« | Job 34 | » |
1 Elihu proceeding in his aunswere, sayde:
2 Heare my wordes O ye wise men, hearken vnto me ye that haue vnderstanding:
3 For the eare discerneth wordes, and the mouth tasteth the meates.
4 As for iudgement, let vs seke it out among our selues, that we may knowe what is good.
5 [And why?] Iob hath sayd, I am righteous, and God hath taken away my iudgement.
6 In my right I shoulde be a lyer: my wounde is incurable without my fault.
7 Where is there such a one as Iob, that drinketh vp scornefulnesse like water?
8 Which goeth in the companie of wicked doers, and walketh with vngodly men?
9 For he hath sayde, It profiteth a man nothing that he shoulde walke with God.
10 Therfore hearken vnto me ye that haue vnderstanding: farre be it from God that he shoulde meddle with wickednesse, & farre be it from the almightie that he shoulde meddle with vnrighteous dealing.
11 For he shall rewarde man after his workes, and cause euery man to finde according to his wayes.
12 Sure it is that God wil not do wickedly, neither wyll the almightie paruert iudgement.
13 Who ruleth the earth but he? or who hath placed the whole world?
14 If he set his heart vpon [man] and gather vnto hym selfe his spirite and his breath,
15 All fleshe shall come to naught at once, and all men shall turne againe vnto dust.
16 If thou nowe haue vnderstanding, heare what I say, and hearken to the voyce of my wordes:
17 May he be a ruler that loueth not right? or may he that is a very innocent man do vngodly?
18 Is it reason that thou shouldest say to the king, Thou art wicked, or thou art vngodly, and that before the princes?
19 God hath no respect vnto the persons of the lordly, and regardeth not the riche more then the poore: for they be al the worke of his handes.
20 In the twinckling of an eye shall they dye, and at midnight when the people and the tirantes rage, then shall they perishe, & be taken away without handes.
21 For his eyes loke vpon the wayes of man, and he seeth all his goinges.
22 There is no darkenesse nor shadowe of death that can hide the wicked doers from him.
23 For God wil not lay vpon man more then he hath sinned, that he should enter into iudgement with him.
24 He shall destroy the mightie without seeking, and shall set other in their steede.
25 Therefore shall he declare their workes: he shall turne the night, and they shalbe destroyed.
26 The vngodly doth he punishe openly,
27 Because they tourned backe from him, and would not consider all his wayes:
28 Insomuch that they haue caused the voyce of the poore to come vnto him, and now he heareth the complaint of such as are in trouble.
29 When he geueth quietnesse, who can make trouble? and when he hydeth his face, who can beholde him? whether it be vpon nations, or vpo one man onely:
30 Because the hypocrite doth raigne, because the people are snared.
31 Surely of God onely it can be saide, I haue pardoned, I wyll not destroy.
32 If I haue gone amisse, enfourme thou me: If I haue done wrong, I wyll leaue of.
33 Wyll he perfourme the thing through thee? for thou hast reproued his iudgement, thou also hast thyne owne minde, and not I: But speake on what thou knowest.
34 Let men of vnderstanding tell me, and let a wyse man hearken vnto me.
35 Iob hath not spoken of knowledge, neither were his wordes according to wysdome.
36 O father, let Iob be well tryed, because he hath aunswered for wicked men:
37 Yea aboue his sinne he doth wickedly, triumpheth among vs, and multiplieth his wordes against God.
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.