« | Philippians 3 | » |
1 Moreouer my brethren, reioyce ye in the Lord. It greeueth me not to write the same thyng often to you, for to you it is a sure thyng.
2 Beware of dogges, beware of euyll workers, beware of concision.
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirite, and reioyce in Christ Iesus, and haue no confidence in the fleshe:
4 Though I might also haue confidence in the fleshe. If any other man thinketh that he hath wherof he myght trust in the fleshe, more I:
5 Circumcised the eyght day, of the kinred of Israel, of the tribe of Beniamin, an Ebrue of the Ebrues, after the lawe a pharisee,
6 Concernyng feruentnesse, persecutyng the Churche: touchyng ye righteousnesse which is in ye lawe, I was blamelesse.
7 But the thynges that were vauntage vnto me, those I counted losse for Christes sake.
8 Yea, I thynke all thynges but losse, for the excellencie of the knowledge of Christe Iesus my Lorde: For whom I haue counted all thyng losse, & do iudge the but vile, that I may winne Christe,
9 And be founde in hym, not hauyng myne owne ryghteousnesse which is of the lawe: but that which is through the fayth of Christ, the ryghteousnes which commeth of God through fayth:
10 That I may knowe hym, and the power of his resurrection, and the felowshippe of his passions, confirmable vnto his death,
11 If by any meanes, I myght attayne vnto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had alredy attayned, either were alredy perfect: but I folowe, yf that I may comprehende, wherein also I am comprehended of Christe Iesus.
13 Brethren I count not my selfe as yet that I haue attained: but this one thing [I say] I forget those thinges which are behynde, and endeuour my selfe vnto those thynges which are before,
14 And I prease towarde the marke, for the price of the hye callyng of God in Christe Iesus.
15 Let vs therfore as many as be perfect, be thus mynded, and if ye be otherwyse mynded, God shall reueale the same also vnto you.
16 Neuerthelesse, vnto that which we haue attayned vnto, let vs proceade by one rule, that we may be of one accorde.
17 Brethren, be folowers together of me, and loke on them which walke so as ye haue vs for an ensample.
18 For many walke, of whom I haue tolde you often, & nowe tel you wepyng, [that they are] the enemies of the crosse of Christe:
19 Whose ende [is] dampnation, whose God [is their] belly, and glorie to their shame, which mynde earthly thynges.
20 But our conuersation is in heauen, from whence also we loke for the sauiour, the Lorde Iesus Christe:
21 Who shall chaunge our vyle body, that it may be fashioned lyke vnto his glorious body, according to the working wherby he is able to subdue all thynges vnto hym selfe.
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.