« | Ruth 4 |
1 Then went Booz vp to the gate, and sat him downe there: and beholde, the kinsman of which Booz spake, came by, vnto whom, he sayde: Ho, suche one, come, sit downe here. And he turned, & sat downe.
2 And he toke ten men of the elders of the citie, and said: sit ye downe here. And they sat downe.
3 And he sayd vnto the kinsman: Naomi that is come agayne out of the countrey of Moab, will sel a parcell of lande, which was our brother Elimelechs.
4 And I thought to do thee to wyt, and byd the bye it before thee inhabitauntes and elders of my people. If thou wilt redeeme it, redeeme it: but & if thou wilt not redeeme it, then tell me, that I may knowe: For there is none to redeeme it, saue thou, and I next thee. And the other aunswered: I will redeeme it.
5 Then sayd Booz: What day thou biest the fielde of the hande of Naomi, thou must bye it also of Ruth the Moabite the wyfe of the dead, to stirre vp the name of the dead vpon his inheritaunce.
6 The kinsman aunswered: I can not redeeme it, for marring of myne owne inheritaunce: redeeme thou my right to thee, for I cannot redeeme it.
7 Nowe this was the maner of olde time in Israel concerning redeeming & chaunging, for to stablishe al thing: that a man must plucke of his shoe, & geue it his neyghbour: And this was a sure witnesse in Israel.
8 Therfore the kinsman sayde to Booz, Bye it thou: and so drue of his shoe.
9 And Booz sayde vnto the elders and vnto all the people: Ye are witnesses this day, that I haue bought all that was Elimelechs, and all that was Chilions, and Mahalons, of the hande of Naomi.
10 And moreouer, Ruth the Moabite the wyfe of Mahalo, haue I purchased to be my wyfe, to stirre vp the name of the dead vpon his inheritaunce, & that the name of the dead be not put out fro among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, sayde, We are witnesses: The Lord make the woma that is come into thyne house, lyke Rahel and Lea, whiche twayne dyd buylde the house of Israel: & that thou mayest do worthyly in Ephrata, and be famous in Bethlehem.
12 Thy house be like the house of Pharez (whom Thamar bare vnto Iuda) eue of the seede whiche the Lord shall geue thee of this young woman.
13 And so Booz toke Ruth, and she was his wyfe: And when he went in vnto her, the Lorde gaue, that she conceaued and bare a sonne.
14 And the women sayde vnto Naomi: Blessed be the Lorde, the whiche hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, and his name shalbe continued in Israel.
15 And that shall bring thy lyfe agayne, and cherishe thyne olde age: For thy daughter in lawe whiche loueth thee, hath borne vnto him, and she is better to thee then seuen sonnes.
16 And Naomi toke the child, & layed it in her lappe, and became nurse vnto it.
17 And the women her neyghbours gaue it a name, saying: There is a child borne to Naomi, & called it Obed: the same is the father of Isai, the father of Dauid.
18 These are the generations of Pharez, Phares begat Hezron,
19 Hezron begat Ram, Ram begat Aminadab,
20 Aminadab begat Naasson, Naasson begat Salmon,
21 Salmon begat Booz, Booz begat Obed,
22 Obed begat Isai, Isai begat Dauid.
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.