« | Genesis 6 | » |
1 And it came to passe, that when men began to be multiplied in the vpper face of the earth, there were daughters borne vnto the:
2 And the sonnes of God also sawe the daughters of men that they were fayre, & they toke them wyues, such as theyliked, from among them all.
3 And the Lorde sayde: My spirite shall not alwayes stryue with man, because he is fleshe: yet his dayes shalbe an hundreth and twentie yeres.
4 But there were Giantes in those dayes in ye earth: yea & after that the sonnes of God came vnto the daughters of me, and hadde begotten chyldren of them, the same became myghtie men of the worlde, and men of renowme.
5 But God sawe that the malice of man was great in the earth, and all the imagination of the thoughtes of his heart [was] only euyll euery day.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man vpon the earth, & he was touched with sorowe in his heart.
7 And the Lorde sayde: I wyll from the vpper face of the earth, destroy man whom I haue created, from man vnto cattell, vnto worme, and vnto foules of the ayre: For it repenteth me that I haue made them.
8 But Noah founde grace in the eyes of the Lorde.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah [was] a iust man, and perfect in his generations: And Noah walked with God.
10 Noah begat three sonnes, Sem, Ham, and Iapheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the same earth was fylled with crueltie.
12 And God loked vpon the earth, and beholde it was corrupt: for all fleshe had corrupt his way vpon earth.
13 And God sayd vnto Noah: the ende of all fleshe is come before me, for the earth is fylled with crueltie through them, and beholde I wyl destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an Arke of Pine trees: Habitations shalt thou make in the arke, and shalt pitch it within and with out with pitche.
15 And of this fashion shalt thou make it: The length of the arke [shalbe] three hundreth cubites, the breadth of it fiftie cubites, & the height of it thirtie cubites.
16 A wyndowe shalt thou make in the arke, and in a cubite shalt thou finishe it aboue: but the doore of the arke shalt thou set in the syde therof. With three loftes one aboue another shalt thou make it.
17 And beholde, I, euen I do bryng a fludde of waters vpon the earth, to destroy all fleshe wherin is the breath of lyfe vnder heauen, and euery thyng that is in the earth shall perishe.
18 With thee also wyll I make my couenaunt: and thou shalt come into the arke, thou and thy sonnes, thy wife, and thy sonnes wyues with thee.
19 And of euery lyuyng thyng of all fleshe, a payre of euery one shalt thou bryng into the arke to kepe them alyue with thee, they shalbe male & female.
20 Of fethered foules also after their kinde, and of all cattell after their kinde: of euery worme of the earth after his kynde, two of euery one shall come vnto thee, to kepe [them] alyue.
21 And take thou with thee of all meate that is eaten, and thou shalt lay it vp with thee, that it may be meate for thee and them.
22 Noah therfore dyd according vnto all that God commaunded hym [euen] so dyd he.
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.