« | Zechariah 4 | » |
1 And the angell that talked with me, came againe, and waked me, as a man that is raysed out of his sleepe,
2 And saide vnto me: what seest thou? And I saide: I haue loked, and beholde, a candelsticke all of golde, with a boule vpon it, and his seuen lampes therein, & vpon euery lampe seuen pypes.
3 And two olyue trees thereby: one vpon the right side of the boule, & the other vpon the left side.
4 So I aunswered, and spake to the angell that talked with me, saying, O my Lorde, what are these?
5 The angell that talked with me aunswered and saide vnto me: Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No my Lorde.
6 He aunswered and saide vnto me: This is the worde of the Lorde vnto Zorobabel, saying, Neither through an hoast of men, nor through strength: but through my spirite, saith the Lorde of hoastes.
7 What art thou great mountaine before Zorobabel? thou must be made euen, and he shall bring foorth the head stone therof, with showtinges, crying, Grace grace vnto it.
8 Moreouer, the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying:
9 The handes of Zorobabel haue layde the foundation of this house, his hands shal also finishe it: and thou shalt knowe that the Lorde of hoastes hath sent me vnto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small thinges? they shall reioyce, and shall see the stone of tynne in the hande of Zorobabel: these seuen are the eyes of the lord, which go through ye whole worlde.
11 Then aunswered I, & saide vnto him: What are these two olyue trees vpon the right & left side of the candelsticke?
12 I spake moreouer, and saide vnto him: What be these two olyue braunches which through the two golden pypes emptie them selues into the golde?
13 He aunswered me & said: Knowest thou not what these be? & I said, no my lord.
14 Then said he: These are the two oliue braunches, that stand with the ruler of the whole earth.
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.