« | Psalm 96 | » |
1 Syng you vnto God a newe song: sing ye vnto God all [that be in] the earth.
2 Syng ye vnto God and blesse his name: set foorth in wordes from day to day his saluation.
3 Declare his glory amongst the heathen: and his wonderous actes amongst all the people.
4 For God is great and worthy of all prayse: he is more to be feared then all gods.
5 As for all the gods of the heathen they be but idoles: and it is God that made the heauens.
6 Honour and maiestie be before hym: power and excellentnesse be in his sanctuarie.
7 Geue vnto God O ye families of the people: geue vnto God glorie & power.
8 Geue vnto God glorie [due] vnto his name: bryng an offeryng, and come into his courtes.
9 Worshyp you God in the maiestie of holynesse: be you in dread of his face all [that be in] the earth.
10 Set it foorth in wordes among the heathen that God raigneth: and that the worlde is set of a sure foundation, it shall not be remoued, he wyll iudge the people accordyng to equitie.
11 The heauens shall reioyce, and the earth be glad: the sea shall make a noyse and all that is therin.
12 The fielde shalbe ioyfull and all that is in it: then shall all the trees of the wood reioyce before the face of God.
13 For he commeth, for he commeth to iudge the earth: he will iudge the world accordyng to iustice, and the people accordyng to his trueth.
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.