« | Joshua 2 | » |
1 And Iosuah ye sonne of Nun sent out of Sittim two men to spye secretely, saying: Go, and viewe the land, and also Iericho. And they went, and came into a harlotes house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was tolde the king of Iericho, saying: Beholde, ther came men in hyther to night, of the children of Israel, to spye out the countrey.
3 And the king of Iericho sent vnto Rahab, saying: Bring foorth the men that are come to thee, and which are entred into thyne house: for they be come to searche out all the lande.
4 And the woman toke the two men and hyd them, and sayd thus: In deede there came men vnto me, but I wiste not whence they were.
5 And about the time of the shutting of the gate when it was darke, the men went out, whyther the men went I wote not: folowe ye after them quickly, for ye shall ouertake them.
6 But she had brought them vp to the rooffe of the house, & hyd them with the stalkes of flare which she had lying abrode vpon the rooffe.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Iordane vnto the fourdes: and assoone as they whiche pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
8 And or euer they were asleepe, she came vp vnto them vpon the rooffe,
9 And sayd vnto the men: I knowe that the Lorde hath geuen you the land, for the feare of you is fallen vpo vs, and the inhabitantes of the lande faint at the presence of you:
10 For we haue hearde howe the Lorde dried vp the water of the red sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you dyd vnto the two kynges of the Amorites that were on the other syde Iordane, Sehon and Og, whom ye vtterly destroyed.
11 And assoone as we had hearde these thynges, our heartes dyd faynt, and there remained no more courage in any man at the presence of you: For the Lorde your God he is the God in heauen aboue, and in earth beneath.
12 Nowe therfore, I pray you sweare vnto me by the Lorde, that as I haue shewed you mercie, ye shall also shewe mercie vnto my fathers house, and geue me a true token:
13 And that ye shall saue alyue both my father and my mother, my brethren and my sisters, and all that they haue: and that ye shall delyuer our soules from death.
14 And the men aunswered her: Our lyues for you to dye, yf ye vtter not this our busynesse. And when the Lorde hath geuen vs the lande, we wyll deale mercyfully and truely with thee.
15 And then she let them downe by a corde through a wyndow: for her house was vpon the towne wall, & she dwelt vpon the towne wall.
16 And she sayde vnto them: Get you into the mountaine leste the pursuers meete you, and hyde your selues there three dayes vntyl the pursuers be returned, & then shall ye go your owne way.
17 And the men sayde vnto her: We wyl be blamelesse of this thy oth which thou hast made vs sweare:
18 Behold, when we come into the lande, thou shalt bynde this corde of red threde in the wyndowe whiche thou dydst let vs downe by: and thou shalt bryng thy father and thy mother, thy brethren, & all thy fathers housholde [euen] into thy house.
19 And then whosoeuer doeth go out at the doores of thy house into the streate, his blood shalbe vpon his owne head, and we wyll be gyltlesse: And who soeuer shalbe with thee in the house, his blood shalbe on our head yf any mans hande touche hym.
20 And if thou vtter these our wordes, we wilbe quite of thy oth which thou hast made vs sweare.
21 And she saide: According vnto your wordes, so be it. And she sent the away, and they departed. And she bounde the red corde in the windowe.
22 And they departed, and came into the mountaine, & there abode three dayes, vntyl the pursuers were returned: And the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but founde them not.
23 And the two men returned, and descended from the mountaine, and passed ouer, and came to Iosuah the sonne of Nun, and tolde him all that came vnto them.
24 And they saide vnto Iosuah: Truely the Lorde hath delyuered into our handes all the lande, and all the inhabitauntes of the countrey faint at the presence of vs.
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.