« | Hosea 2 | » |
1 Tell your brethren that they are my people, and your sisterne, that they haue obtayned mercy.
2 As for your mother, ye shall chyde with her and reproue her, for she is not my wyfe, neither am I her husbande: let her therefore put away her whordome from her face, and her adulterie from her brestes:
3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her euen as she came into the worlde, and make her as a wyldernesse, and as a drye lande, and slay her for thyrste.
4 And I wyll haue no pitie vpon her chyldren: for they be the children of fornication.
5 Their mother hath played the harlot, and she that bare them is come to confusion: for she sayde, I wyll go after my louers, that geue me my bread and my water, my wooll and flaxe, my oyle and my drinke.
6 Therefore beholde, I wyll stop thy way with thornes, and make a hedge, that she shall not finde her pathes.
7 And though she runne after her louers, yet shall she not ouertake them: she shall seeke them, but not finde them. Then shall she say, I wyll go and returne to my first husbande: for at that tyme it was better with me then nowe.
8 And she dyd not knowe that I gaue her corne, and wine, and oyle, and multiplied her siluer and golde, which they bestowed on Baal.
9 Therefore wyll I returne and take away my corne in the tyme thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and fet agayne my wooll and my flaxe [whiche I gaue her] to couer her shame.
10 And nowe wyll I discouer her shame [euen] in the sight of her louers, and no man shall deliuer her out of my handes.
11 Moreouer, I wyll take away all her myrth, her holy dayes, her newe moones, her Sabbathes, and all her solempne feastes.
12 I wyll destroy her vineyardes and figtrees, whereof she sayde: These are my rewardes that my louers haue geuen me, I wyll make them as a wood, and wylde beastes shall eate them vp.
13 I wyll visite vpon her the dayes of Baal wherein she burned incense to hym, and decked her selfe with eareringes and iewels, she folowed her louers, and forgate me saith the Lorde.
14 Wherefore beholde, I wyll allure her and bryng her into the wildernesse, and speake frendly vnto her.
15 From thence wyll I geue her her vineyardes agayne, yea and the valley of Achor for an entry of hope: and she shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth, and as in the day when she came vp out of the lande of Egypt.
16 And at that day (saith the Lord) thou shalt call me, O my husbande, and shalt call me no more Baal.
17 For I wyll take away those names of Baal from her mouth, yea she shall neuer remember their names any more.
18 Then wyll I make a couenaunt for them, with the beastes of the fielde, with the foules of the ayre, and with euery thing that creepeth vpon the earth: As for bowe, sworde, and battayle, I wyll destroy out of the lande, and wyll make them to sleepe safely.
19 And I wyll marry thee vnto myne owne selfe for euer, yea euen to my selfe wyll I marry thee in righteousnes, in iudgement, in louing kindnesse and mercy.
20 In faythfulnesse also wyll I marry thee vnto my selfe, and thou shalt know the Lorde.
21 At the same tyme wyll I shewe my selfe gratious vnto the heauens saith the Lorde, and the heauens shall helpe the earth:
22 And the earth shall helpe the corne, wine, and oyle: and they shall helpe Iezrahel.
23 And I wyll sowe her for my selfe in the earth, and wyll haue mercy vpon her that had not obtayned mercy: And to them whiche were not my people, I wyll say, Thou art my people: and they shall say, Thou art my God.
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.