« | Psalm 88 | » |
1 [A song, the psalme of the sonnes of Corach, to the chiefe musition vpon Mahalath Leannoth, a wise instruction of Heman the Ezrahite.] O God the Lorde of my saluation, I crye day and night before thee:
2 (88:1) let my prayer enter into thy presence, encline thyne eare vnto my crying.
3 (88:2) For my soule is full of miserie: and my life toucheth the graue.
4 (88:3) I am counted as one of them that go downe vnto the pit: and I am nowe become a man that hath no strength.
5 (88:4) I am free among the dead: like such as beyng kylled lye in a graue, whom thou remembrest no more, and are cut away from thy hande.
6 (88:5) Thou hast layde me in the lowest pit: in darknes and in deepenes.
7 (88:6) Thyne indignation sore presseth me: and thou hast vexed me with all thy stormes. Selah.
8 (88:7) Thou hast put away myne acquaintaunce farre from me, and made me to be abhorred of them: I am shut vp, I can not get foorth.
9 (88:8) My sight fayleth through my affliction O God: I haue called dayly vpon thee, I haue stretched out mine handes vnto thee.
10 (88:9) Wylt thou worke a miracle amongst the dead? or shal the dead rise vp againe [and] acknowledge thee? Selah.
11 (88:10) Shall thy louing kindnes be talked of in the graue? or thy faythfulnes in destruction?
12 (88:11) Shall thy wonderous workes be knowen in the darke? and thy righteousnes in the lande of forgetfulnes?
13 (88:12) But vnto thee do I crye O God: and my prayer commeth early in the morning before thee.
14 (88:13) O God, why abhorrest thou my soule: and [why] hidest thou thy face from me?
15 (88:14) I am in miserie, I labour euen from my youth with the panges of death: I haue suffered thy terrours, [and] I am styll in doubt.
16 (88:15) Thyne indignation hath gone ouer me: and thy terrours haue vndone me.
17 (88:16) They came rounde about me dayly lyke water: and compassed me altogether on euery syde.
18 (88:17) Thou hast put a way farre from me my frende and neighbour: [thou hast hid] mine acquaintaunce out of sight.
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.