« | Lamentations 3 | » |
1 I am the man that thorowe the rodde of his wrath haue experience of miserie.
2 He droue me foorth and led me, yea into darknesse, but not into light.
3 Against me is he turned, he turneth his hande dayly against me.
4 My flesh and my skinne hath he made olde, and my bones hath he bruised.
5 He hath buylded rounde about me, and closed me in with gall and trauaile.
6 He hath set me in darknesse, as they that be dead for euer.
7 He hath so hedged me in, that I can not get out, and hath layde heauie linkes vpon me.
8 Though I crye and call pitiously, yet heareth he not my prayer.
9 He hath stopped vp my wayes with foure squared stones, and made my pathes crooked.
10 He layeth wayte for me lyke a beare, and as a lion in a hole.
11 He hath marred my wayes, and broken me in peeces, he hath layde me waste altogether.
12 He hath bent his bowe, and made me as it were a marke to shoote at.
13 The arrowes of his quiuer hath he shot, euen into my reynes.
14 I am laughed to scorne of all my people, they make songues vpon me all the day long.
15 He hath filled me with bitternesse, and geuen me wormewood to drinke.
16 He hath smitten my teeth in peeces with stones, and roulled me in the dust.
17 He hath put my soule out of rest, I forget all good thinges.
18 I thought in my selfe, I am vndone, there is no hope for me in the Lorde.
19 O remember yet my miserie and my trouble, the wormewood and the gall.
20 Yea thou shalt remember them, for my soule melteth away in me.
21 Whyle I consider these thinges in my heart, I get a hope agayne.
22 [namely] it is of the Lordes mercies that we are not vtterly consumed, for truely his pitifull compassion hath not ceassed.
23 Newe mercyes shall the Lord shewe vpon thee early in the day springing, (O Lorde) great is thy faythfulnesse.
24 The Lorde is my portion saith my soule therefore wyll I hope in hym.
25 O howe good is the Lord vnto them that put their trust in hym, and to the soule that seeketh after hym.
26 The good man with stilnesse and pacience, taryeth for the health of the Lorde.
27 O howe good is it for a man to take the yoke vpon him from his youth vp?
28 He sitteth alone, he holdeth hym styll, because he hath taken [the Lordes yoke] vpon hym.
29 He layeth his face vpon the earth, if there happen to be any hope.
30 He offreth his cheeke to the smyter, he wyll be content with reproffes:
31 For the Lord wil not forsake for euer.
32 But though he punishe, yet according to the multitude of his mercies he receaueth to grace agayne.
33 For he doth not plague willingly, and afflict the chyldren of men,
34 To treade all the prysoners of the earth vnder his feete,
35 To moue the iudgement of man before the most highest,
36 To condemne a man in his cause: the Lord hath not pleasure in such thinges.
37 What is he then that saith, there should some thing be done without the Lordes commaundement?
38 Out of the mouth of the most highest goeth not euyll and good?
39 Wherefore then murmureth the liuing man? let hym murmure at his owne sinne.
40 Let vs looke well vpon our wayes, and remember our selues, and turne agayne to the Lorde.
41 Let vs lift our heartes with our handes vnto the Lorde that is in heauen.
42 We haue ben dissemblers and haue offended, wylt thou therefore not be intreated?
43 Thou hast couered vs in thy wrath, and persecuted vs: thou hast slayne vs without any fauour.
44 Thou hast hid thy selfe in a cloude, that our prayer should not go through.
45 Thou hast made vs outcastes, and to be despised among the people.
46 All our enemies gape vpon vs.
47 Feare and pit is come vpon vs, yea deceipt and destruction.
48 Whole riuers of water gushe out of mine eyes for the hurt of my people:
49 Myne eyes runne and cannot ceasse, for there is no rest:
50 O Lorde, when wylt thou looke downe from heauen and consider?
51 Mine eyes breaketh my heart, because of all the daughters of my citie.
52 Mine enemies hunted me out sharply like a byrde, yea & that without a cause.
53 They haue put downe my life into a pit, and they haue cast stones vpon me.
54 They haue powred water vpon my head: then thought I, nowe am I vndone.
55 I called vpon thy name O Lorde out of the deepe pit.
56 Thou hast heard my voyce, and hast not turned away thyne eares from my sighing and crying.
57 Thou hast inclyned thy selfe vnto me when I called vpon thee: and hast said, feare not.
58 Thou (O Lorde) hast mayntayned the cause of my soule, and hast redeemed my lyfe.
59 O Lorde, thou hast seene my wrong, take thou my cause vpon thee.
60 Thou hast well considered howe they go about to do me harme, and that all their counsels are against me.
61 Thou hast hearde their despitefull wordes O Lorde, yea and all the imaginations against me:
62 The lippes of mine enemies, and their deuises that they take against me al the day long.
63 Thou seest also their sitting downe and their rising vp, they make their songes of nothing but of me.
64 Rewarde them, O Lorde, according to the workes of their handes.
65 Geue them an obstinate heart, euen thy curse.
66 Persecute them O Lorde with thyne indignation, and roote them out from vnder the heauen.
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.