aunswered: We sawe most certainly that the Lord was with thee, and we sayde: let there be nowe an oth betwixt vs, euen betwixt vs and thee, and let vs make a league with thee:
29 That thou shouldest do vs no hurt, as we haue not touched thee, and as we haue done vnto thee nothyng but good, & sent thee away in peace: for thou art nowe the blessed of the Lorde.
30 And he made them a feast, and they dyd eate and drynke.
31 And they rose vp betymes in the mornyng, and sware one to another: And Isahac sent them away, and they departed from hym in peace.
32 And the same daye Isahacs seruauntes came and tolde hym of a well which they had dygged, and sayde vnto hym, we haue founde water.
33 And he called it Sebah: and the name of the citie is called Beer-seba vnto this day.
34 Esau was fourtie yere olde, & he toke a wyfe [called] Iudith, the daughter of Beeri an Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon, an Hethite [also.]
35 Which were disobedient vnto Isahac and Rebecca.
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.