« | Proverbs 24 | » |
1 Be not thou enuious to folow wicked men, and desire not to be among them:
2 For their heart imagineth to do hurt, and their lippes talke mischiefe.
3 Thorowe wysdome is an house buylded, & with vnderstanding is it set vp.
4 Thorowe discretion shall the chaumbers be filled with all costly and pleasaunt riches.
5 A wise man is [euer] strong: yea a man of vnderstanding increaseth strength.
6 For with discretion must warres be taken in hand: and where as are many that can geue counsaile, there is health.
7 Wysdome is to hye a thyng for a foole: for he dare not open his mouth in the gate.
8 He that imagineth mischiefe, maye well be called an vngratious person.
9 The wicked thought of the foolishe is sinne: and the scornefull is an abhomination vnto men.
10 If thou be faynt in the day of aduersitie, thy strength is small.
11 Deliuer them that are drawen vnto death, and ceasse not to preserue them that are led to be slayne:
12 If thou wylt say, beholde I knewe not of it: doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that kepeth thy soule, knoweth he it not? Shall not he also recompence euery man according to his workes?
13 My sonne, eate thou hony because it is good, and the hony combe, for it is sweete vnto thy mouth:
14 So [sweete] shal the knowledge of wysdome be vnto thy soule when thou hast found it: and there shalbe hope, and thy hope shall not be cut of.
15 Laye no priuie wayte (O wicked man) against the house of the righteous, and spoyle not his resting place.
16 For a iust man falleth seuen tymes, and ryseth vp agayne: but the vngodly fall into mischiefe.
17 Reioyce not thou at the fall of thyne enemie, and let not thyne heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 Lest the Lorde when he seeth it be angry, and turne his wrath from hym [vnto thee.]
19 Fret not thy selfe because of the malitious, neither be enuious at the wicked:
20 For the wicked shall haue no posteritie, and the candle of the vngodly shalbe put out.
21 My sonne, feare thou the Lorde and the kyng, and kepe no company with them that slide backe [from his feare:]
22 For their destruction shall rise sodainlye: and who knoweth the aduersitie that may come from them both?
23 It is not good to haue respect of any person in iudgement.
24 He that saith to the vngodly thou art righteous, hym shall the people curse, yea the comminaltie shall abhorre him:
25 But they that rebuke [the vngodly] in them doth God delight, and a rych blessing shall come vpon them.
26 Euery man shall kisse his lippes that geueth a good aunswere.
27 Make redie thy worke that is without, and looke well vnto that whiche thou hast in the fielde: and then buylde thyne house.
28 Be not a false witnesse against thy neighbour, and speake no falsehood with thy lippes.
29 Say not, I wyll handle hym euen as he hath dealt with me: and wyll rewarde euery man according to his deedes.
30 I went by the fielde of the slouthfull, and by the vineyarde of the foolishe man:
31 And lo, it was all couered with nettles, and stoode full of thornes, and the stone wall was broken downe.
32 This I sawe, and considered it well: I looked vpon it, and toke it for a warning.
33 Yea sleepe on styll [I say] a litle, slumber a litle, folde thy handes together yet a litle:
34 So shall pouertie come vnto thee as one that trauayleth by the way, and necessitie lyke a weaponed man.
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.