« | Proverbs 23 | » |
1 When thou sittest to eate with a noble man, consider diligently what is set before thee.
2 Measure thyne appetite if it be gredyly set.
3 Be not desirous of his daintie meates, for meate begyleth and deceaueth.
4 Take not ouer great trauayle to be riche, beware of suche a purpose.
5 Wylt thou set thyne eye vpon the thing which sodenly vanisheth away? For riches make them selues wynges, and take their flight lyke an Egle into the ayre.
6 Eate thou not the bread of hym that hath an euyll eye: neither desire thou his daintie meate.
7 For as though he thought it in his heart, he saith, eate and drinke: where as his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsels that thou hast eaten shalt thou parbreake, and loose those sweete wordes.
9 Tell nothing into the eares of a foole: for he wyll despise the wysdome of thy wordes.
10 Remoue not the olde lande marke, and come not within the fielde of the fatherlesse:
11 For their redeemer is mightie, euen he shall defend their cause against thee.
12 Applye thyne heart vnto correction, and thyne eare to the wordes of knowledge.
13 Withholde not correction from the chylde: for if thou beatest hym with the rodde, he shall not dye thereof:
14 If thou smyte hym with the rodde, thou shalt deliuer his soule from hell.
15 My sonne if thy heart receaue wysdome, my heart also shall reioyce:
16 Yea my raynes shalbe very glad, if thy lippes speake the thing that is right.
17 Let not thyne heart be ielous to folowe sinners, but kepe thee styll in the feare of the Lorde all the day long:
18 For veryly there is an ende, and thy pacient abiding shall not be cut of.
19 My sonne geue eare and be wyse, and set straight thyne heart in the way [of the Lorde.]
20 Kepe not company with wine bibbers, and riotous eaters of fleshe:
21 For suche as be drunkardes and riotours shall come to pouertie: and he that is geuen to muche sleepe, shall go with a ragged coate.
22 Geue eare vnto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is olde.
23 Purchase trueth, wysdome, nurture, and vnderstanding, and sell them not.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly reioyce: and he that begetteth a wyse chylde, shall haue ioy of hym.
25 [Do so that] thy father and mother may be glad of thee, and that she that bare thee may reioyce.
26 My sonne geue me thyne heart, and let thyne eyes haue pleasure in my wayes:
27 For an whore is a deepe graue, and a straunge woman is a narowe pit.
28 She lyeth in wayte as for a pray, and increaseth the transgressours amongst men.
29 Who hath wo? who hath sorowe? who hath strife? who hath brawling? and who hath woundes without a cause?
30 Or who hath red eyes? euen they that be euer at the wine, & seeke excesse.
31 Looke not thou vpon the wine howe red it is, and what a colour it geueth in the glasse:
32 It goeth downe sweetely, but at the last it byteth like a serpent, and stingeth lyke an adder.
33 Thyne eyes shall beholde straunge women, and thyne heart shall vtter lewde thinges:
34 Yea thou shalt be as though thou layest in the middest of the sea, or slepest vppon the top of the maste of a ship.
35 They haue beaten me [shalt thou say] and I was not sicke, they haue stricken me, and I felt it not: When I am well wakened, I wil go to the drinke again.
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.