« | Judges 3 | » |
1 These are the nations whiche the Lorde left, that he might proue Israel by them: (euen as many of Israel as had not knowen al the warres of Chanaan:
2 Onely for the learning of the generations of the childre of Israel that he also might teach them warre, onely such as before knewe nothing therof.)
3 Of those whom he left, there were fiue lordes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonites, & the Heuites that dwelt in mount Libanon, euen from mount Baal Hermon, vnto one come to Hamath.
4 Those remayned to proue Israel by, and to wyt whether they would hearken vnto the commaundementes of the Lorde, which he commaunded their fathers by the hande of Moyses.
5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Chanaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Pherezites, Heuites, and Iebusites,
6 And toke the daughters of them to be their wiues, & gaue their own daughters to their sonnes, and serued their goddes.
7 And the children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the Lorde, and forgat the Lorde their God, and serued Baalim and Astheroth.
8 Therfore the Lorde was angry with Israel, and he solde them into the handes of Chusan Risathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel serued Chusan Risathaim eyght yeres.
9 And when the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lorde, the Lorde stirred vp a sauer to the children of Israel, & saued them, euen Othoniel the sonne of Kenes, Calebs younger brother.
10 And the spirite of the Lorde came vpon him, and he iudged Israel, & went out to warre: And the Lorde deliuered Chusan Risathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hande, and his hande preuayled against Chusan Risathaim.
11 And the land had rest fourtie yeres: and Othoniel the sonne of Kenes died.
12 And the children of Israel agayne committed wickednes in the sight of the Lorde: And the Lorde strengthed Eglon the king of the Moabites, against the children of Israel, because they had committed wickednes before the Lorde.
13 And this [Eglon] gathered vnto him the children of Ammon, and the Amalekites, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the citie of Panlme trees.
14 And so the children of Israel serued Eglon the king of Moab 18 yeres.
15 But when they cryed vnto the Lord, the Lord stirred them vp a sauer, Ahud the sonne of Gera the sonne of Gemini, a man lame of his right hande: and by him the children of Israel sent a present vnto Eglon the king of Moab.
16 But Ahud made him a dagger with two edges, of a cubite length, and he did gyrde it vnto his raymet vpon his right thygh,
17 And caried the present vnto Eglon the king of Moab: (And Eglon was a very fatte man.)
18 And when he had presented the present, he sent the people that bare it away:
19 But he him selfe turned agayne (from the place of grauen images, that was by Gilgal) and sayde: I haue a secret errande vnto thee, O king. Which sayde: Kepe scilence. And all that stoode before hym, went out from him.
20 And Ahud came vnto him, and in a sommer parler whiche he had, sate he him selfe alone: and Ahud sayd, I haue a message vnto thee from God. And he arose out of his seate.
21 And Ahud put foorth his left hande, & toke the dagger from his right thygh, and thrust it into his belly.
22 And the hafte went in after the blade: and the fatte closed the haft, so that he might not drawe the dagger out of his belly, but the dyrt came out.
23 Then Ahud gat him out into the porche, and shut the doores of the parler vpon him, and locked them.
24 When he was gone out, his seruauntes came: And when they sawe that the doores of the parler were locked, they sayde, Suerly he couereth his feete in his sommer chamber.
25 And they taried till they were ashamed, and seyng he opened not the doores of the parler, they toke a key and opened them: And beholde, their Lorde was fallen downe dead on the earth.
26 And Ahud escaped whyle they taried and was gone beyonde, to the place of the grauen images, and escaped into Seirath.
27 And when he was come, he blewe a trumpet in mount Ephraim: And the childre of Israel went downe with him from the hill, and he went before them.
28 And he sayde vnto them, folowe me: for the Lorde hath deliuered your enemies the Moabites into your hande. And they descended after him, and toke the passages of Iordane toward Moab, and suffered not a man to passe ouer.
29 And they slue of the Moabites the same time vpon a ten thousande men, which were all fatte, & men of warre, and there scaped not a man.
30 So Moab was subdued that day vnder the hande of Israel: And the lande had rest fourescore yeres.
31 After him was Samgar the sonne of Anath, whiche slue of the Philistines sixe hundred men with an oxe goade, and deliuered Israel also.
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.