« | Psalm 81 | » |
1 [To the chiefe musition vpon Gittith, of Asaph.] Sing we meryly vnto the Lorde our strength: make a chearefull noyse vnto the Lorde of Iacob.
2 Take the psalterie: bryng hyther the tabret, the merie harpe, with the lute.
3 Blowe vp the trumpet in the newe moone, euen in the time appointed: and vpon our solempne feast day.
4 For this was made a statute for Israel: and a lawe of the God of Iacob.
5 This he ordayned in Ioseph for a testimonie, when he came out of the lande of Egypt: [where] I hearde a tongue [whiche] I knewe not.
6 I eased his shoulder from the burthen: and his handes ceassed from making pottes.
7 Thou calledst vpon me in troubles, and I deliuered thee: I hearde thee out of the middest of a thunder, I proued thee also at the waters of strife. Selah.
8 [Then I sayd] heare O my people: and I wyll geue thee a charge O Israel in protesting vnto thee.
9 If thou wylt hearken vnto me, there shall be no straunge God in thee: neither shalt thou geue worship to any other Lorde beside me.
10 I am God thy Lorde which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wyde, and I wyll fill it.
11 But my people woulde not heare my voyce: and Israel would not [obey] me.
12 So I gaue them vp vnto the wicked cogitations of their owne heartes: and I did let them folowe their owne imaginations.
13 O that my people woulde haue hearkened vnto me: O that Israel had walked in my wayes.
14 I should soone haue tamed their enemies: and turned myne hande against their aduersaries.
15 The haters of God shoulde haue ben founde liers: and their time should haue endured for euer.
16 He woulde haue fed them also with the finest wheate flowre: and I would haue satisfied thee with honie out of the stonie rocke.
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.