« | Job 40 | » |
1 Moreouer the Lorde spake vnto Iob, and saide:
2 Shall he whom the almightie wyl chasten, contend with him? Should not he which disputeth with God, geue him an aunswere?
3 Then Iob aunswered the Lorde, saying:
4 Beholde, I am vyle, what shall I aunswere thee, [therefore] I wyll laye my hande vpon my mouth.
5 Once haue I spoken, but I wyll saye no more: yea twyse, but I wyl proceede no further.
6 Then aunswered the Lorde vnto Iob out of the whirle winde, and saide:
7 Girde vp thy loynes now lyke a man: I wyll demaunde of thee, and make thou aunswere.
8 Wylt thou disanul my iudgement? or wylt thou condempne me, that thou mayst be righteous?
9 Is thy power then lyke the power of God? maketh thy voyce a sounde as his doth?
10 Decke thy selfe now with excellencie and maiestie, and araye thy selfe with beautie and glory:
11 Cast abrode the indignation of thy wrath, and beholde euery one that is proude, and abase him:
12 Loke on euery one that is arrogant, and bring him lowe, & destroy the wicked in their place:
13 Hide them in the dust together, and couer their faces in secrete:
14 Then wyll I confesse vnto thee also, that thyne owne right hande shall saue thee.
15 Beholde the beaste Behemoth, who I made with thee, which eateth haye as an oxe:
16 Lo how his strength is in his loynes, and what power he hath in the nauil of his body.
17 When he wyll, he spreadeth out his tayle lyke a Cedar tree, all his sinowes are stiffe.
18 His bones are lyke pipes of brasse, yea his bones are lyke staues of iron.
19 He is the chiefe of the wayes of God, he that made him wyl make his sword to approche vnto him.
20 Surely the mountaines bring him foorth grasse, where all the beastes of the fielde take their pastime.
21 He resteth him in the shade, in the couerte of the reede and fennes.
22 The trees couer him with their shadowe, and the wyllowes of the brooke compasse him about.
23 Beholde, he drinketh vp whole ryuers and feareth not, he thinketh that he can drawe vp Iordane into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes, and yet the hunter putteth a bridle into his nose.
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.