| BIB | (551) | BIC |
brought into England from Antwerp. The bishops found great fault with this translation; upon which a motion was made in convocation for an English tranflation of the Bible to be set up in all churches. This motion, though opposed by bishop Gardiner and his party, succeeded at last. The king gave orders for setting about it with all possible haste, and within three years the impression of it was finished. Cromwell procured a general warrant from the king, allowing all his subjects to read it; for which Cranmer wrote his thanks to Cromwell, rejoicing to fee the work of reformation now risen in England, since the word of God did now shine over it all without a cloud. Cromwell likewise gave out injuctions, requiring the clergy to set up Bibles in all their churches, and to encourage the people to read them. In 1542, an ad passed for retraining the use of the Bible. The preamble sets forth, that 'many seditious and ignorant people had abused the liberty granted them for reading the Bible; and that great diversity of opinions, animosities, tumults, and schisms had been occasioned by perverting the sense of the scripture. To retrieve the mischiefs arising from hence, it is enacted, that a certain form of orthodox doctrine be set forth, as a standard of belief; and that Tindal's false translation of the Old and New Testament be suppressed, and forbidden to be read in any of the king's dominions.' In the reign of Edward VI. Fuller mentions another translation of the Bible, printed in two editions; the first in 1549, the other in 1551, but neither of them divided into verses.
In the reign of queen Elizabeth came out the Bishops Bible, so called, because several of that order were concerned in that version. The work was divided into several parcels, and assigned to men of learning and character. Most of the divisions are marked with great initial letters, fignifying either the name or the titles of the persons employed. Archbishop Parker had the principal direction of this affair; he revised the performance, and perhaps put the finishing hand to it. He likewise employed several critics in the Hebrew and Greek languages, to review the old translation, and compare it with the original.
The last English Bible is that called King James's Bible, which proceeded from the Hampton-court conference in 1603, where many exceptions being made to the Bishops Bible, king James gave orders for a new one, not, as the preface expresses it, for a translation altogether new, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better; or of many good ones, one best. Fifty-four learned persons were appointed for this office by the king, as appears by his letter to the archbishop, dated in 1604, which being three years before the translation was entered upon, it is probable seven of them were either dead, or had declined the task, since Fuller's lift of the translators makes but forty-seven, who, being ranged under six divisions, entered on their province in 1607. It was published in 1610, with a dedication to king James, and a learned preface, and is commonly called king James's Bible. After this all other versions dropped, and fell into disuse, except the Epistles and Gospels in the Common-prayer book, which were still continued, according to the bishops translation, till the alteration of the Liturgy in 1661, and the Psalms and hymns, which are to this day continued as in the old version.
The judicious Selden, in his Table-Talk, speaking of the Bible, says, The English translation of the Bible is the beft tranflation in the world, and ren-
- ders the fenfe of the original beft, taking in for the
English tranflation the bishops Bible, as well as king James's. The tranflators in king James's time took an excellent way. That part of the Bible was given to him who was moft excellent in fuch a tongue, (as the Apocrypha to Andrew Downs) and then they met together, and one read the tranflation, the reft
- holding in their hands fome Bible either of the learn-
ed tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. If they found any fault, they spoke; if not, he read on.' King James's Bible is that now read by authority in all the churches in England. 4 • Irish BIBLE. Towards the middle of the fixteenth century, Bedell, bifhop of Kilmore, fet on foot a tranflation of the Old Testament into the Irish lan- guage; the New Testament and the Liturgy having been before tranflated into that language. The bifhop appointed one King to execute this work, who, not underſtanding the oriental languages, was obliged to tranflate it from the English. This work was received by Bedell, who, after having compared the Irish tranflation with the English, compared the latter with the Hebrew, the LXX. and the Italian verfion of Diodati. When this work was finished, the bifhop would have been himfelf at the charge of the impref- fion, but his defign was flopped upon advice given to the lord-lieutenant and the archbishop of Canterbury, that it would prove a fhameful thing for a nation to publifh a Bible tranflated by fuch a defpicable hand as King. However, the manufcript was not loft, for it went to prefs in the year 1685. BIBLIOTHECA, in its original and proper fenfe, de- notes a library, or place for repofiting books. BIBLIOTHECA, in matters of literature, denotes a trea- tife, giving an account of all the writers on a certain fubject: Thus, we have bibliothecas of theology, law, philofophy, &c. There are likewife univerfal bibliothecas, which treat indifferently of all kinds of books; alfo felect bibliothecas, which give an account of none but au- thors of reputation. BIBLISTS, fo the Roman-catholics call thofe Chrifti- ans that make feripture the fole rule of faith; in which fenfe, all proteftants either are, or ought to be, bib- lifts. BIBRACH, an imperial city of Swabia in Germany, a- bout twenty miles fouth-west of Ulm; E. long, 9° 30', and N. lat. 48° 12'. BICANER, a city of Afia, in the country of the Mo- gul, upon the Ganges. It is the capital of the province of Bacar; E. long. 87° 20, N. lat. 28% 40. BICAUDA, in ichthyology, a name given to the xiphi-
as, or fword-fith. Sec XIPHIAS.
