« | Job 13 | » |
1 Lo, all [this] haue I seene with mine eye, heard with mine eare, and vnderstande it.
2 What ye knowe, that same do I know also, neither am I inferior vnto you.
3 Neuerthelesse, I talke with the almightie, and my desire is to commune with God.
4 As for you, ye are workmaisters of lyes, and vnprofitable phisitians altogether.
5 Woulde God ye kept your tongue, for then might ye be taken for wise men.
6 Now heare my reasoning, and ponder the argument of my lippes.
7 Wyll you speake wickedlie for gods [defence] and talke deceitfully for his [cause?]
8 Wyll ye accept the person of him? or wyll ye contende for God?
9 Shall that helpe you when he calleth you to reckening? For as one man mocketh an other, so do ye mocke him.
10 He shall punishe you, and reproue you, if ye do secretly accept any person.
11 Shall not his excellencie make you afrayde? Shall not his terrible feare fall vpon you?
12 Your remembraunce is lyke vnto a sparke, and your bodies lyke the claye.
13 Holde your tongues for my sake, that I also may speake, and my sorowe shalbe the lesse.
14 Wherefore do I beare my fleshe in my teeth, and put my soule in myne handes?
15 Lo, though he slay me, yet wyl I trust in him: but I wyll reproue myne owne wayes in his sight.
16 He shalbe my saluation: for there may no hypocrite come before him.
17 Heare diligently my wordes, and ponder my sayinges with your eares.
18 Beholde, now haue I prepared my iudgement, and knowe that I shalbe founde righteous.
19 What is he that wyll go to lawe with me? if I now holde my tongue I dye.
20 Neuerthelesse, graunt me two thinges, and then wyll I not hide my selfe from thee:
21 Withdrawe thyne hande from me, and let not the fearefull dreade of thee make me afrayde.
22 Then call, and I wyll aunswere: or let me speake, and geue me then an aunswere.
23 How many are my misdeedes and sinnes? let me knowe my transgressions and offences.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thyne enemie?
25 Wylt thou breake a leafe driuen to and fro, and wilt thou pursue the drye stubble?
26 For thou layest sharply to my charge, and punishest me for the sinnes of my youth.
27 Thou puttest my feete also in the stockes, and lokest narowly vnto all my pathes, and makest the print thereof in the heeles of my feete:
28 And I as a rotten thing do consume away, as a garment that is moth eaten.
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.