« | Job 26 | » |
1 Iob aunswered, and sayde:
2 Who hast thou helped? Him that is without strength? sauest thou the arme that hath no strength?
3 Where is the counsayle that thou shouldest geue him which hath no wisdome? Hast thou shewed the way of right lyuing?
4 To whom hast thou spoken these wordes? who made the breath to come out of thy mouth?
5 Are not dead thinges shapen vnder the waters, and thinges by the waters side?
6 He is naked before him, and the very destruction it selfe can not be hyd out of his sight.
7 He stretcheth out the noorth ouer the emptie place, and hangeth the earth vpon nothing.
8 He byndeth the water in his cloudes, & the cloude is not broken vnder them.
9 He holdeth backe the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloude before it.
10 He hath compassed the waters with certayne boundes, vntill the day and night come to an ende.
11 The very pillers of heauen tremble and quake at his reproofe.
12 He stilleth the sea with his power, and through his wysdome smyteth he the strength therof.
13 His spirite hath garnished the heauens, & his hand hath made the crooked serpent.
14 Lo, this is now a short summe of his wayes: but howe litle a portion heare we of hym? who can vnderstande the thunder of his power?
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.