« | Amos 4 | » |
1 Heare this worde ye kyne of Basan, that are in the mountaine of Samaria, which oppresse the poore, & destroy the needy, which say to their maisters, Bring and let vs drinke.
2 The Lord God hath sworne by his holinesse, that lo, the dayes shal come vpon you, that he will take you away with thornes, and your posteritie with fishe hookes.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, euery [kowe] forward: and ye shal cast your selues out of the palace, sayth the Lorde.
4 Come to Bethel, and transgresse: to Gilgal, and multiplie transgression: and bring your sacrifices in the morning, and your tythes after three yeres.
5 And offer a thankes geuing of leauen, publishe & proclayme the free offringes: for this liketh you O ye children of Israel, sayth the Lorde God.
6 Therfore haue I geue you cleannesse of teeth in all your cities, & scarsenesse of bread in all your places: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, sayth the Lorde.
7 And also I haue withholden the rayne from you when there were yet three monethes to the haruest, and I caused it to rayne vpon one citie, and haue not caused it to rayne vpon an other citie: one peece was raigned vpon, & the peece whervpon it rayned not, withered.
8 So two [or] three cities wandred vnto one citie to drinke water, but they were not satisfied: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, sayth the Lorde.
9 I haue smitten you with blasting and mildeaw, your great gardens, and your vineyardes, and your figge trees, & your oliue trees, dyd the palmer worme denoure: yet haue ye not returned vnto me sayth the Lorde.
10 Pestilence haue I sent among you after the maner of Egypt: your young men haue I slayne with the sworde, & haue taken away your horses, and I haue made the stinke of your tentes to come euen vp into your nostrels: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, sayth the Lorde.
11 I haue ouerthrowen you, as God ouerthrewe Sodoma and Gomorra: and ye were as a fire brande pluckt out of the burning: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, sayth the Lorde.
12 Therfore thus will I do vnto thee O Israel, [and] because I will do this vnto thee, prepare to meete thy God O Israel.
13 For lo, he that fourmeth the mountaynes, and createth the winde, and declareth vnto man what is his thought, whiche maketh the morning darkenesse, and walketh vpon the hie places of the earth, the Lorde God of hoastes is his name.
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.