« | Job 29 | » |
1 So Iob proceeded and went foorth in his parable, saying:
2 O that I were as I was in the monethes by past, and in the daies when God preserued me:
3 When his light shined vpon my head, when I went after the same light and shining, euen through the darknesse:
4 As it stoode with me when I was young, when God prospered my house:
5 When the almightie was yet with me, when my children stoode about me:
6 When my wayes ranne ouer with butter, and when the stonie rockes gaue me riuers of oyle:
7 When I went out to the gate, euen to the iudgement seate, and when I prepared my seate in the streete:
8 The young men saw me and hid them selues, and the aged arose, and stoode vp.
9 The princes left of their talking, and layed their hand to their mouth:
10 The mightie kept still their voyce, and their tongue cleaued to the roofe of their mouth.
11 When the eare heard me, it blessed me: & when the eye sawe me, it gaue witnesse to me:
12 For I deliuered the poore when he cryed, and the fatherlesse, and hym that had none to helpe hym.
13 The blessing of him that was redy to perishe came vpon me, and I caused the widowes heart to reioyce.
14 And why? I put vpon me righteousnesse, which couered me as a garment, and equitie was my crowne.
15 I was an eye to the blinde, and a foote to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poore: and when I knewe not the cause, I sought it out diligently.
17 I brake the iawes of the vnrighteous man, and pluckt the spoyle out of his teeth.
18 Then I sayde, I shall die in my nest: and I shall multiplie my dayes as the sande.
19 For my roote was spread out by the waterside: and the deawe lay vpon my corne.
20 Myne honour encreased more and more, & my bow was euer the stronger in my hande.
21 Unto me men gaue eare, me they regarded, and with scilence they taried for my counsell.
22 After my woordes they replied not, and my talke dropped vpon them.
23 They wayted for me as for the raine: and gaped vpon me, as [the grounde doeth to receaue] the latter shoure.
24 When I laughed, they beleued it not, & the light of my countenaunce would they not put out.
25 When I agreed vnto their way, I was the chiefe, and sate as a king with his armie about him: and when they were in heauinesse, I was their comfortour.
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.