« | Judges 17 | » |
1 There was a man of mount Ephraim, named Micah.
2 And he sayde vnto his mother: The seuen hundred siluerlynges that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest it in myne eares, behold the syluer is with me, I toke it away. And his mother sayd: Blessed be thou my sonne, in the Lorde.
3 And when he had restored the leuen hundreth syluerlynges to his mother, his mother sayde: I had dedicated the syluer vnto the Lorde of myne hande for thee my sonne, that thou shouldest make a grauen and moulten image: Now therfore I will geue it thee agayne.
4 And when he restored the money vnto his mother, his mother toke two hundreth syluerlynges, and gaue them the founder, which made therof a grauen moulten image, and it was in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had an house of goddes, and made an Ephod and Theraphim, and consecrated one of his sonnes, which became his prieste.
6 In those dayes there was no kyng in Israel, but euery man dyd that which was good in his owne eyes.
7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Iuda, of the kynred of Iuda, which young man was a Leuite, & soiourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the citie of Bethlehem Iuda, to go dwell where he coulde fynde [a conuenient place]: And he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah as he iourneyed.
9 And Micah sayde vnto him: Whence comest thou? The Leuite aunswered hym: I am of Bethlehem Iuda, and go to dwell where I may fynde [a place].
10 And Micah sayde agayne vnto hym: Dwell with me, and be vnto me a father and a prieste, and I will geue thee ten syluerlynges by yere, two garmentes, and thy meate and dryncke. So the Leuite went in.
11 And ye Leuite was content to dwell with the man, and was vnto hym as one of his owne sonnes.
12 And Micah consecrated the Leuite, & the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then sayde Micah: Now I am sure that the Lord will be good vnto me, seing I haue a Leuite to my prieste.
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.