« | Revelation 10 | » |
1 And I sawe another myghtie Angel come downe fro heaue, clothed with a cloude, and ye raynebowe vpon his head, and his face as it were the sunne, and his feete as it were pillers of fyre.
2 And he had in his hande a litle booke open, and he put his ryght foote vpon the sea, and his left foote on the earth:
3 And cryed with a loude voyce, as whe a Lion roreth: And when he had cryed, seuen thunders vttered their voyces.
4 And when the seuen thunders had vttered their voyces, I was about to write: and I hearde a voyce from heauen, saying vnto me: seale vp those thinges which the seuen thunders vttered, and write them not.
5 And the Angel which I sawe stande vpon the sea and vpon the earth, lyft vp his hande to heauen,
6 And sware by hym that lyueth for euermore, which created heauen and the thynges that therin are, & the earth and the thinges that therin are, and the sea, and the thynges which therin are, that there shoulde be no longer tyme.
7 But in the dayes of the voyce of the seuenth Angel, when he shall begyn to blowe, euen the misterie of God shalbe finished, as he declared to his seruautes the prophetes.
8 And the voyce which I hearde from heauen, spake vnto me agayne, & sayde: Go, and take the litle booke which is open in the hande of the Angel, which standeth vpon the sea and vpon ye earth.
9 And I went vnto the Angel, & sayde vnto hym, geue me the litle booke. And he sayde vnto me, take it and eate it vp, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shalbe in thy mouth as sweete as hony.
10 And I toke the litle booke out of the Angels hande, and ate it vp, and it was in my mouth as sweete as hony: and assoone as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11 And he sayde vnto me, thou must prophesie agayne among the people, and nations, and tongues, & to many kinges.
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.