« | Micah 5 | » |
1 Now shalt thou be robbed thy selfe O thou robbers daughter: they shall laye siege against vs, & smyte the iudge of Israel with a rodde vpon the cheeke.
2 And thou Bethlehem Ephrata art little among the thousandes of Iuda, out of thee shal he come foorth vnto me which shalbe the gouernour in Israel, whose out going hath ben from the beginning, and from euerlasting.
3 Therefore wyll he geue them vp for a season, vntill the time that she which shall beare haue borne: then shall the remnaunt of his brethren be conuerted vnto the children of Israel.
4 He shall stande faste, and geue foode in the strength of the Lorde, and in the maiestie of the name of the Lorde his God: and when they be conuerted, he shalbe magnified vnto the farthest partes of the worlde.
5 And he shall be our peace: when the Assirians shall come into our lande, when he shal treade in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seuen sheepheardes, and eyght principall men.
6 These shall subdue the lande of Assur with the sworde, and the lande of Nimrod with their naked weapons: Thus shall he deliuer vs from the Assirian when he commeth within our lande, and setteth his foote within our borders.
7 And the remnaunt of Iacob shalbe among the multitude of people as the deawe of the Lord, and as the droppes vpon the grasse, that taryeth for no man and wayteth on no body.
8 Yea the residue of Iacob shalbe among the gentiles and the multitude of people, as the lion among the beastes of the wood, and as the lions whelpe among the flockes of sheepe: which whe he goeth through, treadeth downe, teareth in peeces, and there is no man that can deliuer.
9 Thyne hand shalbe lyft vp vpon thyne enemies, and all thyne aduersaries shall perishe.
10 And it shall come to passe in that day saith the Lorde, that I wyll take thyne horses from thee, and destroy thy charrettes.
11 I wyll breake downe the cities of thy lande, and ouerthrowe all thy strong holdes.
12 All witchcraftes wyll I roote out of thyne hande, there shall no mo soothsayinges be within thee.
13 Thyne idols and thyne images wyll I destroy out of thee, so that thou shalt no more bowe thy selfe vnto the workes of thyne owne handes.
14 Thy groues wyll I plucke vp by the rootes, and breake downe thy cities.
15 And I wyll execute a vengeaunce in my wrath & indignation vpon the heathen, such as they haue not heard.
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.