« | Job 42 |
1 Then Iob aunswered the Lord, and saide:
2 I know that thou hast power ouer all thinges, and that there is no thought hid vnto thee.
3 For who can keepe his owne counsaile so secrete but it shalbe knowen? Therefore haue I spoken that I vnderstoode not, euen the thinges that are to wonderfull for me, and passe myne vnderstanding.
4 O hearken thou vnto me also, and let me speake: aunswere vnto the thing that I wyll aske thee.
5 I haue heard of thee by the hearing of the eare, but nowe myne eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I geue myne owne selfe the blame, and take repentaunce in the dust and asshes.
7 Now when the Lorde had spoken these wordes vnto Iob, it came to passe that the Lorde saide to Eliphas the Themanite: I am displeased with thee, and thy two friendes: for ye haue not spoken of me the thyng that is right, lyke as my seruaunt Iob hath done.
8 Therefore take you now seuen oxen, and seuen rammes, and go to my seruaunt Iob, and offer vp for your selues a burnt offring, and my seruaunt Iob shall pray for you: him wyll I accept, and not deale with you after your foolishnesse, in that ye haue not spoken of me the thing which is right, lyke as my seruaunt Iob hath done.
9 So Eliphas the Themanite, and Bildad the Suhite, and Sophar the Naamathite, went and did according as the Lorde commaunded them: the Lorde also accepted the person of Iob,
10 And the Lorde tourned the captiuitie of Iob when he prayed for his friendes: Yea the Lorde gaue Iob twyse as much as he had afore.
11 And then came there vnto him all his brethren, all his sisters, and all they that had ben of his acquaintaunce afore, and did eate bread with him in his house, and had compassion on him, and comforted him ouer all trouble that the Lorde had brought vpon him: euery man also gaue him a certaine summe of money, and a iewell of golde.
12 So the Lorde blessed the last dayes of Iob more then the first: for he had fourteene thousand sheepe, sixe thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses:
13 He had seuen sonnes also, and three daughters.
14 The first daughter called he Iemima, the second Kezia, and the third Kerenhapuch.
15 In al the land were no women found so faire as the daughters of Iob: and their father gaue them inheritaunce among their brethren.
16 After this liued Iob an hundred and fourtie yeres: so that he sawe his children, and his childrens children into the fourth generation.
17 And so Iob dyed, being olde, and of a perfect age.
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.