« | Jeremiah 19 | » |
1 Thus sayde the Lorde: Go thy way and buye thee an earthen pitcher, and bryng foorth the senatours & chiefe priestes,
2 Unto the valley of the children of Hennom, which lyeth without the east gate, and shewe them there the wordes that I shall tell thee.
3 And say thus vnto them, Heare the worde of the Lorde ye kinges of Iuda, and ye citezins of Hierusalem, thus saith the Lorde of hoastes the God of Israel: Beholde, I wyll bryng suche a plague vpon this place, that the eares of all that heare it shall glowe:
4 And that because they haue forsaken me, and vnhalowed this place, and haue offered in it vnto straunge gods, whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kynges of Iuda haue knowen: they haue filled this place also with the blood of innocentes.
5 And they haue set vp an aulter vnto Baal, to burne their children for a burnt offring vnto Baal, whiche I neither commaunded nor charged them, neither thought once thervpon.
6 Beholde therfore the time commeth (saith the Lorde) that this place shall no more be called Thopheth, nor the valley of the chyldren of Hennom, but the valley of slaughter.
7 For in this place wyll I bryng to naught the counsayle of Iuda and Hierusalem, and kyll them downe with the sworde before their enemies: and I wyll deliuer them into the handes of them that seeke their liues, and their dead carkasses will I geue to be meate for the foules of the ayre, & the beastes of the fielde.
8 And I will make this citie so desolate and despised, that whosoeuer goeth thereby shalbe abashed, and iest vpon her, because of all her plagues.
9 I will feede them also with the flesh of their sonnes and their daughters, yea euery one shall eate vp another in the besieging & straytnesse wherewith their enemies [that seeke their liues] shall kepe them in.
10 And the pitcher shalt thou breake in the sight of the men that goeth with thee,
11 And say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde of hoastes: Euen so wyll I destroy this people and citie, as a man breaketh an earthen vessell that can not be made whole agayne: in Thopheth shall they be buried, for they shall haue none other place.
12 Thus wyll I do vnto this place also saith the Lorde, and to them that dwel therin, yea I wyll make this citie as Thopheth.
13 For the houses of Hierusalem, and the houses of the kynges of Iuda shalbe defiled like as Thopheth, and so shal al the houses in whose roofes they did sacrifice vnto all the hoast of heauen, and powred drinke offerings vnto straunge gods.
14 And so Ieremie came from Thopheth where the Lorde had sent hym to prophesie, and stoode in the court of the house of the Lorde, and spake to all the people,
15 Thus saith the Lorde of hoastes the God of Israel: Beholde, I will bryng vpon this citie, and vpon euery towne about it, all the plagues that I haue deuised against them, because they haue ben obstinate, and would not obay my warninges.
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.