« | Psalm 48 | » |
1 [A song, the psalme of the children of Corach.] Great is God, and hyghly to be praysed: in the citie of our Lorde, his holy hyll.
2 The hyll of Sion is fayre in situation, and the ioy of the whole earth: vpon the north syde lyeth the citie of the great king.
3 God is well knowen in her palaces: as a most sure refuge.
4 For lo kinges did assemble, and passe by together:
5 (48:4) they them selues sawe it, lykewyse they marueyled, they were astonyed with feare, and sodenly in haste they were gone away.
6 (48:5) A feare came there vpon them and sorowe: as vpon a woman in her childe trauayle.
7 (48:6) Thou didst breake the shippes of the sea: through the east wynde.
8 (48:7) Lyke as we haue hearde, so haue we seene in the citie of God of hoastes: in the citie of our Lorde, God vpholdeth the same for euer. Selah.
9 (48:8) O Lorde we haue wayted: for thy louyng kindnesse in the myddest of thy temple.
10 (48:9) O Lorde, accordyng to thy name, so is thy prayse vnto the worldes ende: thy ryght hande is full of iustice.
11 (48:10) Mount Sion shall reioyce, and the daughters of Iuda shalbe glad: because of thy iudgementes.
12 (48:11) Compasse about Sion, and go rounde about her: and tell the towres therof.
13 (48:12) Marke well her bulwarkes, beholde her hygh palaces: that ye may tell it to your posteritie.
14 (48:13) For this God is our God for euer and euer: he wyll be our guide vnto death.
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.