« | Song of Solomon 6 | » |
1 Whyther is thy loue gone then O thou fairest among women? whyther is thy loue departed, and we wyll seke hym with thee?
2 My loue is gone downe into his garden vnto the sweete smellyng beddes, that he may refreshe hym selfe in the garden, & gather lilies.
3 My loue is myne, and I am his, which feedeth among the lilies.
4 Thou are beautifull O my loue as is [the place] Thirza, thou art faire as Hierusalem, fearefull as an armie of men with their banners.
5 Turne away thine eyes from me, for they haue set me on fire: Thy heery lockes are lyke a flocke of goates shorne vpon the mount of Gilead.
6 Thy teeth are lyke a flocke of shorne sheepe which go out of the wasshyng place, where euery one beareth twinnes, and not one vnfruitfull among them.
7 Thy cheekes are like a peece of a pomegranate within thy lockes of heere.
8 There are threescore queenes, fourescore wiues, and damselles without number.
9 One is my doue, one is my dearlyng: She is the only beloued of her mother, and deare vnto her that bare her: When the daughters sawe her, they sayde she was blessed, yea the queenes & wiues praysed her.
10 What is she this that loketh foorth as the mornyng, faire as the moone, cleare as the sunne, and fearfull as an armie of men with their banners?
11 I went downe into the nut garden to see what grewe by the brookes, and to loke yf the vineyarde florished, or yf the pomegranates were not foorth.
12 I knewe not that my soule had made me the charyot of the people that be vnder tribute.
13 Turne agayne turne agayne O thou perfect one, turne agayne turne agayne and we wyll loke vpon thee: What will ye see in the Sulamite? She is lyke men of warre singing in a companie.
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.