« | Numbers 24 | » |
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lorde that he should blesse Israel, he went not as he dyd twise before to meete a soothsaying: but set his face towarde the wyldernesse.
2 And Balaam lift vp his eyes, and loked vpon Israel as he lay accordyng to his tribes, and the spirite of God came vpon hym.
3 And he toke vp his parable and sayd: Balaam the sonne of Beor hath sayde, and the man whose eyes is open hath sayde:
4 He hath sayde whiche heareth the wordes of God, and seeth the visions of the almightie, and falleth downe with open eyes.
5 Howe goodly are thy tentes O Iacob, and thyne habitations O Israel?
6 Euen as the valleys are they layde abrode, & as gardens by the riuers side, as the tentes whiche the Lorde hath pitched, and as cypres trees beside the waters.
7 The water droppeth out of his bucket, & his seede shalbe in many waters, and his king shalbe hier then Agag, and his kingdome shalbe exalted.
8 God brought hym out of Egypt, his strength is as the Unicorne: He shall eate the nations his enemies, & gnawe their bones, and pearce them through with his arrowes.
9 He couched hym selfe, and lay downe as a Lion, and as an elder Lion: who shall stirre hym vp? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balac was wroth with Balaam, and smote his handes together, and Balac said vnto Balaam: I sent for thee to curse mine enemies, and behold thou hast blessed them this three tymes.
11 Therfore nowe get thee quickly vnto thy place: I thought that I would promote thee vnto honour, but lo the Lord hath kept thee backe from worship.
12 Balaam aunswered vnto Balac: Tolde I not thy messengers whiche thou sendedst vnto me, saying:
13 If Balac woulde geue me his house full of siluer and golde, I can not passe the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine owne minde: But what the Lorde sayeth, that wyll I speake.
14 And nowe behold, I go vnto my people: Come therfore, and I wyll aduertise thee what this people shall do to thy folke in the latter dayes.
15 And he toke vp his parable and sayd: Balaam the sonne of Beor hath sayde, the man whose eye is open, hath sayde:
16 He hath said that heareth the wordes of God, and hath the knowledge of the most hygh, and beholdeth the vision of the almightie, and that falleth and his eyes are opened.
17 I shall see him, but not nowe, I shall beholde him, but not nigh: There shall come a starre of Iacob, and ryse a scepter of Israel, & shall smyte the coastes of Moab, and vndermine all the chyldren of Seth.
18 And Edom shalbe possessed, & Seir shall fall to the possession of their enemies, and Israel shall do manfully.
19 Out of Iacob shall come he that shall haue dominion, and shall destroy the remnaunt of the citie.
20 And when he loked on Amaleck, he toke vp his parable, and said: Amaleck is the first of the nations, but his latter ende shall perishe vtterly.
21 And he loked on the Kenites, and toke vp his parable, and sayde: Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rocke.
22 Neuerthelesse, the Kenite shalbe rooted out, vntyll Assur take thee prisoner.
23 And he toke vp his parable, and sayd: Alas, who shall lyue when God doth this?
24 The shippes also shall come out of the coast of Chittim, and subdue Assur, and subdue Eber, and he hym selfe shall perishe at the last.
25 And Balaam rose vp, and went and returned to his place: and Balac also went his way.
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.