« | Isaiah 40 | » |
1 Comfort my people [O ye prophetes] comfort my people, saith your God,
2 Comfort Hierusalem at the heart, and tell her, that her trauayle is at an ende, that her offence is pardoned, that she hath receaued at the Lordes hande sufficient correction for all her sinnes.
3 A voyce crieth in wildernesse: Prepare the way of the Lorde, make strayght the path of our God in the desert.
4 All valleys shalbe exalted, and euery mountayne and hyll layde lowe: what so is croked shalbe made strayght, and the rough shalbe made playne.
5 For the glorie of the Lorde shall appeare, for all fleshe shall at once see that the mouth of the Lorde hath spoken it.
6 The same voyce spake: Nowe crye. And the prophete aunswered, What shall I crye? That all fleshe is grasse, and that all the goodlinesse therof is as the floure of the fielde.
7 The grasse is withered, the floure falleth away, for the breath of the Lord bloweth vpon them: of a trueth the people are grasse.
8 The grasse withereth, and the floure fadeth away: yet the worde of our God endureth for euer.
9 Go vp vnto the hye hyll O Sion thou that bryngest good tidinges, lyft vp thy voyce with power O thou preacher Hierusalem, lyft vp without feare, & say vnto the cities of Iuda: Beholde your God,
10 Beholde ye Lorde God shal come with power, and shall of him selfe beare rule with his arme: beholde his rewarde with hym, and his workes before hym.
11 He shall feede his flocke like an heardman, he shall gather the lambes together with his arme, and cary them in his bosome, and shall kyndly intreate those that beare young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in his fist? who hath measured heauen with his spanne, and hath comprehended all the earth of the worlde in three measures? who hath wayed the mountaynes and hylles in a ballaunce?
13 Who hath directed the spirite of the Lorde? or who gaue hym counsayle, and shewed hym?
14 Who is of his counsayle, and geueth hym vnderstandyng, and hath taught hym the path of iudgement? who taught hym cunnyng, and opened to hym the way of vnderstandyng?
15 Beholde, all people are in comparison of hym as a droppe of a bucket full, and are counted as the least thyng that the ballaunce wayeth: yea and the Isles he taketh vp as a very litle thyng.
16 Libanus is not sufficient to minister fire to his offeryng, and all the beastes therof are not inough for one sacrifice.
17 All people in comparison of hym are reckened as nothyng: yf they be compared with hym, lesse then nothyng, and as it that is not.
18 To whom then wyll ye lyken God? or what similitude will ye set vp to him?
19 Shall the caruer make hym a carued image? and shall the goldesmith couer hym with golde, or cast hym into a fourme of siluer plates?
20 Moreouer, shal the image maker that the poore man which is disposed may haue some thyng to set vp also, seeke out and choose a tree that is not rotten, and carue thereout an image that moueth not?
21 Knowe ye nothyng? hearde ye neuer of it? hath it not ben preached vnto you since the beginning? haue ye not ben enfourmed of this by the foundation of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth vpon the circle of the world, whose inhabiters are [in comparison of him] but as grashoppers: he spreadeth out the heauens as a couering, he stretcheth them out as a tent to dwell in.
23 He bringeth princes to nothing, and the iudges of the earth as though they were not.
24 So that of them it may be sayde, they be not planted nor sowne agayne, neither their stocke rooted agayne in the earth: for assoone as he bloweth vpon them, they wither and fade away lyke the strawe in a whirle winde.
25 To whom nowe will ye liken me, and whom shall I be lyke, saith the holy one?
26 Lift vp your eyes on high, and consider who hath made those thinges which come out by so great heapes, and he calleth them al by their names: there is nothing hid from the greatnesse of his power, strength, and might.
27 Howe may then Iacob thinke, or may Israel say, My wayes are hid from the Lord, and my God knoweth not of my iudgementes?
28 Knowest thou not, or hast thou not hearde that the euerlasting God, the Lorde whiche made all the corners of the earth, is neither weerie nor fainte? and that his wysdome can not be comprehended?
29 It is he that geueth strength vnto the weerie, and power vnto the faint.
30 Children are weerie and faint, and the strongest men fall:
31 But vnto them that haue their trust in the Lorde, shall strength be increased: Egles winges shall growe vpon them, when they runne they shall not fall, and when they go they shall not be weerie.
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.