« | Proverbs 6 | » |
1 My sonne if thou be suretie for thy neyghbour, and hast fastened thyne hande for another man:
2 Thou art bounde with thine owne wordes, and taken with thine owne speach.
3 Therfore my sonne do this, and thou shalt be discharged: When thou art come into thy neyghbours daunger, go thy wayes then soone, humble thy selfe, and with thy frendes intreate [thy creditour.]
4 Let not thyne eyes sleepe, nor thyne eye liddes slumber.
5 Saue thy self as a Doe from the hand of the [hunter] and as a byrde from the hande of the fouler.
6 Go to the emmet thou sluggarde, consider her wayes, and learne to be wyse:
7 She hath no guyde, nor ouerseer, nor ruler,
8 Yet in the sommer she prouideth her meate, and gathereth her foode together in the haruest.
9 Howe long wylt thou sleepe thou sluggishe man? When wylt thou aryse out of thy sleepe?
10 Yea, sleepe on still a litle, slumber a litle, folde thyne handes together yet a litle that thou mayest sleepe:
11 So shall pouertie come vnto thee as one that trauayleth by the way, and necessitie like a weaponed man.
12 An vngodly person, a wicked man, goeth with a frowarde mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he tokeneth with his feete, he teacheth with his fingers.
14 He is euer imagining mischiefe and frowardnes in his heart, and causeth discorde.
15 Therefore shall his destruction come hastyly vpon hym, sodainly shall he be all to broken, and not be healed.
16 These sixe thinges doth the Lorde hate, and the seuenth he vtterly abhorreth:
17 A proude loke, a lying tongue, handes that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that goeth about wicked imaginations, feete that be swyft in running to mischiefe,
19 A false witnesse that bringeth vp lyes, and hym that soweth discorde among brethren.
20 My sonne, kepe thy fathers commaundement, and forsake not the lawe of thy mother:
21 Tye them continually in thyne heart, and bynde them about thy necke.
22 That shall leade thee when thou goest, preserue thee when thou art asleepe, and when thou awakest talke with thee.
23 For the commaundement is a lanterne, and the lawe a light: yea chastening and nurture is the way of life:
24 That they may kepe thee from the euyll woman, and from the flattering tongue of the straunge woman.
25 Lust not after her beautie in thyne heart, lest thou be taken with her fayre lokes.
26 By an harlot [a man is brought] to beg his bread, and a woman wyll hunte for the pretious life of man.
27 May a man take fire in his bosome, and his clothes not be brent?
28 Or can one go vpon hotte coales, and his feete not be brent?
29 Euen so, whosoeuer goeth in to his neyghbours wife and toucheth her, can not be vngiltie.
30 Men do not vtterly despise a thiefe that stealeth to satisfie his soule, when he is hungrie:
31 But if he may be gotten, he restoreth agayne seuen tymes as muche, or els he maketh recompence with all the good of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultrie with a woman, lacketh vnderstanding: and he that doth it, destroyeth his owne soule.
33 He getteth him selfe a plague and dishonour, and his reproche shall neuer be put out:
34 For the ielousie and wrath of the man wyll not be entreated,
35 No though thou wouldest offer hym great gyftes to make amendes, he wyll not receaue them.
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.