« | Psalm 58 | » |
1 [To the chiefe musition, destroy not, a golden psalme of Dauid.] O ye that consult together, pronounce ye truely the thing that is iust? O ye sonnes of men iudge you according to equitie?
2 Nay, rather ye imagine mischiefe in your heart: your handes waygh as in a ballaunce wickednes vpon the earth.
3 The vngodly are straungers euen from their mothers wombe: assoone as they be borne, they go astray and speake a lye.
4 They haue poyson [within them] lyke to the poyson of a serpent: they be lyke the deafe adder that stoppeth her eares,
5 (58:4) and wyll not heare the voyce of charmers, though he be neuer so skilfull in charming.
6 (58:5) Breake their teeth O Lorde in their mouthes: smite a sunder the chawe bones of Lions O God.
7 (58:6) Let them be dissolued as into water, let them come to naught of them selues: and when they shoote their arrowes, let them be as broken.
8 (58:7) Let them creepe away lyke a snayle that foorthwith consumeth to naught: or lyke the vntimely fruite of a woman, let them not see the sunne.
9 (58:8) As a greene thorne [kindled with fyre, goeth out] before your pottes be made whot: euen so let a furious rage bring him to naught.
10 (58:9) The righteous wyll reioyce when he seeth the vengeaunce: he wyll washe his foote steppes in the blood of the vngodly.
11 (58:10) And euery man shall say, veryly there is a rewarde for the righteous: doubtlesse there is a God that iudgeth in the earth.
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.