« | Isaiah 59 | » |
1 Beholde, the Lordes hande is not so shortened that it can not helpe, neither is his eare so stopped that it may not heare:
2 But your misdeedes haue seperated you from your God, and your sinnes hyde his face from you, that he heareth you not.
3 For your handes are defiled with blood, and your fingers with vnrighteousnesse: your lippes speake leasinges, and your tongue setteth out wickednesse.
4 No man regardeth righteousnesse, and no man iudgeth truely: euery man hopeth in vayne things, and imagineth deceipt, conceaueth weerinesse, and bringeth foorth euill.
5 They breede cockatrice egges, and weaue the spiders webbe, who so eateth of their egges, dyeth: but if one treade vpon them, there commeth vp a serpent.
6 Their webbe maketh no cloth, and they may not couer them with their labours: their deedes are the deedes of wickednesse, and the worke of robberie is in their handes.
7 Their feete runne to euyll, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their counsels are wicked counsels, harme and destruction are in their wayes.
8 But the way of peace they know not, in their goinges is no equitie: their wayes are so crooked, that whosoeuer goeth therein knoweth of no peace.
9 And this is the cause that equitie is so farre from vs, and that righteousnesse commeth not nie vs: We loke for light, lo it is darknesse: for the morning shine, see, we walke in the darke.
10 We grope lyke the blinde vpon the wall, we grope euen as one that hath none eyes, we stumble at the noone day as though it were towarde night, in the falling places, lyke men that are halfe dead.
11 We roare all like beares, and mourne still like doues: we looke for equitie, but there is none: for health, but it is farre from vs.
12 For our offences are many before thee, and our sinnes testifie against vs: yea we must confesse that we offende, and knowledge that we do amisse,
13 [namely] transgresse and dissemble against the Lorde, and fall away from our God, vsing presumpteous and trayterous imaginations, and casting false matters in our heartes.
14 And therefore is equitie gone aside, and righteousnesse standeth farre of, trueth is fallen downe in the streete, and the thing that is playne and open, may not be shewed.
15 Yea the trueth is taken away, and he that refraineth hym selfe from euyll, must be spoyled: When the Lorde sawe this, it displeased hym sore that there was no equitie.
16 He sawe also that there was no man righteous, and he wondred that there was no man to helpe hym: wherefore he helde hym by his owne power, and he sustayned hym by his owne righteousnesse.
17 He put righteousnesse vpon hym for a brestplate, he set the helmet of health vpon his head: He put on wrath in the steade of clothing, and toke ielousie about him for a cloke.
18 Euen as when a man goeth foorth wrathfully to recompence his enemies, and to be auenged of his aduersaries, he wyll recompence and rewarde the Ilandes.
19 They shall feare the name of the Lorde from the rising of the sunne, and his maiestie vnto the going downe of the same, for he shall come as a violent water streame which the winde of the Lorde hath moued.
20 But vnto Sion there shall come a redeemer, and vnto them in Iacob that turne from wickednesse, saith the Lord.
21 I wyll make this couenaunt with them (saith the Lord:) My spirite that is vpon thee, and the wordes whiche I haue put in thy mouth, shall neuer go out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy childers chyldren, from this time foorth for euermore, worlde without ende, 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.