« | Habakkuk 3 |
1 A prayer of Habacuc the prophete for the ignoraunces.
2 O lord I haue heard thy voyce, and was afrayde: O Lorde reuiue thy worke in the middes of the yeres, in the middes of the yeres make it knowen, in wrath remember mercie.
3 God commeth from Theman, and the holy one from mount Paran, Selah. his glorie couereth the heauens, and the earth is full of his prayse.
4 And [his] brightnesse was as the light: he had hornes [comming] out of his handes, and there was the hyding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coales went foorth before his feete.
6 He stoode, and measured the earth, he behelde, and dissolued the nations, and the euerlasting mountaynes were broken, and the auncient hilles did bowe, his wayes are euerlasting.
7 For iniquitie I saw the tentes of Chusan, [and] the curtaynes of the lande of Madian dyd tremble.
8 Was the Lorde angry against the riuers? or was thyne anger against the floodes? or was thy wrath against the sea, that thou diddest ryde vpon thy horses? thy charets [brought] saluation.
9 Thy bow was manyfestly reuealed, and the othes of the tribes [were] a sure word. Selah. thou diddest cleaue the earth with riuers.
10 The mountaynes sawe thee and they trembled, the streame of the water passed by, the deepe made a noyse, and lift vp his handes on hye.
11 The sonne [and] moone stoode still in [their] habitation, at the light of thyne arrowes they went, [and] at the bright shining of thy speares.
12 Thou trodest downe the land in anger: [and] dyddest threshe the heathen in displeasure.
13 Thou wentest foorth for the saluation of thy people, [euen] for saluation with thyne annoynted: thou hast wounded the head of the house of the wicked, and discoueredst the foundations vnto the necke. Selah.
14 Thou diddest strike thorow with his owne staues the heades of his villages, they came out as a whirlewinde to scatter me: their reioycyng was as to deuour the poore secretly.
15 Thou diddest walke in the sea with thyne horses, vpon the heape of great waters.
16 When I hearde, my belly trembled, my lippes shoke at the voice, rottennesse entred into my bones, & I trembled in my selfe, that I might rest in the day of trouble: for when he commeth vp vnto the people, he shall destroy them.
17 For the figgetree shall not floorish, neither shall fruite be in the vines: the labour of the oliue shall fayle, & the fieldes shall yelde no meate: the sheepe shalbe cut of from the folde, and there shalbe no bullocke in the stalles.
18 But I will reioyce in the Lord, I will ioy in the God of my saluation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, he wil make my feete like hindes [feete] & he wil make me to walke vpon my hye places. To the chiefe singer on Neginothai, [or vpon the instrumentes of musicke.]
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.