« | Psalm 144 | » |
1 [Of Dauid.] Blessed be God my rocke: who teacheth my handes to warre, and my fingers to fyght.
2 My holynesse and my fortresse, my refuge, and my only deliuerer: my buckler, in hym I haue put my trust, who subdueth my people vnder me.
3 O God, what is man that thou doest knowe hym? what is the sonne of man that thou doest thynke of hym?
4 Man is lyke a thyng of naught: his dayes be lyke a shadowe that passeth away.
5 Bowe thy heauens O God and come downe: touche the mountaynes and they shall smoke.
6 Cast out terrible lightninges and feare them: shoote out thyne arrowes and consume them.
7 Sende downe thine hand from aboue: deliuer me and take me out of the great waters, from the hande of the children of an other deuotion then I am.
8 Whose mouth vttereth vanitie: and their ryght hande is a ryght hande of falshood.
9 O Lorde I wyll syng a newe song vnto thee: and I wyll syng psalmes vnto thee vpon a Lute, [and vpon] an instrument of ten strynges.
10 Who geueth victorie vnto kynges: who redeemeth Dauid his seruaunt from peryll of the sworde.
11 Redeeme me and deliuer me from the hande of the children of an other deuotion then I am: whose mouth vttereth vanitie, and their ryght hande is a ryght hande of falshood.
12 That our sonnes may growe vp in their youth as young plantes: that our daughters may be as corners [stones] grauen after the fashion as a palace is.
13 That the corners of our houses may be fylled, yeeldyng foorth all maner of stoore: that our cattell may bring foorth thousandes, [yea] ten thousandes in our streates.
14 That our oxen may be strong [to labour] that there be no decay: no leadyng into captiuitie, and no complaynyng in our streates.
15 Happy are the people that be in such a case: blessed is the people who haue God for their Lorde.
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.