« | Job 16 | » |
1 Iob aunswered, & saide:
2 I haue oft times heard such thinges: miserable geuers of comfort are ye all the sort of you.
3 Shall not vaine wordes come yet to an ende? Or what maketh thee bolde so to aunswere?
4 I coulde speake as ye do also: but would God that your soule were in my soules steade, then could I frame wordes for you, and shake my head at you:
5 I shoulde comfort you with my mouth, & releasse your paine with the talking of my lippes.
6 For all my wordes my sorowe wyll not ceasse: And though I holde my tongue, what am I eased?
7 But now that [God] hath sent me aduersitie, thou hast troubled al my congregation.
8 And that thou hast filled me with wrinckles my fleshe is recorde, and my leanenesse ryseth vp against me and beareth witnes thereof in my face.
9 His wrath hath torne [me] he hateth me, & gnasheth vpon me with his teeth: myne enemie loketh fiercely vpon me with his eyes.
10 They haue opened their mouthes wide vpon me, and smitten me vpon the cheeke dispitefully, they gather the selues together against me.
11 God hath shut me vp with the vngodly, and deliuered me into the handes of the wicked.
12 I was in wealth, but he hath brought me to nought: he hath taken me by the necke, he hath all to shaken me, and set me as a marke for him selfe.
13 His archers compasse me rounde about, he woundeth my raines, and doth not spare, my bowels hath he powred vpon the grounde.
14 He hath geuen me one wounde vpon an other, and is fallen vpon me lyke a giaunt.
15 I haue sowed a sackecloth vpon my skinne, and wallowed my head in the dust.
16 My face is withered with weeping, & in mine eyes is the shadowe of death.
17 Howbeit there is no wickednesse in my handes, but my prayer is cleane.
18 O earth couer not thou my blood, and let my crying finde no roome.
19 For lo, my witnesse is in heauen, and he that knoweth me, is in the height.
20 My friendes geue me many wordes to scorne, and myne eye powreth out teares vnto God.
21 O that a body might pleate with God, as one man doth with an other:
22 Yet the number of my yeres is come, and the way that I must go is at hand, from whence I shall not turne againe.
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.