« | Genesis 3 | » |
1 And the serpent was suttiller then euery beast of the fielde which ye lord God hadde made, and he sayde vnto the woman: yea, hath God saide, ye shall not eate of euery tree of the garden?
2 And the woman sayde vnto the serpent: We eate of ye fruite of the trees of the garden.
3 But as for the fruite of the tree which is in the myddes of the garden, God hath sayde, ye shall not eate of it, neither shal ye touche of it, lest peraduenture ye dye.
4 And the serpent sayde vnto the woman: ye shall not dye the death.
5 For God doth knowe, that the same day that ye eate therof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shalbe eue as gods, knowyng good and euyll.
6 And so the woman, seing that the same tree was good to eate of, and pleasaunt to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, toke of the fruite therof, and dyd eate, and gaue also vnto her husbande beyng with her, and he dyd eate.
7 Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knewe that they were naked, and they sowed fygge leaues together, & made them selues apernes.
8 And they heard the voyce of the Lord God, walkyng in the garden in ye coole of the day: and Adam and his wyfe hyd themselues from the presence of the lord God amongst ye trees of the garden.
9 And the Lorde called Adam, & sayde vnto hym: where art thou?
10 Which sayde: I hearde thy voyce in the garden, and was afrayde because I was naked, and hyd my selfe.
11 And he sayde: Who tolde thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou not eaten of the same tree, concernyng the which I commaunded thee that thou shouldest not eate of it?
12 And Adam said: The woman whom thou gauest [to be] with me, she gaue me of the tree, and I dyd eate.
13 And the Lord God sayd vnto the woman: Why hast thou done this? And the woman sayde: the serpent begyled me, and I dyd eate.
14 And the lord god said vnto ye serpent: Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed aboue all cattel, and aboue euery beast of the fielde: vpon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eate all the dayes of thy lyfe.
15 I wyll also put enmitie betweene thee & the woman, betweene thy seede and her seede: and it shall treade downe thy head, and thou shalt treade vpon his heele.
16 But vnto the woman he sayde: I wyll very much multiplie thy sorowe, and thy griefes of chylde bearyng, In sorowe shalt thou bring foorth children: thy desire [shalbe] to thy husbande, and he shall haue the rule of thee.
17 Unto Adam he sayde: Because thou hast hearkened vnto the voyce of thy wyfe, and hast eaten of the tree concernyng the whiche I commaunded thee, saying, thou shalt not eate of it, cursed is the grounde for thy sake, in sorowe shalt thou eate of it all the dayes of thy lyfe.
18 Thorne also and thistle shall it bryng foorth to thee, and thou shalt eate the hearbe of the fielde.
19 In the sweatte of thy face shalt thou eate thy breade, tyll thou be turned agayne into the ground, for out of it wast thou taken: For dust thou art, and into dust shalt thou be turned agayne.
20 And Adam called his wyfes name Heua, because she was the mother of all lyuyng.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wyfe dyd the Lorde God make garments of skynnes, and he put them on.
22 And the Lorde God sayde: Beholde, the man is become as one of vs, in knowing good and euyll: And now lest peraduenture he put foorth his hande, and take also of the tree of lyfe and eate, and lyue for euer.
23 Therefore the Lorde God sent hym foorth fro the garden of Eden, to worke the grounde whence he was taken.
24 And so he droue out man, and at the east side of the garde of Eden he set Cherubins, and a fierie two edged sworde, to kepe the way of the tree of lyfe.
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.