« | Isaiah 7 | » |
1 It happened in the tyme of Ahaz ye sonne of Iotham, whiche was the sonne of Uziah king of Iuda, that Razin the kyng of Syria, and Pechah the sonne of Romeliah kyng of Israel, went vp towarde Hierusalem to besiege it: but Razin was not able to winne it.
2 Nowe when the house of Dauid hearde worde thereof, that Syria and Ephraim was cofederate together, his heart quaked, yea and the heartes also of his people, lyke as when the trees of the wood are moued with the winde.
3 Then sayd God vnto Esai: Go meete Ahaz thou and thy sonne Sear Iasub, at the head of the ouer poole in the footepath by the fullers grounde,
4 And say vnto him: Take heede to thy selfe and be styll, feare not, neither be faynt hearted, for these two tayles, that is, for these two smoking firebrandes, the wrath and furiousnesse of Razin the Syrian, and Romelies sonne:
5 Because that the Syrian, Ephraim, and Romelies sonne haue wickedly conspired against thee,
6 Saying, we wyll go vp against Iuda, vexe them, and bryng them vnder vs, and set a kyng there, euen the sonne of Tabel:
7 Thus saith the Lorde God thereto, It shal not so go foorth, neither so come to passe.
8 For the head citie of the Syrians is Damascus, but the head of Damascus is Razin: And after threscore and fiue yeres shall Ephraim be no more a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, but the head of Samaria is Romelies sonne: if ye beleue not, surely ye shall not be established.
10 Moreouer, God spake agayne vnto Ahaz, saying:
11 Require to thy selfe a token of the Lorde thy God, whether it be towarde the depth beneath, or toward the height aboue.
12 Then said Ahaz, I will require none, neither wyll I tempt the Lorde.
13 The prophete aunswered, Then heare ye of the house of Dauid: Is it not inough for you that ye be greeuous vnto me, but ye must greeue my God also?
14 Therefore the Lorde hym selfe shall geue you a token: Beholde, a virgin shall conceaue and beare a sonne, and shall call his name Emmanuel.
15 Butter and honye shall he eate, vntill he knowe to refuse the euyll and choose the good.
16 For or euer the chylde come to knowledge to eschewe the euil and choose the good, the lande that thou so abhorrest shalbe desolate of both her kynges.
17 The Lord also shall sende a tyme vppon thee, vpon thy people, and vpon thy fathers house, such as neuer came since the tyme that Ephraim departed from Iuda, namely thorowe the kyng of the Assyrians.
18 For at the same tyme shall the Lorde hisse for the flyes that are about the water of Egypt, and for the bees in the Assyrians lande:
19 These shall come and shall light all in the desolate valleys, in the holes of stones, and vpon all thornie and bushie places.
20 At the same time shal the Lord shaue the heere of the head, and the feete, and the bearde cleane of, with the raser that he shall hyre beyonde the waters: namely with the king of the Assyrians.
21 At the same time shal a man nurrishe a young cowe, and two sheepe.
22 Then because of the aboundaunce of mylke that they geue he shall eate butter: so that euery one which remayneth in the lande shall eate butter and hony.
23 At the same time al vineyardes wherin there shalbe a thousand vines worth a thousande siluerlinges, shalbe turned to bryers and thornes.
24 They shall come into the lande with arrowes and bowes, because all the lande shall become bryers and thornes.
25 (7:24) As for all hilles that shalbe digged with the mattocke, there shall not come vpon them any feare of bryers and thornes: but the cattell shalbe driuen thyther, and the sheepe shal feede there.
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.