« | Romans 3 | » |
1 What preferment then hath ye Iew? or what auauntageth circumcision?
2 Much euery way. First, for because yt vnto them were committed ye wordes of God.
3 What then though some of them dyd not beleue? Shal their vnbeliefe make the fayth of God without effect?
4 God forbyd. Yea let God be true, and euery man a lyer, as it is writte: That thou myghtest be iustified in thy sayinges, and ouercome when thou art iudged.
5 But yf our vnrighteousnes setteth foorth the righteousnes of God, what shall we saye? Is God vnryghteous which taketh vengeaunce? I speake after the maner of men,
6 God forbyd. For howe then shall God iudge the worlde?
7 For yf the trueth of God hath more abounded through my lye, vnto his glory, why am I as yet iudged as a sinner?
8 And not rather (as men speake euyll of vs, and as some affirme that we say) let vs do euyll, that good may come therof? Whose dampnation is iuste.
9 What then? Are we better [then they?] No, in no wise. For we haue alredy proued, howe that both Iewes and Gentiles are all vnder sinne.
10 As it is written: There is none righteous, no not one.
11 There is none that vnderstandeth, there is none that seketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the waye, they are all vnprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one.
13 Their throte is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they haue deceaued, the poyso of aspes is vnder their lippes.
14 Whose mouth is full of cursyng and bytternesse.
15 Their feete are swyft to shed blood.
16 Heartes griefe & miserie are in their wayes.
17 And they way of peace haue they not knowen.
18 There is no feare of God before their eyes.
19 Nowe we knowe that what thynges so euer the lawe saith, it saith it to them which are vnder the lawe: That all mouthes maye be stopped, and that al ye world may be indaungered to God.
20 Because that by the deedes of the lawe, there shall no flesshe be iustified in his syght. For by the lawe, commeth the knowledge of sinne.
21 But nowe is the righteousnes of God declared without the lawe, beyng witnessed by the testimonie of the lawe and of the prophetes.
22 The ryghteousnes of God [commeth] by the fayth of Iesus Christe, vnto all and vpon all them that beleue. There is no difference:
23 For all haue synned, and are destitute of the glorie of God,
24 Iustified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christe Iesu:
25 Whom God hath set foorth to be a propitiatio, through fayth in his blood, to declare his ryghteousnes, in that he forgeueth the sinnes that are past,
26 Which God dyd suffer, to shew at this tyme his righteousnes, that he might be iuste, & the iustifier of hym which beleueth on Iesus.
27 Where is then thy boastyng? It is excluded. By what lawe? Of workes? Nay, but by the lawe of fayth.
28 Therfore, we holde that a man is iustified by fayth, without the deedes of the lawe.
29 Is he the God of the Iewes only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, euen of the Gentiles also.
30 For it is one God whiche shall iustifie the circumcision by fayth, and vncircumcision through fayth.
31 Do we then destroy the lawe through fayth? God forbyd: But we rather mayntayne the lawe.
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.