« | Isaiah 34 | » |
1 Come ye heathen and heare, take heede you people: hearken thou earth and all that is therin, thou rounde compasse and all that dwelleth thervpon.
2 For the Lorde is angry with all people, & his displeasure is kindled agaynst all the multitude of them, he hath destroyed them, and delyuered them to the slaughter.
3 So that their slayne shalbe cast out and their bodyes stincke, that euen the very hylles shalbe wet with the blood of them.
4 All the starres of heauen shall waste, and the heauens shall folde together lyke a roll, and all the starres therof shall fall, lyke as the leaues fall from the vines and figge trees.
5 For my sworde shalbe bathed in heauen, and shall immediatly come downe to iudgement vpon Idumea, and vpon the people which I haue cursed.
6 And the Lordes sworde shalbe full of blood, and be rusty with the fatnesse and blood of lambes and goates, with the fatnesse of the kidneys of weathers: For the Lord shall kyll a great offering in Bozra, and a great slaughter in the lande of Idumea.
7 There shall the vnicornes fall with them, and the bulles with the giauntes, and their lande shalbe throughly soked with blood, and their grounde corrupt with fatnesse.
8 For it is the day of Gods vengeaunce, and the yere of recompence for the reuenge of Sion.
9 And his fluddes shalbe turned to pitch, and his earth to brimstone, and therewith shall the lande be kindled.
10 So that it shall not be quenched day nor nyght, but smoke euermore, and so foorth lye waste: and no man shall go through it for euer.
11 But Pellicanes, Storkes, great Owles, and Rauens shall haue it in possession and dwell therin: for God shall spreade out the line of desolation vpon it, and the stones of emptinesse.
12 Her nobles shall call, and there is no kyngdome: and all her princes shalbe nothyng.
13 Thornes shall growe in their palaces, nettles & thistles in their strong holdes, that the dragons may haue their pleasure therin, and that they may be a court for Estriches.
14 There shall straunge visures & monsterous beastes meete one another, and the wylde kepe company together: there shall the Lamia lye and haue her lodgyng.
15 There shall the Owle make her nest, builde, be there at home, & bryng foorth her young ones: there shall the Kytes come together, eche one to his lyke.
16 Seke through the booke of the Lorde and reade it: there shall none of these thynges be left out, there shall not one nor such lyke fayle: for his mouth commaundeth, and that same doth his spirite gather together, or fulfyll.
17 He hath cast the lot for them, and to those beastes hath his hande deuided it by the line: therfore those shall possesse it for euer, from generation to generation shall they dwell therin.
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.