« | Revelation 3 | » |
1 And write vnto the Angel of the Churche that is at Sardis, this sayth he that hath the seuen spirites of God, and the seuen starres. I knowe thy workes: thou hast a name that thou lyuest, and thou art dead.
2 Be awake, and strength the thynges which remayne, that are redie to dye: For I haue not founde thy workes perfect before God.
3 Remember therfore howe thou hast receaued and heard, and holde fast, and repent. If thou shalt not watche, I wyll come on thee as a thiefe, and thou shalt not knowe what houre I wyll come vpon thee.
4 Thou hast a fewe names in Sardis, which haue not defiled their garmetes, and they shall walke with me in white, for they are worthie.
5 He that ouercommeth, shalbe thus clothed in whyte aray, and I wyll not put out his name out of the booke of life, and I will confesse his name before my father, and before his Angels.
6 Let him that hath an eare, heare what the spirite sayth vnto the Churches.
7 And write vnto ye Angel of the Church of Philadelphia, this sayth he that is holy and true, which hath the key of Dauid, which openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth.
8 I knowe thy workes: Beholde, I haue set before thee an open doore, and no man can shut it, for thou hast a litle strength, & hast kept my sayinges: and hast not denyed my name.
9 Beholde, I make them of the synagogue of Satan, which call them selues Iewes and are not, but do lye: Behold, I wyll make them that they shal come and worshyp before thy feete, and shall knowe that I haue loued thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the wordes of my patience, therfore I wyll kepe thee from the houre of temptation, which wyll come vpon all the worlde, to trie them that dwel vpon the earth.
11 Beholde, I come shortly: Holde that which thou haste, that no man take away thy crowne.
12 Hym that ouercometh, wyll I make a pyller in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: And I wyll write vpon him the name of my God, and the name of the citie of my God, newe Hierusalem, which commeth downe out of heauen from my God, and [I wyll write vpon hym] my newe name.
13 Let hym that hath an eare, heare what the spirite sayth vnto ye Churches.
14 And vnto the Angel of the Churche which is in Laodicea, write: This saith Amen, the faythfull and true witnesse, the begynnyng of the creatures of God.
15 I knowe thy workes, that thou arte neither colde nor hotte: I woulde thou were colde or hotte.
16 So the, because thou art luke warme, and neither colde nor hotte, I wyll spewe thee out of my mouth:
17 Because thou sayest, I am riche and increased with goodes, and haue neede of nothyng: & knowest not howe that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poore, and blynde, and naked.
18 I counsel thee to bye of me gold tryed in the fyre, that thou mayest be riche, and whyte rayment, that thou mayest be clothed, that thy fylthie nakednesse do not appeare, and annoynt thyne eyes with eye salue, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I loue, I rebuke and chasten: Be feruent therfore, & repent.
20 Beholde, I stande at the doore and knocke: If any man heare my voyce, and open the doore, I wyll come in to hym, and wyll suppe with hym, and he with me.
21 To hym that ouercommeth, wyll I graunt to sitte with me in my throne, euen as I ouercame, and haue sitten with my father in his throne.
22 Let hym yt hath an eare, heare what the spirite sayth vnto the Churches.
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.