« | Isaiah 29 | » |
1 Wo vnto thee O Ariel Ariel, thou citie that Dauid dwelt in: Go on from yere to yere, and let the lambes be slayne.
2 I wyll lay siege vnto Ariel, so that there shalbe heauinesse and sorowe in it: and it shalbe vnto me euen an aulter of slaughter.
3 A will besiege thee rounde about, and fight against thee thorowe a bulwarke, and wyll reare vp diches against thee.
4 Thou shalt be brought downe, and shalt speake out of the ground, and thy speache shall go lowe out of the dust: Thy voyce also shall come out of the grounde lyke the voyce of a witche, and thy talkyng shall whisper out of the dust:
5 Moreouer, the noyse of the straunge enemies shalbe like thinne dust, and the multitude of tirauntes shalbe as drye strawe that can not tary: euen sodenly and in haste shall their blast go.
6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lorde of hoastes with thunder, earthquake, and with a great noyse, with storme and tempest, and with the flambe of a consuming fire.
7 And the multitude of all nations that fight against Ariel, shalbe as a dreame seene by night: euen so shall they be that make warre against it, and strong holdes to ouercome it, and that lay any siege vnto it.
8 In conclusion, it shalbe euen as when a hungry man dreameth that he is eating, and when he awaketh, his soule is emptie, or as when a thirstie man dreameth that he is drinking, and when he awaketh, he is yet fainte, and his soule hath appetite: euen so shall the multitude of all nations that fighteth against mount Sion.
9 Ponder these thinges once in your mindes, and wonder: Blinded are they them selues, and the blinde guides of other: They are drunken, but not with wine: they are vnstable, but not thorow strong drinke.
10 For the Lorde hath couered you with a slumbring spirite, and hath closed your eyes: your prophetes also and rulers that shoulde see, them hath he couered.
11 And the vision of all the prophetes is become vnto you as the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp, whiche men deliuer to one that is learned, saying, Reade thou in it: and he saith, I can not, for it is sealed.
12 And the booke is geuen to him that is not learned, saying, Reade thou in it: and he saith, I am not learned.
13 Therfore thus hath the Lorde sayd: Forsomuche as this people when they be in trouble, do honour me with their mouth and with their lippes, but their heart is farre fro me, and the feare whiche they haue vnto me proceedeth of a commaundement that is taught of men:
14 Therefore wyll I do marueyles among this people, euen marueylous thinges [I say] and a wonder: For the wysdome of their wyse men shall perishe, and the vnderstanding of their wittie men shall hyde it selfe.
15 Wo vnto them that kepe secrete their thoughtes, to hide their counsell from the Lorde, and to do their workes in darknesse, saying: Who seeth vs? and who knoweth vs?
16 Doubtlesse your destruction is in reputation as the potters clay: And doth the worke say of hym that made it, he made not me? And doth an earthen vessell say of hym that fashioned it, he had no vnderstanding?
17 Is it not harde at hande that Libanus shalbe turned into a low fielde, and that the lowe fielde shalbe taken as the wood?
18 And in that day shall deafe men heare the wordes of the booke, and the eyes of the blynde shall see, euen out of the cloude, and out of darknesse.
19 The meeke spirited also shall be merie in the Lorde, and the poore among them that be lowly shall reioyce in the holy one of Israel:
20 For he that dyd violence is brought to naught, and the scornefull man is consumed, and they rooted out that made haste early to vnrighteousnesse,
21 Making a man to sinne in the worde, and that toke him in a snare, whiche reproued them in the open place, and they that haue turned the cause of the righteous to naught.
22 Therefore thus saith the Lorde to the house of Iacob, euen thus saith he that redeemed Abraham: Iacob shall not nowe be confounded, nor his face pale.
23 But when he seeth his chyldren the worke of my handes in the middes of hym, they shall sanctifie my name, and prayse the holy one of Iacob, and feare the God of Israel.
24 They also that haue ben of an erronious spirite shall come to vnderstanding, and they that haue ben scornefull shall learne doctrine.
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.