« | Numbers 13 | » |
1 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses saying:
2 Sende men out to searche the lande of Chanaan, whiche I geue vnto the chyldren of Israel: of euery tribe of their fathers shall ye sende a man, and let them all be suche as are rulers among them.
3 And Moyses at the commaundement of the Lorde, sent foorth out of the wyldernesse of Pharan, suche men as were all heades of the chyldren of Israel.
4 [Their names are these. Of the tribe of Ruben, Sammua the sonne of Zacur.]
5 [Of the tribe of Simeon, Saphat the sonne of Hori. ]
6 [Of the tribe of Iuda, Caleb the sonne of Iephune. ]
7 [Of the tribe of Isachar, Igal the sonne of Ioseph. ]
8 [Of the tribe of Ephraim, Osea the sonne of Nun. ]
9 [Of the tribe of Beniamin, Palti the sonne of Raphu. ]
10 [Of the tribe of Zabulon, Gaddiel the sonne of Sodi. ]
11 [Of the tribe of Ioseph, namely of the tribe of Manasse, Gaddi the sonne of Susi. ]
12 [Of the tribe of Dan, Amiel the sonne of Gemalli. ]
13 [Of the tribe of Aser, Sethur the sonne of Michael. ]
14 [Of the tribe of Nephthali, Nahabi the sonne of Uaphsi. ]
15 [Of the tribe of Gad, Guel the sonne of Machi. ]
16 These are the names of the men which Moyses sent to spie out the land: And Moyses called the name of Osea the sonne of Nun, Iosuah.
17 And Moyses sent them foorth to spie out the lande of Chanaan, and said vnto them: Get you vp this way southward, that ye may go vp into the hie countrey,
18 And see the lande what maner thing it is, and the people that dwelleth therin, whether they be strong or weake, eyther fewe or many:
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad, and what maner of cities they be that they dwell in, whether they dwell in tentes or walled townes:
20 And what maner of lande that is, whether it be fat or leane, and whether there be trees therin or not. Be of good courage, and bryng of the fruite of the lande: And it was about the tyme that grapes are first rype.
21 And so they went vp, and searched out the lande from the wildernesse of Zin, vnto Rehob, as men come to Hemath.
22 And they ascended vnto the south, and come vnto Hebron, where Ahiman was and Sesai, and Thalmai, the sonnes of Anac. Hebron was buylt seuen yeres before Zoan in Egypt.
23 And they came vnto the ryuer of Escol, and cut downe there a braunch with one clouster of grapes, and twayne bare it vpon a staffe: and [they brought] also of the pomgranates, and of the figges.
24 And the place was called the riuer Escol, because of ye cluster of grapes whiche the children of Israel cut downe thence.
25 And they turned backe agayne from searching of ye lande after fourtie dayes.
26 And they went, and came to Moyses and Aaron, and vnto all the multitude of the chyldren of Israel in the wyldernesse Pharan to Cades, and brought them worde, and also vnto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruite of the lande.
27 And they tolde hym, and sayde: we came vnto the lande whyther thou sendedst vs & surely it floweth with milke and hony, and here is of the fruite of it.
28 Neuerthelesse, the people be strong that dwell in the lande, and the cities are walled and exceedyng great: and moreouer, we sawe the chyldren of Anac there.
29 The Amalechites dwell in the south countrey: and the Hethites, and the Iebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountaynes: & the Chanaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Iordane.
30 And Caleb stylled the people before Moyses, saying: Let vs go vp at once, and possesse it, for we be able to ouercome it.
31 But the men that went vp with him, sayde: We be not able to go vp agaynst the people, for they are stronger then we.
32 And they brought vp an euyll report of the lande whiche they had searched, saying vnto the children of Israel: The lande whiche we haue gone through to searche it out, is a lande that eateth vp the inhabitours therof, and the people that we sawe in it, are men of a great stature.
33 And there we sawe also giauntes the chyldren of Anac [whiche come] of the giauntes: And we seemed in our sight as it were grashoppers, and so we dyd in their sight.
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.