« | Lamentations 5 |
1 Call to remembraunce (O Lorde) what we haue suffred, consider and see our confusion.
2 Our inheritaunce is turned to the straungers, and our houses to the aliaunts.
3 We are become carefull and fatherlesse, and our mothers are as the wydowes.
4 We are fayne to drinke our owne water for money, and our owne wood must we buy for money.
5 Our neckes are vnder persecution, we are weery and haue no rest.
6 [Aforetime] we yeelded our selues to the Egyptians, [and nowe] to the Assyrians, onlye that we might haue bread inough.
7 Our fathers (which nowe are gone) haue sinned, and we must beare their wickednesse.
8 Seruauntes haue the rule of vs, and no man deliuereth vs out of their handes.
9 We must get our liuing with the perill of our liues, because of the drouth of the wildernesse.
10 Our skinne is as it had ben made blacke in an ouen, for very sore hunger.
11 The wiues are rauished in Sion, and the maydens in the cities of Iuda.
12 The princes are hanged vp with the hand of the enemies, they haue not spared the olde sage men.
13 They haue taken young men to grinde, and the boyes fainted vnder the burthens of wood.
14 The elders sit no more vnder the gates, and the young men vse no more playing of musicke.
15 The ioy of our heart is gone, our melodious meeting is turned into mourning.
16 The garlande of our head is fallen: alas that euer we sinned so sore.
17 Therefore our heart is full of heauinesse, and our eyes dimme.
18 Because of the hill of Sion that is destroyed: insomuch that the foxes runne vpon it.
19 But thou O Lorde, that remaynest for euer, and thy seate worlde without ende:
20 Wherefore wylt thou styll forget vs, and forsake vs so long?
21 O Lord turne thou vs vnto thee, and so shall we be turned, renue our dayes as in olde tymes:
22 But thou hast banished vs vtterly, and hast ben displeased at 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.