« | Psalm 139 | » |
1 [To the chiefe musition, a psalme of Dauid.] O God thou hast searched me to the quicke: and thou hast knowen me.
2 Thou knowest my downe sitting & myne vprising: thou vnderstandest my thoughtes long before they be.
3 Thou compassest about my path, and my iourney into all coastes: and thou vsest all my wayes.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue: but beholde thou O Lorde knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast fashioned me behinde and before: and layde thyne hande vpon me.
6 The knowledge that [thou hast] of me is marueylous: it is so high that I can not [attayne] vnto it.
7 Whyther can I go from thy spirite: or whyther can I flee away from thy face?
8 If I ascende vp into heauen, thou art there: if I lay me downe in hell, thou art there also.
9 If I take the wynges of the morning: and [go to] dwell in the vttermost part of the sea.
10 Euen there also thy hande shall leade me: and thy right hande shall holde me.
11 And yf I say peraduenture the darknesse shall couer me: and the night shalbe day for me,
12 Truely the darknesse shall not darken any thing from thee, and the night shalbe as lyghtsome as the day: darknesse and lyght [to thee] are both a lyke.
13 For thou hast my reynes in thy possession: thou didst couer me in my mothers wombe.
14 I wyll confesse it vnto thee, for that thy [doynges] are to be dreaded, I am made after a marueylous sort: thy workes be marueylous, and that my soule knoweth ryght well.
15 The substaunce of my [body] was not hyd from thee: when I was made in secrete and fashioned with distinct members in my mothers wombe.
16 Thyne eyes dyd see me when I was most imperfect: and in thy booke were written euery day of them [wherin the partes of my body] were shaped, and no one of them were knowen vnto thee.
17 Howe pretious be thy cogitations towardes me O God? howe greatly be the summe of them increased?
18 I go about to count them, I fynde that they are mo in number then the sande: and yet whyle I am wakyng I am styll with thee.
19 For truely thou wylt slay O Lord the wicked man: and the blood thirstie men [to whom I euer say] depart ye from me.
20 Who do speake vnto thee in guilefull maner: [thou art O God] exalted in vayne to thyne enemies.
21 Do not I hate them O God that hate thee? and am not I greeued with those that rise vp agaynst thee?
22 Yea I hate them from the bottome of myne heart: euen as though they were myne enemies.
23 Searche me to the quicke O Lorde, and knowe thou myne heart: proue me and knowe thou my thoughtes.
24 And loke well yf there be any way of peruersnesse in me: and [then] leade me in the way of the worlde.
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.