« | Isaiah 19 | » |
1 The burthen of Egypt. Beholde, the Lorde rideth vpon a swift cloude, and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at the presence of hym, and the heart of Egypt shall quake in the middest of her.
2 And I wyll set the Egyptians one agaynst another, so that one brother shall fyght agaynst another, and one neighbour against another, citie against citie, and realme against realme.
3 The mynde also of Egypt shalbe cleane without counsayle within it selfe, and the deuice that they take wil I destroy: and they shall seke counsayle at idols and at sorcerers, at workers with spirites, and at soothsayers.
4 And the Egyptians wyll I geue ouer into the hande of a maruaylous cruell lorde, and a mightie kyng shall haue dominion ouer them, saith the Lorde God of hoastes.
5 The waters of the sea shall fayle, and the riuer shall decrease and be dryed vp.
6 The waters shalbe drawen out, the riuers of Egypt shalbe emptied & dryed vp, the reedes and flagges shalbe cut downe.
7 The grasse in the riuer and by the riuers bancke, and all that groweth by the riuer, shall wither away, and be brought to naught.
8 The fisshers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the water shall make lamentation: and they that lay foorth their net beside the waters shalbe rooted out.
9 Moreouer, they that worke in flaxe and make fine workes, shalbe confounded, and so shall they that weaue open workes.
10 For their open workes shal euen be destroyed, and all they that make pondes and slues for fishe shall come to naught.
11 But you foolishe princes of Zoan, ye wise counsaylers of Pharao, whose wit is turned to foolishnesse, howe say ye vnto Pharao, I am come of wise men and of auncient kinges?
12 Where are thy wise men? Let them tell thee yf they can, what the Lorde of hoastes hath deuised vpon Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan are become fooles, the princes of Noph are deceaued, they haue deceaued Egypt, euen they that were taken for the chiefe stay therof.
14 In the middest of it hath the Lorde powred the spirite of wickednesse: and they haue deceaued Egypt in euery worke therof, euen as a drunken man staggereth in his vomite.
15 Neither shall the head or tayle, the braunche or reede, be able to do any worke in Egypt.
16 In that day shall Egypt be lyke vnto women: It shalbe afrayde and stande in feare at the motion of the hande of the Lorde of hoastes which he shaketh ouer it.
17 And Egypt shalbe afraide of the lande of Iuda: so that euery one that maketh mention of it shalbe afraide therat, because of the counsayle of the Lorde of hoastes which he deuised for it.
18 In that day shall fiue cities in the lande of Egypt speake the language of Chanaan, and sweare by the Lorde of hoastes: the citie of desolation shalbe called one of them.
19 In that day shall the aulter of the Lorde be in the middest of the lande of Egypt, and this title beside it vnto the Lorde.
20 And it shalbe a token and a witnesse vnto the Lorde of hostes in the lande of Egypt: For they shal crie vnto the Lord because of such as trouble them, and he shall sende them a sauiour and a great man to delyuer them.
21 And the Lorde shalbe knowen in Egypt, and the Egyptians shall knowe the Lorde in that day, and do sacrifice and oblation: yea they shall vowe a vowe vnto the Lord, and perfourme it.
22 The Lorde also shall smite Egypt sore, and heale them agayne: and they shalbe conuerted vnto the Lorde, and he shalbe intreated of them, and shall heale them.
23 In that day shall there be a common way out of Egypt into Assyria, and Assyria shall come into Egypt, & Egypt into Assyria: so that the Egyptians and the Assyrians shall serue the Lorde together.
24 In that day shal the nation of Israel be the thirde with Egypt and Assyria: and they shalbe blessed in the middest of the lande,
25 Which lande the Lorde of hoastes hath blessed, saying: blessed is my people of Egypt, Assur also is the worke of my handes, and Israel is mine inheritaunce.
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.