« | Numbers 25 | » |
1 And Israel abode in Sittim, and the people began to commit whoredome with the daughters of Moab.
2 Whiche called the people vnto the sacrifice of their gods: And the people dyd eate, and bowed downe to their gods.
3 And Israel coupled hym selfe vnto Baal Peor, and the indignation of the Lorde was kindeled against Israel.
4 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moyses: Take all the heades of the people, and hang them vp before the Lorde against the sunne, that the wrath of the Lordes countenaunce may be turned away from Israel.
5 And Moyses sayde vnto the Iudges of Israel: Euery one slay his men that were ioyned vnto Baal Peor.
6 And behold, one of the chyldren of Israel came & brought vnto his brethren a Madianitishe woman, euen in the sight of Moyses, and in the sight of all the multitude of the children of Israel, that wept before the doore of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehes the sonne of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose vp out of the myddes of the companie, & toke a iauelin in his hande,
8 And went after the man of Israel into the tent, & thrust them through both the man of Israel & also the woman, euen thorowe the belly of her: And the plague ceassed fro the chyldre of Israel.
9 And there dyed in the plague twentie and foure thousande.
10 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses, saying:
11 Phinehes the sonne of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron the priest, hath turned myne anger away from the chyldren of Israel, whyle he was zelous for my sake among the, that I had not consumed the childre of Israel in my ielousie.
12 Wherfore say: beholde, I geue vnto hym my couenaunt of peace.
13 And he shall haue it, and his seede after hym, euen the couenaunt of the priestes office for euer, because he was zelous for his Gods sake, and made an attonement for the chyldren of Israel.
14 The name of the Israelite thus kylled, which was slayne with the Madianitishe woman, was Zamri the sonne of Salu, a Lorde of an house and kinred of Simeon.
15 And the name of the Madianitishe woma that was slayne, was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a head ouer the people of his fathers house in Madian.
16 And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses, saying:
17 Uexe the Madianites, & smyte them:
18 For they trouble you with their wyles, whiche haue begyled you by deceyte in the cause of Peor, & in the cause of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Lorde of the Madianites, whiche was slayne in the day of the plague for Peors sake.
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.