« | Revelation 18 | » |
1 And after that, I sawe another angell come from heauen, hauyng great power, and the earth was lyghtened with his glorie.
2 And he cryed myghtyly with a strong voyce, saying: Great Babylon is fallen is fallen, and is become the habitation of deuyls, and the holde of all foule spirites, and a cage of all vncleane and hatefull byrdes:
3 For all nations haue dronken of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, & the kinges of the earth haue committed fornication with her, & the marchauntes of the earth are waxed riche of the aboundaunce of her pleasures.
4 And I hearde another voyce from heauen say: Come awaye from her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sinnes, and that ye receaue not of her plagues.
5 For her sinnes are gone vp to heauen, and God hath remembred her wickednesse.
6 Rewarde her euen as she rewarded you, and geue her double accordyng to her workes, and powre in double to her in the same cuppe which she fylled vnto you.
7 And as much as she glorified her selfe & lyued wantonly, so much powre ye in for her of punishement & sorowe: for she said in her heart, I sit being a queene, and am no wydowe, and shall see no sorowe.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and sorowe, and hunger, and she shalbe brent with fire: for strong is the Lorde whiche shall iudge her.
9 And they shal bewayl her, & the kinges of the earth shall lament for her, which haue committed fornication with her, & haue lyued wantonly with her, when they shal see the smoke of her burnyng.
10 And shall stande a farre of for feare of her punishment, saying: Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that myghtie citie, for at one houre is thy iudgement come.
11 And the marchauntes of the earth shall wepe and wayle ouer her, for no man wyll bye their ware any more.
12 The ware of golde and siluer, and precious stones, neither of pearle, & raynes, and purple, and sylke, and skarlet, and all thinne wood, and all maner vessels of yuorie, and all maner vessels of most precious wood, and of brasse, and yron, and marble,
13 And synamon, and odours, and oyntmentes, and frankensence, and wine, and oyle, and fine floure, and wheate, & beastes, and sheepe, and horses, & charrets, and bodies, and soules of men.
14 And the apples that thy soule lusted after are departed from thee, and all thynges which were daintie and had in price are departed from thee, and thou shalt fynde them no more.
15 The marchauntes of these thynges whiche were waxed ryche, shall stande a farre of fro her for feare of the punishment of her, wepyng and waylyng,
16 And saying: Alas, alas, that great citie, that was clothed in raynes, and purple, and skarlet, and decked with golde and precious stones, and pearles:
17 For at one houre so great ryches is come to naught. And euery shippe gouernour, & all they that occupie shippes, and shippemen which worke in the sea, stoode a farre of,
18 And cryed, when they sawe the smoke of her burnyng, saying: what citie is lyke vnto this great citie?
19 And they cast dust on their heades, & cryed, wepyng & waylyng, and saying: Alas, alas, that great citie, wherein were made riche all that had shippes in the sea, by reason of her costlynesse, for at one houre is she made desolate.
20 Reioyce ouer her thou heauen, and ye holy apostles and prophetes: for God hath geuen your iudgement on her.
21 And a myghtie angell toke vp a stone lyke a great mylstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: With suche violence shall that great citie Babylon be cast, & shalbe founde no more.
22 And the voyce of harpers, and musitions, & of pypers, and trumpetters, shall be heard no more in thee, and no craftes man, of whatsoeuer craft he be, shall be founde any more in thee, and the sounde of a myll shall be heard no more in thee:
23 And the lyght of a candle shall shyne no more in thee, and the voyce of the brydegrome and of the bryde shall be hearde no more in thee: for thy marchaunts were the great men of ye earth, and with thyne inchauntment were deceaued all nations:
24 And in her was founde the blood of the prophetes, and of the saintes, and of all that were slayne vpon the earth.
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.