« | Psalm 86 | » |
1 [A prayer of Dauid.] Bow downe thine eare O God, and heare me: for I am poore and in miserie.
2 Preserue thou my soule, for I am holy: my God saue thy seruaunt that putteth his trust in thee.
3 Be mercifull vnto me O God: for I do call dayly vpon thee.
4 Comfort the soule of thy seruaunt: for vnto thee O Lord do I lift vp my soule.
5 For thou Lorde art good and gracious: and of great mercy vnto all them that call vpon thee.
6 Geue eare O God vnto my prayer: and be attentiue vnto the voyce of my humble petitions.
7 I call vpon thee in the day of my trouble: for thou hearest me.
8 Among the gods there is none like vnto thee O Lorde: there is not one that can do as thou doest.
9 All nations whom thou hast made, shall come and worship thee O Lorde: and shall glorifie thy name.
10 For thou art great and doest wonderous thinges: thou art God alone.
11 Teache me thy way O God, and I wyll walke in thy trueth: make my heart all one with thyne, that it may feare thy name.
12 I wyll acknowledge thee O Lorde my God with all my heart: and I wyl glorifie thy name for euer.
13 For great is thy mercy towarde me: and thou hast deliuered my soule from the lowest [part of] hell.
14 O God, the proude are rysen against me: a companie of outragious naughtipackes haue sought after my soule, and haue not set thee before their eyes.
15 But thou O Lorde art a God full of compassion and mercy: long yet thou be angry, plenteous in goodnes and trueth.
16 Turne thy face vnto me, and haue mercy vpon me: geue thy strength vnto thy seruaunt, and helpe the sonne of thine handmayde.
17 Shewe some good token of thy fauour towardes me, that they whiche hate me may see it and be ashamed: because thou God hast helped me, and comforted me.
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.