« | Hosea 5 | » |
1 O ye priestes heare this, take heede O thou housholde of Israel, geue eare O thou house of the king, for iudgement [is] against you, because you are become as a snare on Mizphah, and a spread net vpon the mount of Thabor.
2 They kyll sacrifices by heapes, and turne farre from the Lord, and I haue ben a rebuker of them all.
3 I knowe Ephraim well inough, and Israel is not hid fro me: for nowe O Ephraim thou art become an harlot, and Israel is defiled.
4 They wyll not geue their myndes to turne vnto their God: for the spirite of fornication [is] in the middest of them, and they haue not knowen the Lorde.
5 And the pryde of Israel doth testifie to his face: therefore both Israel and Ephraim shal fal for their wickednesse, and Iuda with them also.
6 They shall come with their sheepe and bullockes to seeke the Lorde, but they shall not finde hym: for he is gone from them.
7 They haue transgressed against the Lorde, and brought vp bastarde chyldren: a moneth therefore shall deuour them, with their portions.
8 Blowe with the shawmes at Gibea, and with the trumpet in Ramah, crye out at Bethauen, after thee O Beniamin.
9 In the tyme of the plague shall Ephraim be layde waste: in the tribes of Israel haue I shewed the trueth.
10 The princes of Iuda haue ben lyke them that remoue the lande markes: therefore wyll I powre out my wrath vpon them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in iudgement, because he wyllyngly folowed the commaundement.
12 Therefore wyll I be vnto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Iuda as a caterpiller.
13 When Ephraim sawe his sicknesse, and Iuda his disease, Ephraim went vnto Assur, and sent vnto kyng Iareb, yet coulde not he helpe you, nor ease you of your payne.
14 I wyll be vnto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelpe to the house of Iuda: I [euen] I wyll spoyle, and go my away: I wyll take away, and no man shall rescue.
15 I wyll go and returne to my place, tyll they knowledge that they haue sinned and seeke me. In their aduersitie they shall early seeke me.
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.