« | Micah 3 | » |
1 And I saide, heare I pray you O heads of Iacob, & ye princes of the house of Israel, shoulde not ye know iudgement?
2 [But] they hate the good, and loue the euill, they plucke of their skinnes from them, and their fleshe from their bones.
3 And they eate also the fleshe of my people, & flay of their skinne from them: and they breake their bones, and chop them in peeces as for the pot, and as fleshe within the cauldron.
4 Then shall they crye vnto the Lorde, but he wyll not heare them: he wyll euen hide his face from them at that time, because they haue done wickedly in their workes.
5 Thus saith the Lorde concerning the prophetes that deceaue my people and bite them with their teeth, and crye peace: but if a man put not into their mouthes, they prepare warre against him.
6 Therfore night [shalbe] vnto you for a vision, and darkenesse [shalbe] vnto you for a diuination: and the sunne shall go downe ouer the prophetes, and the day shalbe darke ouer them.
7 Then shall the sears be ashamed, and the soothsayers confounded: yea, they shal al couer their lippes, for they haue none aunswere of God.
8 Yet notwithstanding, I am full of power by the spirite of the Lorde, and of iudgement, and of strength, to declare vnto Iacob his transgression, and to Israel his sinne.
9 Heare this I pray you ye heades of the house of Iacob, and princes of the house of Israel: they abhorre iudgement, and peruert all equitie.
10 They builde vp Sion with blood, and Hierusalem with iniquitie.
11 (The heades therof iudge for rewards, and the priestes thereof teache for hyre, and the prophetes thereof prophecie for money: yet wyll they leane vpon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among vs? no euill can come vpon vs.)
12 Therefore shall Sion for your sake be plowed [as] a fielde, & Hierusalem shalbe an heape, and the mountaine of the house as the hie places of the forest.
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.