« | Job 35 | » |
1 Elihu spake moreouer and saide:
2 Thinkest thou it right that thou sayest, I am more righteous then God?
3 For thou sayest: what aduauntage wyll it be vnto thee, and what profite shall I haue of my sinne?
4 Therefore wyll I geue aunswere vnto thee, aud to thy companions with thee.
5 Loke vnto the heauen and beholde it, consider the cloudes which are hyer then thou.
6 If thou hast sinned, what hast thou done against him? If thyne offences be many, what hast thou done vnto him?
7 If thou be righteous, what geuest thou him? or what wyll he receaue of thyne hande?
8 Thy wickednesse [may hurt] a man as thou art, and thy righteousnesse [may profite] the sonne of man.
9 They which are oppressed crye out vpon the multitude, yea they crye out for the power of the mightie:
10 But none sayth, Where is God that made me? and that geueth vs occasion to praise him in the night?
11 Which teacheth vs more the the beastes of the earth, and geueth vs more wysdome then the foules of heauen.
12 If any such complaine, no man geueth aunswere, and that because of the wickednesse of proude tirauntes.
13 For God wyll not heare vanitie, neither wyll the almightie regarde it.
14 Although thou sayest [to God] thou wylt not regarde it: yet iudgement is before him, trust thou in him.
15 But now because his anger hath not visited, neither called men to accompt with great extremitie:
16 Therefore doth Iob open his mouth but in vaine, & he maketh many wordes without knowledge.
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.