« | Jeremiah 3 | » |
1 Commonly when a man putteth away his wyfe, and she goeth from hym & maryeth with another, then the question is: shoulde he resort vnto her any more after that? (Is not that lande then defiled and vncleane?) But as for thee thou hast played the harlot with many louers, yet turne agayne to me, saith the Lorde.
2 Lift vp thine eyes to the hygh places, and loke where thou hast not ben defiled: Thou hast wayted for them in the streetes, and as a murtherer in the wildernesse, through thy whoredome and shamefull blasphemies is the lande defiled.
3 This is the cause that the rayne and euenyng deawe hath ceassed: Thou hast gotten thee an whores forehead, and wylt not be ashamed.
4 Wylt thou not herafter say vnto me, O my father, thou art he that hast brought me vp, and led me from my youth?
5 Wyll God continue his wrath for euer? wyll he kepe our faultes in memorie to the ende? Neuerthelesse, thou speakest such wordes, but thou art euer doyng worse and worse to the vtmost of thy power.
6 The Lorde sayde also vnto me in the tyme of Iosiah the kyng, Hast thou seene what that rebellion Israel hath done? howe she hath runne vp vpon all the hylles, and among all thicke trees, and there played the harlot?
7 Hast thou seene also when she had done all this, howe I sayde vnto her, that she shoulde turne agayne vnto me, and yet she is not returned? Iuda that vnfaithfull sister of hers also sawe this:
8 Namely, that after I had well seene the adulterie of the shrinckyng harlot Israel, I put her away, and gaue her a byll of deuorcement: For all this, her vnfaithfull sister Iuda was not ashamed, but went backe and played the whore.
9 Yea and the wantonnesse of her whoredome hath defyled the whole lande: For she hath comitted fornication with stones and stockes.
10 Neuerthelsse, her vnfaithfull sister Iuda is not turned vnto me agayne with her whole heart, but faignedlye saith the Lorde.
11 And the Lorde sayde vnto me, The backslyder Israel, is more righteous then the vnfaithfull Iuda.
12 And therfore go preach these wordes towarde the north, and say, Thou disobedient Israel, turne agayne saith the Lorde, and I wyll not bring my wrath vpon you: for I am mercifull saith the Lorde, and I wyll not alway beare displeasure agaynst thee:
13 But on this condition, that thou know thy great blasphemie, namely that thou hast vnfaithfully forsaken the Lord thy God, and hast made thy selfe partaker of straunge gods vnder all greene trees, and hast had no wyll to heare my voyce, saith the Lorde.
14 O ye disobedient childre, turne againe saith the Lorde, and I wyll be maryed with you: for I wyll take one out of the citie, and two out of one generation from among you, and bryng you into Sion,
15 And wyll geue you heardmen after myne owne mynde, which shall feede you with learnyng and wisdome.
16 Moreouer, when ye be encreased and multiplied in the lande, then saith the Lorde, there shall no more boast be made of the arke of the Lordes testament: No man shall thinke vpon it, neither shall any man make mention of it: for from thencefoorth it shall neither be visited, neither shall such thyng be done any more.
17 Then shall Hierusalem be called the Lordes seate, and all heathen shalbe gathered vnto it for the name of the Lordes sake which shalbe set vp at Hierusalem: And from that tyme foorth they shall folowe no more the imagination of their owne frowarde heart.
18 Then those that be of the house of Iuda, shal go vnto the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the north, into the same lande that I haue geuen your fathers.
19 I haue thought thus: howe shall I take thee to be my children, and geue a pleasaunt lande for thine heritage, yea and a goodly hoast of the heathen? And I sayd, Call me father, and shrincke not from me.
20 Truely, lyke as a woman fayleth her husbande, so are ye vnfaithfull vnto me O ye house of Israel, saith the Lorde.
21 The voyce of the children of Israel was hearde on hye, weepyng and waylyng: for that they haue defiled their way, and forgotten God their Lorde.
22 O ye disobedient children, turne againe, & so shall I heale your backturnynges. Lo we come vnto thee, for thou art the Lorde our God.
23 Truely, in vayne is health hoped for from the hylles, be they neuer so many: but the health of Israel standeth only vpon God our Lorde.
24 Confusion hath deuoured our fathers labour from our youth vp, yea their sheepe and bullockes, their sonnes and daughters.
25 So do we also sleepe in our confusion, and shame couereth vs: for we & our fathers from our youth vp vnto this day haue sinned agaynst the Lord our God, and haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lorde our God.
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.