« | John 2 | » |
1 And the thirde day, was there a mariage in Cana [a citie] of Galilee, and the mother of Iesus was there.
2 And Iesus was called, and his disciples vnto the mariage.
3 And whe the wyne fayled, the mother of Iesus sayth vnto hym: they haue no wyne.
4 Iesus saith vnto her: Woman, what haue I to do with thee, myne houre is not yet come.
5 His mother sayth vnto the ministers: Whatsoeuer he sayth vnto you, do it.
6 And there were set there, sixe water pottes of stone, after the maner of the purifiyng of the Iewes, conteynyng two or three firkins a peece.
7 Iesus sayth vnto them: fyll the water pottes with water. And they fylled them vp to the brym.
8 And he sayth vnto them: drawe out nowe, and beare vnto the gouernour of feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wyne, and knewe not whence it was (but the ministers which drewe the water knewe) the gouernour of the feast calleth the brydegrome:
10 And sayth vnto hym, Euery man at the begynnyng doth set foorth good wine, and when men haue well dronke, then that which is worse: But thou hast kept the good wyne vntyll nowe.
11 This begynnyng of miracles dyd Iesus in Cana of Galilee, and shewed his glory, & his disciples beleued on hym.
12 After this, he went downe to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples, and there continued not many dayes.
13 And the Iewes Passouer was at hande, & Iesus went vp to Hierusalem,
14 And founde sittyng in the temple, those that solde oxen, and sheepe, and doues, and chaungers of money.
15 And when he had made [as it were] a scourge of small cordes, he droue them all out of the temple, with the sheepe, & oxen, and powred out the chaungers money, and ouerthrewe the tables,
16 And saide vnto them that solde doues: Haue these thinges hence, and make not my fathers house an house of marchaundize.
17 And his disciples remembred that it was written: The zeale of thine house hath euen eaten me.
18 Then aunswered the Iewes, & sayde vnto hym: What token shewest thou vnto vs, seeyng that thou doest these thynges?
19 Iesus aunswered, & sayde vnto them: Destroy this temple, & in three dayes I wyll reare it vp.
20 Then sayde the Iewes, fourtie and sixe yeres was this temple a buildyng, and wilt thou reare it vp in three dayes?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 Assoone therfore, as he was rysen from death [agayne,] his disciples remembred that he thus had sayde: And they beleued the scripture, & the wordes which Iesus had sayde.
23 When he was in Hierusalem at the Passouer, in the feast day, many beleued on his name, when they sawe his miracles which he dyd.
24 But Iesus dyd not commit hym selfe vnto them, because he knewe all men,
25 And neded not, that any shoulde testifie of man: For he knewe what was in man.
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.