« | Job 28 | » |
1 There is a place wher siluer is brought out of, and where golde is tryed,
2 Where yron is digged out of the grounde, & stones resolued to metall.
3 The darkenesse shall once come to an ende: he can seke out the grounde of all thinges, the stones, the darke, and the shadowe of death.
4 He causeth the fluddes to breake out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foote, beyng hygher then man, are gone away.
5 Out of the same earth commeth bread, and vnder it as it were fire is turned vp.
6 The stones of it are a place of Saphires, and the dust of it is golde.
7 There is a way that the birdes knowe not, that no vultures eye hath seene:
8 Wherin the lions whelpes walke not, and where no lion commeth.
9 [There] putteth he his hande vpon the stonie rockes, and ouerthroweth the mountaynes by the rootes.
10 Riuers flowe out of the rockes, & loke what is pleasaunt, his eye seeth it.
11 He bindeth the fluddes that they do not ouerflow: and the thing that is hid bringeth he to light.
12 Where then is wysdome founde? and where is the place of vnderstanding?
13 Ueryly no man can tell howe worthy a thing she is, neither is she found in the lande of them that lyue.
14 The deepe sayth, She is not in me: the sea sayth, She is not with me.
15 She can not be gotten for golde, neither may the price of her be bought with any siluer.
16 No wedges of gold of Ophir, no precious Onix stones, no Saphires may be valued with her.
17 No, neither golde nor christall shall be equall vnto it, nor her exchaunge shalbe for the plate of fine golde.
18 No mention shalbe made of Corall nor of the Gabis: for wisdome is more precious then pearles.
19 The Topas of Ethiopia shall not be equall vnto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure golde.
20 Whence then commeth wysdome? and where is the place of vnderstanding?
21 She is hid from the eyes of all men liuing, yea & from the foules of the ayre.
22 Destruction and death say, We haue hearde the fame therof with our eares.
23 But God seeth her way, and knoweth her place.
24 For he beholdeth the endes of the worlde, and loketh vpon all that is vnder heauen.
25 When he wayed the windes and measured the waters:
26 When he made a decree for the rayne, and a way for the lightninges of the thunder:
27 Then dyd he see her, then declared he her, prepared her, and knewe her.
28 And vnto man he sayd: To feare the Lorde is wysdome, and to forsake euyll is vnderstanding.
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.