« | Psalm 16 | » |
1 [The golden psalme of Dauid.] Preserue me O Lorde: for I haue reposed my trust in thee.
2 Thou hast sayde [O my soule] vnto God, thou art my Lorde: my weldoing [can do] thee no good.
3 But all my delyght is [to do good] vnto the saintes that are in the earth: and vnto such as excell in vertue.
4 As for them that runne [after] another [God] they shall haue great trouble: I wyll not offer their drynke offerynges of blood, neither wyll I make mention of their names within my lyppes.
5 O God, thou thy selfe art the portion of myne inheritaunce and of my cup: thou wylt mayntayne my lot.
6 My lot is fallen vnto me in a pleasaut [grounde:] I [haue] a goodly heritage.
7 I wyll prayse God who gaue me counsayle: my reines also do instruct me in the nyght season.
8 I haue set God alwayes before me: for he is on my ryght hande, [therfore] I shall not be remoued.
9 Wherfore my heart is glad: my glory reioyceth, my fleshe also shall rest in a securitie.
10 For thou wylt not leaue my soule in hell: neither wylt thou suffer thyne holy one to see corruption.
11 Thou wylt cause me to knowe the path of lyfe: in thy presence is the fulnesse of ioy, and at thy right hand there be pleasures for euermore.
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.