« | Psalm 89 | » |
1 [A wyse instruction of Ethan the Ezrachite.] I wyll sing alwayes of the mercy of God: with my mouth I wyll make knowen thy trueth from one generation to another.
2 For I sayde, mercy shall for euer endure: thou hast established thy trueth in the heauens.
3 I haue made a couenaunt with my chosen: I haue sworne vnto Dauid my seruaunt.
4 I wyll establishe thy seede for euer: and buylde vp thy throne from generation to generation. Selah.
5 O God, the very heauens shall confesse thy wonderous workes: and thy trueth in the congregation of saintes.
6 For who is he in the cloudes that shal matche God: [and who] is like vnto God amongst the children gods?
7 God is very terrible in the assemblie of saintes: and to be feared aboue al them that are about him.
8 O God, Lorde of hoastes, who is like vnto thee a most mightie Lorde: and thy trueth is on euery side thee.
9 Thou rulest the ragyng of the sea: when her waues aryse, thou delayest them.
10 Thou hast brought Egypt in so bad a case as if it were wounded: thou hast scattered thyne enemies abrode with thy mightie arme.
11 The heauens are thine, the earth also is thine: thou hast layde the foundation of the rounde worlde, and of all the plentie that is therin.
12 Thou hast made the north and the south: Tabor and Hermon do reioyce in thy name.
13 Thou hast a mightie arme: thy hand is strong, and thy right hand is exalted.
14 Iustice and iudgement is the foundation of thy throne: mercy and trueth shall go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that knoweth a triumphant noyse: O God, they shall walke in the light of thy countenaunce.
16 They shall make them selues merie dayly in thy name: and in thy righteousnes they shall exalt them selues.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy louing kindnes thou wylt lift vp our hornes.
18 For our shielde is of God: and our king is of the most holy of Israel.
19 Thou hast spoken somtimes in visions vnto thy saintes: and hast sayde, I haue added ayde vpon the mightie, I haue exalted one chose out of the people.
20 I haue founde Dauid my seruaunt: I haue annoynted him with myne holye oyle.
21 Therfore my hande shalbe assured vnto him: and mine arme shall strengthen hym.
22 The enemie shal not be able to do him violence: the sonne of wickednesse shall not afflict hym.
23 I wyll breake into peeces his foes before his face: and ouerthrowe them that hate hym.
24 My trueth also and my mercy shalbe with hym: and in my name shall his horne be exalted.
25 I wyll set also his dominion in the sea: and his right hande in the fluddes.
26 He shall make inuocation vnto me: [saying] thou art my father O my God, and my fortresse of saluation.
27 And I will make him my first borne: in higher state then kinges of the earth.
28 My mercy wyll I kepe for hym euermore: and my couenaunt shal stand fast with hym.
29 His seede also wyll I make to endure for euer: and his throne as the dayes of heauen.
30 But if his chyldren forsake my lawe, and walke not in my iudgement:
31 (89:30) if they breake my statutes, and kepe not my commaundementes,
32 (89:31) I will then visite their transgressions with a rodde: and their wickednesse with stripes.
33 (89:32) Neuerthelesse, my louyng kyndnesse I wyll not take vtterly from hym: I wyl not breake my promise with hym.
34 (89:33) I wyll not violate my couenaunt: nor alter the thyng that is gone out of my lyppes.
35 (89:34) I haue sworne once by my holynesse: that I wyll not speake an vntrueth vnto Dauid.
36 (89:35) His seede shall endure for euer: and his throne shalbe as the sunne before me.
37 (89:36) [And] as the moone which shall continue for euermore: and shalbe a faithful witnesse in heauen. Selah.
38 (89:37) But thou hast abhorred & forsake thine annoynted: & art sore displeased at him.
39 (89:38) Thou hast broken the couenaunt of thy seruaunt: thou hast disgraced his crowne, [castyng it] on the grounde.
40 (89:39) Thou hast ouerthrowe all his walles: and broken downe his strong holdes.
41 (89:40) All they that go by the way spoyle hym: he is become a rebuke vnto his neyghbours.
42 (89:41) Thou hast exalted the ryght hande of his enemies: and made all his aduersaries to reioyce.
43 (89:42) Thou hast turned the harde edge of his sworde: and thou hast not lifted him vp in the battayle.
44 (89:43) Thou hast brought his noble estate to an ende: and hast cast his throne downe to the grounde.
45 (89:44) Thou hast shortened the dayes of his youth: and thou hast couered him with shame. Selah.
46 (89:45) O God howe long wylt thou hyde thy selfe? for euer? shall thy wrath burne lyke fire?
47 (89:46) Remember what I am, howe short my tyme is of lyfe: wherfore hast thou created in vayne all the sonnes of men?
48 (89:47) What man is he that lyueth and shall not see death? can he delyuer his owne soule from the hande of hell? Selah.
49 (89:48) Lorde where are become thy former olde louyng kyndnesses: [which] thou dydst sweare vnto Dauid by thy fayth [that thou wouldest perfourme.]
50 (89:49) Remember O Lorde the dishonour * of thy seruauntes: I beare in my bosome [the dishonour of] all people that be mightie.
51 (89:50) Who beyng thine enemies O God do dishonour: who do dishonour the footsteppes of thine annoynted.
52 (89:51) Blessed be God for euermore: so be it, and so be it.
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.