« | Revelation 19 | » |
1 And after that I heard a great voyce of much people in heauen, saying Alleluia: Saluation, and glory, and honour, and power, be ascribed to the Lorde our God:
2 For true and ryghteous are his iudgementes, for he hath iudged the great whore which dyd corrupt ye earth with her fornication, and hath auenged the blood of his seruauntes of her hande.
3 And agayne they sayde Alleluia: and her smoke rose vp for euermore.
4 And the xxiiij. elders & the foure beastes fell downe, & worshipped God that sate on the throne, saying Amen, Alleluia.
5 And a voyce came out of the throne, saying: Praise our Lord God all ye that are his seruauntes, & ye that feare hym both small and great.
6 And I hearde the voyce of much people, euen as the voyce of many waters, and as the voyce of strong thundringes, saying, Alleluia: for the Lorde our God omnipotent raigneth.
7 Let vs be glad, & reioyce, & geue honor to hym: for the mariage of the lambe is come, & his wyfe made her selfe redy.
8 And to her was graunted that she should be arayed with pure and goodly raynes: For the raynes is the ryghteousnes of saintes.
9 And he sayde vnto me, write: Happy are they which are called vnto the supper of the lambes mariage. And he said vnto me: These are the true sayinges of God.
10 And I fell at his feete to worship him. And he saide vnto me: See thou do it not, for I am thy felowe seruaunt, and of thy brethren, euen of them that haue the testimonie of Iesus. Worship God: For the testimonie of Iesus, is the spirite of prophesie.
11 And I sawe heauen open, & beholde a white horse, and he that sate vpon him was called faythfull and true, and in ryghteousnesse he doth iudge and make battayle.
12 His eyes were as a flambe of fire, and on his head were many crownes, and he had a name written, that no man knewe but he hym selfe.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipt in blood, and his name is called the worde of God.
14 And the warryers which were in heauen folowed hym vppon whyte horses, clothed with whyte and pure raynes.
15 And out of his mouth went a sharpe sworde, that with it he shoulde smyte the heathen: and he shall rule the with a rodde of yron. And he trode the winefat of fiercenesse and wrath of almightie God.
16 And hath on his vesture and on his thygh a name written, King of kinges, and Lorde of lordes.
17 And I sawe an angell stande in the sunne, and he cryed with a loude voyce, saying to all the fowles that flee by the myddes of heauen: Come, and gather your selues together vnto the supper of the great God:
18 That ye may eate the fleshe of kinges, and the fleshe of hye capitaynes, and the fleshe of myghtie men, and the fleshe of horses and of them that syt on them, and the fleshe of all free men, and bonde men, and of small and great.
19 And I sawe the beast, and the kinges of the earth, and their warryers gathered together, to make battayle agaynst hym that sate on the horse, and agaynst his souldyers.
20 And the beast was taken, and with hym that false prophete that wrought miracles before hym, with which he deceaued them that receaued the beastes marke, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast quicke into a ponde of fire, burnyng with brymstone:
21 And the remnaunt were slayne with the sworde of hym that sate vppon the horse, whiche sworde proceaded out of his mouth, and all the fowles were fylled with their fleshe.
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.