« | Job 36 | » |
1 Elihu also proceeded, and saide:
2 Holde thee still a litle, & I shall shew thee what I haue yet to speake on gods behalfe.
3 I wyll open vnto thee yet farre higher knowledge, and wil ascribe righteousnesse vnto my maker.
4 And truely my wordes shall not be vaine, seeing he is with thee that is perfect in knowledge.
5 Beholde, the great God casteth away no man, for he him selfe is mightie in power and wysdome.
6 As for the vngodly he shall not preserue him, but shall helpe the poore to their right.
7 He shal not turne his eyes away from the righteous, but as kinges shal they be in their throne, he shal stablish them for euer, and they shalbe exalted.
8 But if they be layde in chaynes, or bounde with the bondes of trouble,
9 Then wyll he shew them their worke, & their sinnes which haue ouercome them.
10 He with punishing and nurturing of them, roundeth them in the eares, warneth them to leaue of from their wickednesse, and to amende.
11 If they now wyll take heede & serue him, they shal weare out their dayes in prosperitie, and their yeres in pleasure.
12 But if they wil not hearken, they shal go through the sworde, and perishe or euer they be aware.
13 As for hypocrites in heart, they shall heape vp wrath [for them selues] for they call not vpon him, though they be his prisoners.
14 Thus shal their soule perishe in foolishnes, and their lyfe among the fornicatours.
15 The poore shall he deliuer out of his affliction, and rounde them in the eare when they be in trouble.
16 Euen so would he take thee out of the straite place, into a brode place in the which there is no straitnes: yea, & make thy table quiet replenished with fatnesse.
17 Neuerthelesse, thou hast commended the iudgement of the vngodly, and euen such a iudgement & sentence shalt thou suffer.
18 And seeing there is wrath with God, beware lest he take thee away in thy wealth, & all that thou hast to redeeme thee can not deliuer thee.
19 Thinkest thou that he wyll regarde thy riches? he shall not care for golde, nor for all them that excell in strength.
20 Spend not the night in carefull thoughtes, how he destroyeth some, and bringeth other in their place.
21 But beware that thou turne not aside to wickednesse and sinne, which hitherto thou hast chosen more then affliction.
22 Beholde, God is of a mightie hie power: Where is there such a guide and lawe geuer as he?
23 Who wyll reproue him of his way? Who wil say vnto him, Thou hast done wrong?
24 Remember that thou do magnifie his worke which men do praise,
25 All men see it, yea men do beholde it a farre of.
26 Beholde, so great is God that he passeth our knowledge, neither can the number of his yeres be searched out.
27 Sometime he restrayneth the rayne, and againe he sendeth rayne by his cloudes:
28 Which rayne the cloudes do droppe, and let fall aboundantly vpon men.
29 Who can consider the spreadinges out of his cloudes, the coueringes of his tabernacle?
30 Behold, he doth stretch his light vpon it, and couereth the bottome of the sea.
31 For by these gouerneth he his people, and geueth them aboundance of meate.
32 With the cloudes he hydeth the light, and at his commaundement it breaketh out:
33 Which dashing vpon the next cloudes, shew tokens of wrath.
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.