« | Revelation 11 | » |
1 And the was geuen me a reede lyke vnto a rod, and the angel stoode by, saying: Rise & meate ye temple of God, & the aulter, and them that worshippe therein:
2 But the court which is without the temple, cast out, and meate it not: for it is geuen vnto the gentiles, and the holy citie shall they treade vnder foote fourtie and two monethes.
3 And I wyl geue power vnto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesie a thousande, two hundred, and threescore dayes, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are two oliue trees, and two candlestickes, standyng before the God of the earth.
5 And yf any man wyll hurt them, fyre shal proceade out of their mouthes, & cosume their enemies: And if any man wil hurt them, this wyse must he be kylled.
6 These haue power to shut heauen, that it rayne not in the dayes of their prophesiyng: and haue power ouer waters, to turne them to blood, and to smite the earth with all maner plagues, as often as they wyll.
7 And whe they haue finished their testimonie, the beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit, shall make warre against them, and shal ouercome them, and kyll them.
8 And their bodyes shall lye in ye streates of the great citie, which spiritually is called Sodome and Egypt, where our Lorde was crucified.
9 And they of the people, and kinredes, and tongues, and they of the nations, shall see their bodyes three dayes and an halfe, & shall not suffer their bodyes to be put in graues.
10 And they that dwell vpon the earth shal reioyce ouer them, and be glad, and shall sende gyftes one to another: for these two prophetes vexed them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three dayes and an halfe, the spirite of lyfe [commyng] from God, shall enter into them: And they shall stande vp vpon their feete, & great feare shall come vpon the which sawe them.
12 And they shall heare a great voyce from heauen, saying vnto them, come vp hyther. And they shall ascende vp to heauen in a cloude, and their enemies shall see them.
13 And the same houre shall there be a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the citie shall fall, and in the earthquake shalbe slaine names of men seuen thousande: and the remnaunt shalbe afraide, and geue glorie to the God of heauen.
14 The seconde wo is past, and beholde the thirde wo wyll come anone.
15 And the seuenth angell blewe, & there were made greate voyces in heauen, saying: the kyngdomes of this worlde are our Lordes, and his Christes, and he shall raigne for euermore.
16 And the 24 elders which sit before God on their seates, fel vpon their faces, and worshipped God,
17 Saying: we geue thee thankes, O Lorde God almyghtie, which art, and wast, and art to come: for thou hast receaued thy great myght, & hast raigned.
18 And the nations were angrie, and thy wrath is come, and the tyme of the dead that they shoulde be iudged, and that thou shouldest geue rewarde vnto thy seruauntes the prophetes and saintes, and to them that feare thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19 And the temple of God was opened in heauen, and there were seene in his temple the arke of his testament: and there folowed lyghtninges, and voyces, and thundringes, and earthquake, and much hayle.
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.