Zechariah 1 | » |
1 In the eyght moneth of the seconde yere of king Darius, came the worde of the Lord vnto Zacharias the sonne of Barachias the sonne of Addo the prophete, saying:
2 The Lorde hath ben sore displeased with your forefathers.
3 And say thou vnto them, thus sayth the Lorde of hoastes: Turne you vnto me saith the Lord of hoastes, & I wil turne vnto you, sayth the Lord of hoastes.
4 Be ye not like your forefathers, vnto whom prophetes cryed, saying, thus sayth the Lorde of hoastes, Turne you from your euyl wayes, and from your wicked imaginations: But they woulde not heare nor regarde me, sayth the Lorde.
5 What is nowe become of your forefathers? & do the prophetes liue for euer?
6 But did not my wordes and statutes whiche I commaunded by my seruauntes the prophetes take hold of your forefathers? and they returned, & sayde: Like as the Lorde of hoastes determined to do vnto vs according to our owne wayes and imaginations, euen so hath he dealt with vs.
7 Upon the twentie and fourth day of the eleuenth moneth, (whiche is the moneth Sebah) in the seconde yere of Darius, came the word of the Lord vnto Zacharias the sonne of Barachias the sonne of Addo the prophete, saying:
8 I sawe by night, and behold, there sate one vpon a red horse, and stoode still among the myrre trees that were in a botome: and behinde hym were there red, speckled, and whyte horses.
9 Then sayde I, O my Lorde, what are these? And the angel that talked with me, sayde vnto me: I will shewe thee what these be.
10 And the man that stoode among the myrre trees aunswered, and said: These are they whom the Lorde hath sent to go thorowe the world.
11 And they aunswered the angel of the Lorde that stoode among the myrre trees, and sayd: We haue gone thorowe the world, and beholde all the world sitteth still, and is carelesse.
12 Then the lordes angel gaue aunswere, and saide: O lorde of hoastes, how long wylt thou be vnmerciful to Hierusalem, and to the cities of Iuda, with whom thou hast ben displeased now these three score and ten yeres?
13 So the Lorde gaue a louing and a comfortable aunswere vnto the angel that talked with me.
14 And the angel that communed with me, saide vnto me: Crye thou, & speake, Thus saith the Lorde of hoastes: I am exceeding ielous ouer Hierusalem and Sion,
15 And sore displeased at the carelesse heathen: for where as I was but a litle angry, they helped forward the affliction.
16 Therfore thus saith the Lorde: I wyl returne vnto Hierusalem in tender mercie, so that my house shalbe builded in it, saith the Lorde of hoastes: yea, and the lyne shalbe stretched vpon Hierusale
17 Crye also and speake, thus saith the Lorde of hoastes: My cities shalbe in good prosperitie againe, the Lorde shall yet comforte Sion, & choose Hierusalem.
18 Then lyft I vp myne eyes and sawe, and beholde, foure hornes.
19 And I saide vnto the angel that talked with me, what be these? He aunswered me, These are the hornes which haue scattered Iuda, Israel, and Hierusalem.
20 And the Lorde shewed me foure carpenters.
21 Then saide I: what wyll these do? He aunswered & said: These are the hornes which haue scattered Iuda, so that no man durst lyft vp his head: but these are come to fray them away, and to cast out the hornes of the Gentiles which lyft vp their horne ouer the lande of Iuda to scatter it abroade.
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.