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1 And Abraham departed thence towarde the south countrey, & dwelled betweene Cades and Sur, and soiourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham sayde of Sara his wyfe, she is my syster: And Abimelech kyng of Gerar sent, and fet Sara away.
3 But God came to Abimelech by night in a dreame, and saide to hym: See, thou art but a dead man for the womans sake whiche thou hast taken away, for she is a mans wyfe.
4 But Abimelech had not yet touched her: and he sayde, Lorde wylt thou slay ryghteous people?
5 Saide not he vnto me, she is my sister? yea and she her selfe sayde, he is my brother: with a single heart, and innocent handes haue I done this.
6 And God sayde vnto him in a dreame: I wote well that thou dyddest it in the singlenesse of thy heart: I kept thee also that thou shuldest not sinne against me, and therefore suffred I thee not to touche her.
7 Nowe therefore delyuer the man his wyfe agayne, for he is a prophete, and he shall pray for thee, that thou mayest lyue: But and yf thou delyuer her not agayne, be sure that thou shalt dye the death, [both thou] and all that thou hast.
8 Therefore, Abimelech rysyng vp betimes in the mornyng, called all his seruauntes, and tolde all these sayinges in their eares: and the men were sore afrayde.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, & sayde vnto hym: What hast thou done vnto vs? & what haue I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me & on my kingdome [so] great a sinne? thou hast done deedes vnto me that ought not to be done.
10 And Abimelech saide vnto Abraham: what sawest thou that thou hast done this thyng?
11 Abraha aunswered: For I thought [thus] surely the feare of God is not in this place, and they shal slaye me for my wyues sake.
12 Yet in very deede she is my sister, for she is ye daughter of my father, though she be not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wyfe.
13 And after God caused me to wander out of my fathers house, I sayde vnto her: this kyndnesse shalt thou shewe vnto me, in all places where we come, that thou say of me, he is my brother.
14 Then toke Abimelech sheepe and oxen, men seruauntes and women seruauntes, & gaue [them] vnto Abraham, and delyuered hym Sara his wyfe agayne.
15 And Abimelech sayde: beholde my lande lyeth before thee, dwell where it pleaseth thee best.
16 But vnto Sara he saide: See I haue geuen thy brother a thousand peeces of syluer: beholde, it is as a coueryng of thyne eyes vnto all that are with thee, and to all [other:] and thus she was reproued.
17 And so Abraham prayed vnto God, & God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maydens, & they bare chyldren.
18 For the Lorde had closed vp all the wombes of the house of Abimelech, because of Abrahams wyfe.
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.