« | Nahum 2 | » |
1 The destroyer is come vp before thy face, kepe thy forte, see to the way, strenghten [thy] loynes, increase [thy] strength mightyly:
2 For the Lord restores againe the glorious estate of Iacob, as [also] the glorious estate of Israel: for spoylers hath spoyled them, and hath wasted their braunches.
3 The shielde of his valiaunt souldiours [is] died red, his captaynes of warre are clad with scarlet: the charret is [compassed] with flammig torches in the day of his expedition, and the firre staues are drenched in poyson.
4 The charrets shal rage in the streetes, they shall make a terrible noyse in the broade wayes, to loke to like [flaming] cressets, shooting as lightning.
5 He shall remember his notable souldiours, they shal stumble in goyng, they shall hasten to the wall, the couering fence is prepared.
6 The riuer gates are opened, and the palace dissolued.
7 Huzab is brought foorth captiue, made to ascend [into the charets] her handmaydens also leading [one another] as in the voyce of doues, knocking vpon their brestes.
8 Yea many a day Niniue was as a ponde full of water, yet [now] they flee, Stand ye, stande ye, and no man loketh backe.
9 Take your spoyle of siluer, take your spoyle of golde, for there is no ende of riches: treasure, pashing all treasure.
10 Sacking, resacking, rasing, a dissolued heart and collision of knees, sorow in all loynes also, and the faces of them all as blacke as a pot.
11 Where is the abiding place of lions, and the feding plot of lions whelpes [become,] whyther the young and olde lion had their resort? there dwelt the lion, & there was no man to put him in feare.
12 The lion made his praye aboundauntly for his whelpes, and strangled for his she lions, and hath filled his dennes with pray, and his abyding places with spoyle.
13 Behold me against thee sayth the Lord of hoastes, & I will burne in smoke her charets, and the sworde shall deuoure thy lions, I will roote out also from the earth thy spoyling, and the voyce of thy messengers shalbe hearde no more.
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.