« | Numbers 19 | » |
1 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses & Aaron, saying:
2 This is the ordinaunce of the lawe which the Lord hath commaunded, saying: Speake vnto the children of Israel that they bring thee a redde cowe without spot, and wherin is no blemishe, and vpon which neuer came yoke.
3 And ye shall geue her vnto Eleazar the priest, that he may bryng her without the hoast, and cause her to be slayne before his face:
4 And let Eleazar the priest take of her blood with his finger, and sprinckle it directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seuen tymes.
5 And cause the cowe to be burnt in his sight, with her skinne, fleshe, & blood: and the doung of her shal he burne also.
6 And let the priest take Cedar wood, and hysope, and scarlet [lase] and cast it in the middes of the burnyng of the cowe.
7 Then let the priest washe his clothes, and he shall bathe his fleshe in water, and then come into the hoast, and the priest shalbe vncleane vntyll the euen.
8 And he that burneth her shall washe his clothes in water, & bathe his fleshe in water, and be vncleane vntyll euen.
9 And a man that is cleane, shall gather vp the asshes of the cowe, and lay them without the hoast in a cleane place, and it shalbe kept for the multitude of the children of Israel for a water of seperation: It is a sinne offeryng.
10 Therfore he that gathereth the asshes of the cowe, shall washe his clothes, and remayne vncleane vntill euen: And it shalbe vnto the children of Israel, and vnto the strauger that dwelleth among them, a statute for euer.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man, shalbe vncleane seuen dayes.
12 And he shall purifie hym selfe with this water the thirde day, & the seuenth day he shalbe cleane: But if he purifie not hym selfe the thirde day, then the seuenth day he shall not be cleane.
13 Whosoeuer toucheth the dead coarse of any man that is dead, & purgeth not hym selfe, defileth the tabernacle of the Lorde, and that soule shalbe cut of from Israel, because the water of seperation was not sprinckled vpon hym: he shalbe therfore vncleane, his vncleanesse is yet vpon hym.
14 This is the lawe of a man that dyeth in a tent: All that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shalbe vncleane seuen dayes.
15 And all the vessels that be open, which haue no coueryng bounde vpon them, shalbe vncleane.
16 And whosoeuer toucheth one that is slayne with a sworde in the fieldes, or a dead person, or a bone of a dead man, or a graue, shalbe vncleane seuen dayes.
17 Therfore, for an vncleane person they shal take of the burnt asshes of the sinne offeryng, and runnyng water shalbe put therto in a vessell.
18 And let a cleane person take hysope, & dippe it in the water, and sprinckle it vpon the tent, and vpon all the vessels, and on the persons that were therin, and vpon hym that touched a bone, or a slaine person, or a dead body, or a graue.
19 And the cleane person shall sprinckle vpon the vncleane the thirde day and the seuenth day: And the seuenth day he shall purifie hym selfe, and washe his clothes, & bathe hym selfe in water, and shalbe cleane at euen.
20 But the man that is vncleane, and purifieth not him selfe, the same soule shalbe cut of from among the congregation: because he hath defiled the sanctuarie of the Lorde, and the water of seperation hath not ben sprinckled vpon hym, therfore shall he remayne vncleane.
21 And it shalbe a perpetuall lawe vnto them, that he that sprinckleth the water of seperation, shall washe his clothes: and he that toucheth the water of seperation, shalbe vncleane vntyll euen.
22 And whatsoeuer the vncleane person toucheth, shalbe vncleane: And the soule that toucheth [the thyng that was touched of the vncleane person] shalbe vncleane vntyll euen.
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.