« | Psalm 107 | » |
1 Confesse you [it] vnto God: for he is gratious, and his mercy endureth for euer.
2 Let such as God did redeme speake: whom he hath redeemed from the hande of the enemie.
3 And whom he gathered out of the landes: from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They went astray out of the way in solitarines [and] in wildernes, and found no citie to dwell in:
5 (107:4) they were hungry and thirstie, their soule fainted in them.
6 (107:5) And they cry vnto god in their trouble: who deliuereth them from their distresse.
7 (107:6) And he leadeth them foorth by the right way: that they might go to the citie inhabited.
8 (107:7) O that men would confesse vnto God his louyng kindnesse: and his marueylous actes [done] to the chyldren of men.
9 (107:8) For he satisfieth the greedie soule: and filleth the hungry soule with goodnes.
10 (107:9) Suche as sit in darknesse and in the shadowe of death: beyng fast bounde in miserie and iron.
11 (107:10) Because they went from the wordes of the Lorde: and lightly regarded the counsayle of the most highest.
12 (107:11) Therfore he humbled their heart thorowe heauines: they fall downe, and there is none to helpe them.
13 (107:12) And they cry vnto god in their trouble: who deliuereth the out of their distresse.
14 (107:13) For he bringeth them out of darknesse and out of the shadowe of death: and breaketh their bondes in sunder.
15 (107:14) O that men would confesse vnto God: his louing kindnes and his marueylous actes [done] to the chyldren of men.
16 (107:15) For he breaketh the gates of brasse: & smyteth the barres of iron in sunder.
17 (107:16) Foolish men are plagued for their mischeuous wayes: & for their wickednes.
18 (107:17) Their soule abhorreth all maner of meate: and they be euen harde at deathes doore.
19 (107:18) And they crye vnto God in their trouble: who deliuereth them out of their distresse.
20 (107:19) he sendeth his worde & healeth them: and he maketh them to scape safe from their corruptnes.
21 (107:20) O that men would confesse vnto God: his louing kindnes and his marueylous actes [done] to the chyldren of men.
22 (107:21) And that they would offer [vnto him] sacrifices of thankes geuing: and set foorth in wordes his workes with a ioyfull noyse.
23 (107:22) Such as go downe to the sea in ships and folowe their busines in great waters:
24 (107:22) they see the workes of God, and his wonders in the deepe.
25 (107:23) For he commaundeth and causeth a stormie winde to arise: and he lifteth vp on high his waues.
26 (107:24) [Then] they ascende vp to heauen, and come downe agayne to the deepe: so that their soule melteth away through trouble.
27 (107:25) They reele to and fro, and they do stacker like a drunken man: and their wysdome fayleth them.
28 (107:26) And they cry vnto god in their trouble: who deliuereth the out of their distresse.
29 (107:27) For he maketh the storme to ceasse: so that the waues therof are still.
30 (107:28) Then be they glad because they are at rest: and he bringeth them to the hauen where they woulde be.
31 (107:29) O that men would confesse vnto god: his louyng kyndnes and meruaylous actes [done] to the chyldren of men.
32 (107:30) And that they would exalt him in the congregation of the people: and prayse him in the consistorie of the aged.
33 (107:31) He turneth fluddes into a wildernes: and waterspringes into a drye grounde.
34 (107:32) He [maketh] a fruitfull grounde barren: for the wickednes of them that dwell therein.
35 (107:33) [Contrary] he reduceth a wyldernes into a standing water: and a drye ground into water springes.
36 (107:34) And he setteth there the hungry: and they buylde them a citie to dwell in.
37 (107:35) And they sowe their lande and plant vineyardes: and they yelde [vnto them] aboundant store of fruites.
38 (107:36) He blesseth them, so that they multiplie exceedingly: and he suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 (107:37) But [when they do fall from God,] they are diminished & brought low: through oppression, calamitie, & griefe of minde.
40 (107:38) He bringeth princes into contempt: & he maketh them to wander in a wildernesse where there is no way at all.
41 (107:39) Yet he exalteth the poore out of miserie: and geueth him housholdes equall to flockes of cattell.
42 (107:40) The righteous will marke [this] and reioyce: and the mouth of all wickednesse shalbe stopped.
43 (107:41) Whosoeuer is wyse, he wyll both obserue these thinges: and also well consider the louing kindnesse of God.
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.