Malachi 1 | » |
1 The burthen of the word of the Lorde to Israel, by the ministerie of Malachi.
2 I haue loued you saith the Lord: yet ye say, wherein hast thou loued vs? Was not Esau Iacobs brother, saith the Lorde, yet loued I Iacob?
3 And I hated Esau, & made his mountaynes waste, and his heritage a wildernesse for Dragons.
4 Though Edom say, We are impouerished, but we wil returne and builde the desolate places: yet saith the Lorde of hoastes, They shal builde, but I wil destroy: & they shal cal them, The border of wickednes, & the people with whom the Lorde is angry for euer.
5 And your eyes shall see: and you shal say, The Lorde wylbe magnified vpon the borders of Israel.
6 A sonne honoureth his father, and a seruaunt his maister: If then I be a father, where is myne honour? if I be a maister, where is my feare? Saith the Lorde God of hoastes to you O ye pristes that despise my name, and ye say, Wherein haue we despised thy name?
7 Ye offer vpon myne aulter vncleane bread, and say, Wherein haue we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lorde is not to be regarded.
8 When ye bring the blinde for sacrifice, [you say] it is not euil: and when ye bring the lame and sicke, [you say] it is not euil: offer it nowe to thy prince, wyll he be content with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lorde of hoastes?
9 And now I pray you, pray before God, that he may haue mercie vpon vs: (this [euill] hath ben done by your meanes) wyll he regarde your persons, saith the Lorde of hoastes?
10 Who is there euen among you that would shutte the doores, and kindle not fire on myne aulter in vaine? I haue no pleasure in you, saith the Lorde of hoastes, neither wyll I accept an offering at your hande.
11 From the rysing of the sunne vnto the going downe of the same my name is great among the gentiles, and in euery place incense shalbe offred to my name, & a pure offering: for my name is great among the very heathen, saith the Lord of hoastes.
12 But ye haue polluted it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, & the fruite thereof, [euen] his meate is not to be regarded.
13 And ye saide, beholde [it is] a weerynesse, and you haue snuffed at it saith the Lorde of hoastes, and ye haue offered the stolne, and the lame, and the sicke, ye haue offered an offering: shoulde I accept this of your handes, saith the lorde?
14 Cursed be the deceitfull which hath in his flocke a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth a corrupt thing to the Lorde: because I am a great king, saith the lord of hoastes, and my name is fearefull among the heathen.
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.