« | Isaiah 3 | » |
1 For lo, the Lorde God of hoastes doth take away from Hierusalem and Iuda all maner of stay, all stay of meate and drynke,
2 The captayne and the souldiour, the iudge and the prophete, the prudent and the aged man,
3 The captayne of fiftie & the honorable, the senatour, the cunnyng artificer, and the eloquent oratour.
4 And I shall geue children to be their princes, and babes shall rule ouer them.
5 And the people shall eche one of them violently oppresse another, and euery one agaynst his neyghbour: The boy shall presume agaynst the elder, and the person of lowe degree agaynst the honorable.
6 Yea one shall take a friende of his owne kinrede by the bosome, and say: thou hast clothyng, thou shalt be our head, and stay this ruine with thy hande.
7 Then shall he sweare and say, I can not helpe you: there is neither meate nor clothyng in my house, make me no ruler of the people.
8 For Hierusalem and Iuda must decay: because that both their wordes and counsayles are agaynst the Lorde to prouoke the presence of his maiestie to anger.
9 Their very countenaunce bewrayeth the, yea they declare their owne sinnes [themselues] as Sodome, they hide it not: Wo be to their owne soules, for they haue rewarded euyll vnto them selues.
10 Say to the ryghteous that it shall go well with them: for they shall eate the fruite of their owne studies.
11 [But] wo be vnto the wicked, for it shalbe euyll with hym: for he shalbe rewarded after his owne workes.
12 Children are extortioners of my people, and women rule ouer them: O my people, thy leaders deceaue thee, and corrupt the way of thy footsteppes.
13 The Lorde is here to commune of the matter, & standeth to iudge the people.
14 The Lorde shall enter into iudgement with the elders and princes of his people, [and shall say to them:] It is ye that haue burnt vp my vineyarde, the spoyle of the poore is in your houses.
15 What meane ye that ye bray [as in a morter] my people, and grinde the faces of the poore? saith the Lorde God of hoastes.
16 Moreouer the Lord hath said, seing the daughters of Sion are waxen proude, & walke with stretched foorth neckes, and wanton lokes, goyng and trippyng nicely, and tinckelyng with their feete:
17 Therfore shall the Lorde shaue the heades of the daughters of Sion, and shall discouer their filthinesse.
18 In that day shall the Lord take away the gorgiousnesse of the attire about their feete, & the caules, and the rounde tires [after the fashion of the moone.]
19 The sweete perfumes, and the bracelettes, and the mufflers,
20 The bonnettes, and the sloppes, and the head bandes, and the tablettes, and the earynges,
21 And rynges, and nose iewels:
22 The costly apparell, and the vayles, and the wimples, & the crispyng pinnes,
23 And the glasses, and the fine linnen, and the hoodes, and the lawnes.
24 And in steade of good smell there shalbe stincke, and in steade of their girdle a rent, and for well set heere there shalbe baldnesse, in steade of a stomacher a sacke cloth, & [sunne] burnyng for beautie.
25 Thy men shal perishe with the sword, and thy valiaunt souldiours in the battayle [O Hierusalem.]
26 And her gates shall mourne and bewayle: and she deyng desolate, shall syt vpon the grounde.
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.