« | Hosea 8 | » |
1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth, [swiftly] as an Egle [shall the enemie come] agaynst the house of the Lorde: for they haue broken my couenaunt, and transgressed my lawe.
2 Israel shoulde haue sayde vnto me: Thou art my God, we knowe thee.
3 But he hath refused the thyng that is good, therfore shall the enemie pursue him.
4 They haue ordeyned kinges, but not through me, they haue made princes, and I knewe it not: of their siluer and golde haue they made them idols, therfore shall they be destroyed.
5 Thy Calfe O Samaria hath cast thee of, for my wrathfull indignation is gone foorth agaynst them: howe long wyll they be without innocencie?
6 For [the calfe] came from Israel, the workman made it, therfore can it be no God: but euen in peeces shall the calfe of Samaria be broken.
7 They haue sowen winde, therfore shall they reape a whirlewinde: it hath no stalke, the bud shall bryng foorth no meale: and if haplie it do, straungers shall deuour it vp.
8 Israel is deuoured, nowe shall they be among the gentiles as a vessell of no reputation.
9 For they haue gone vp to Assyria [and are as] a wilde asse solitarie by him selfe: Ephraim hath hired louers.
10 And though they haue hired them among the heathen, yet nowe wyll I gather them, and they shall begyn to be weery with the burthen of the king and the prince.
11 Ephraim hath made many aulters to do wickednesse, his aulters [I say] he had to his sinne.
12 I haue written to them the great thinges of my lawe, [but] they are counted as a straunge thing.
13 They sacrifice fleshe for the sacrifice of mine offeringes, & eate it, [but] the Lord hath no pleasure in it: nowe wyll he remember their iniquitie, and visite their sinnes, they shall returne into Egypt.
14 For Israel hath forgotten him that made him, & hath builded faire palaces, and Iuda hath encreased strong cities: but I wyll sende a fire into their cities, and it shall consume their palaces.
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.