« | Isaiah 48 | » |
1 Heare this O thou house of Iacob, ye that are called by the name of Israel, & are come out of one stocke with Iuda: whiche sweare by the name of the Lorde, and beare witnesse by the God of Israel, but not with trueth and ryght.
2 For they are named of the holy citie, and are grounded vpon the God of Israel, whose name is the Lorde of hoastes.
3 The thynges that I haue shewed you euer since the begynnyng, haue I not brought them to passe immediatly as they came out of my mouth, and declared them, and they are come?
4 Howbeit I knowe that thou art obstinate, and that thy necke hath an iron sinowe, and that thy browe is of brasse.
5 Neuerthelesse, I haue euer since the begynnyng shewed thee of thynges for to come, and declared them vnto thee or euer they came to passe: that thou shouldest not say, myne idoll hath done it, my carued or molten image hath shewed it.
6 Thou heardest it before, and beholde it is come to passe: And shall not ye your selues shewe foorth or confesse the same? But as for me, I tolde thee before at the begynnyng newe and secrete thynges which thou knewest not of,
7 And some done of olde tyme, wherof thou neuer heardest before they were brought to passe, that thou canst not say, beholde I knewe of them.
8 Moreouer, there be some wherof thou hast neither heard nor knowen, neither haue ben opened vnto thyne eares afore tyme: For I knewe that thou wouldest malitiously offende, therfore haue I called thee a transgressour, euen from thy mothers wombe.
9 Neuerthelesse, for my names sake I wyll withdrawe my wrath, and for my honours sake I will patiently forbeare thee, that I do not roote thee out.
10 Beholde I haue purged thee, yet not as siluer, I haue chosen thee in the fire of affliction.
11 And that only for myne owne sake, yea euen for myne owne sake wyll I do this: or els what dishonour woulde they do to my name? surely I wyll not geue my glorie vnto another.
12 Hearken vnto me O Iacob, and Israel whom I haue called: I am euen he that is, I am the first and the last.
13 My hande hath layde the foundation of the earth, and my ryght hande hath spanned ouer the heauens: assoone as I call them, they stande together.
14 Gather you altogether and hearken: Which of yonder gods hath declared this? The Lorde hath a loue vnto him, and he shal perfourme his wyll against Babel, and declare his power against the Chaldees.
15 I my selfe alone, euen I haue tolde you this, I dyd call him and bryng him foorth, and he shall make his iourney prosperous.
16 Come to me and heare this: Haue I spoken any thyng darkly since the begynnyng? From the tyme that this thyng begynneth I am there: Wherefore the Lorde God and his spirite hath sent me.
17 And thus saith the Lorde God thy redeemer, the holy one of Israel: I am the Lorde thy God which teache thee profitable thynges, and leade thee the way that thou shouldest go.
18 O that thou hadst regarded my commaundementes, then had thy wealthynesse ben as the water streame, and thy ryghteousnesse as the waues flowyng in the sea:
19 Thy seede also had ben lyke as the sande in the sea, and the fruite of thy body lyke the grauell stones therof: His name shoulde not be rooted out, nor destroyed before me.
20 Go away from Babylon, flee from the Chaldees, with a mery voyce speake of this, declare it abrode, and go foorth into the ende of the worlde, say: The Lorde hath redeemed his seruaunt Iacob.
21 They suffred no thirst, he led them through the wildernesse, and caused the waters to flowe out vnto them from out of the rocke: he claue the rocke a sunder, and the water gusshed out.
22 As for the vngodly, they haue no peace, saith the Lorde.
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.