« | Isaiah 54 | » |
1 Be glad nowe thou baren that bearest not, reioyce, syng, and be mery thou that art not with childe: for the desolate hath mo childre then the maryed wyfe saith the Lorde.
2 Make thy tent wyder, and spreade out the hanginges of thine habitation: spare not, lay foorth thy wardes, and make fast thy stakes:
3 For thou shalt be multiplied on the ryght syde and on the left, and thy seede shall haue the gentiles in possession, and dwell in the desolate cities.
4 Feare not, for thou shalt not be confounded: be not ashamed, for thou shalt not come to confusion: Yea thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the dishonour of thy widowhead.
5 For he that made thee shalbe thy Lorde and husbande (whose name is the Lord of hoastes) and thy redeemer shalbe euen the holy one of Israel, the Lorde of the whole worlde.
6 For the Lorde hath called thee beyng as a desolate sorowfull woman, and as a young wyfe that was forsaken saith thy God.
7 A litle while haue I forsaken thee: but with great mercifulnesse shall I take thee vp vnto me.
8 When I was angry I hyd my face from thee for a litle season: but through euerlastyng goodnesse haue I pardoned thee, saith the Lorde thy redeemer.
9 And this is vnto me as the water of Noe: for like as I haue sworne that I wyll not bryng the water of Noe any more vpon the worlde: so haue I sworne that I wyll neuer be angry with thee, nor reproue thee.
10 The mountaynes shall remoue, and the hylles shall fall downe: but my louyng kyndnesse shall not moue, and the bonde of my peace shall not fall downe from thee, saith the Lorde thy mercifull louer.
11 Beholde, thou poore, vexed, & dispised, I wyll make thy walles of precious stones, & thy foundation of Saphires,
12 Thy windowes of Christal, thy gates of fine cleare stone, and all thy borders of pleasaunt stones.
13 Thy children shalbe all taught of God, and I wyll geue thee plenteousnesse of peace.
14 In ryghteousnesse shalt thou be grounded, & be farre from oppression: for the which thou needest not be afrayde, neither for hinderaunce, for it shall not come nye thee.
15 Lo, whoso gathereth together [agaynst thee, doth it] without me, and who so within thee doth ioyne together against thee, shall surely fall.
16 Beholde, I make the smith that bloweth the coales in the fire, & he maketh a weapon after his handy worke: I make also the waster to destroy.
17 But all the weapons that are made against thee shall not prosper: and as for all tongues that shal resist thee in iudgement, thou shalt ouercome them, and condempne them: This is the heritage of the Lordes seruauntes, and their righteousnesse commeth of me, 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.