« | Job 15 | » |
1 Then aunswered Eliphaz the Themanite, and saide:
2 Shall a wyse mans aunswere be as the winde, and fill a mans belly as it were with the winde of the east?
3 Shall he reproue with a worde that is nothing worth, & speake the thinges which can do no good?
4 Surely thou hast cast of feare, and restrainest prayer before God.
5 For thy mouth setteth forth thyne owne iniquitie, seeing thou hast chosen the tongue of the craftie.
6 Thyne owne mouth condempneth thee, and not I: yea, thyne owne lippes shape an aunswere against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that euer was borne? or wast thou made before the hils?
8 Hast thou heard the secret counsell of God? and doest thou restraine wysdome to thee?
9 What knowest thou, that we knowe not? And what vnderstandest thou, but we can the same?
10 With vs are both olde and aged men, yea such as haue liued longer then thy father.
11 Thinkest thou it a small thing of the consolations of God? with thee is a lying worde.
12 Why doth thyne heart so bewitche thee? And wherefore winckest thou with thyne eyes,
13 That thy minde is so pufte vp against God, and lettest such wordes go out of thy mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be cleane? and he which is borne of a woman, whereby he might be righteous?
15 Beholde he doth not trust his sainctes, yea, the very heauens are not cleane in his sight:
16 How much more then an abhominable and vyle man, which drincketh wickednesse like water.
17 I will tel thee, heare me, and I will shewe thee that I haue seene:
18 Which wyse men haue tolde, and haue not hid that which they receaued from theyr fathers:
19 Unto whom alone the earth was geue, and no straunger went among them.
20 The vngodly soroweth all the dayes of his lyfe as it were a woman with childe, and the number of a tirauntes yeres is vnknowen.
21 A feareful sounde is [euer] in his eares, and when he is in peace, the destroyer shall come vpon him.
22 He beleueth neuer to be deliuered out of darknesse: for the sworde is alwayes before his eyes.
23 He wandreth abrode for bread where it is, knowing that the day of darkenesse is redie at his hande.
24 Trouble and anguishe wil make him afrayde, and compasse him about, as is a king in the middest of an armie.
25 For he hath stretched out his hande against God, and armed him selfe against the almightie.
26 He runneth proudly vpon him, & with a stiffe necke fighteth he against him.
27 Where as he couereth his face with fatnesse, and maketh his body well lyking.
28 Therefore shall his dwelling be in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, but are become heapes of stones.
29 He shall not be riche, neither shall his substaunce continue, neither shal the prosperitie thereof be prolonged vpon earth.
30 He shall neuer depart out of darkenesse, the flame shal drye vp his branches, with the blast of ye mouth [of God] shall he be taken away.
31 He beleeueth not that he erreth in vanitie, and yet vanitie shalbe his recompence.
32 He shal perishe afore his time be worne out, and his braunche shall not be greene.
33 He shalbe plucked of as an vntimely grape from the vine, and shall let his floure fall as the oliue doth.
34 For the congregation of hypocrites shalbe desolate, and the fire shall consume the houses of such as are greedie to receaue giftes.
35 He conceaueth trauaile, and beareth vanitie, and their body bringeth foorth disceyte.
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.