What Is the Bishops’ Bible?
Short answer
The Bishops’ Bible was an English translation of Scripture published in 1568, commissioned by the bishops of the Church of England to be an authorized alternative to the popular Geneva Bible. It became the official pulpit Bible of English churches for decades and served as the primary base text the King James translators revised in 1611.
Long before the King James Version became the most famous English Bible in history, the Church of England relied on a translation almost no one reads today: the Bishops’ Bible. Its story explains a detail many readers never learn — that the King James Version was not created from scratch but was a careful revision of an earlier English translation. This page looks at why the Bishops’ Bible was made, how it was produced, and the surprising way its influence still echoes through the Bible many Christians read today.
Why the Bishops’ Bible was created
By the 1560s, the most popular English Bible among ordinary readers was the Geneva Bible (1560), prized for its portable size and extensive study notes. Church of England leaders, under Archbishop Matthew Parker, grew uneasy with those notes — some carried a Calvinist theological edge, and a few were read as critical of royal authority. Rather than banning the Geneva Bible outright, church leadership commissioned a new translation, revising the earlier Great Bible (1539), intended as a dignified, church-approved text suitable for public reading without controversial commentary.
How it was made
A team of roughly eight to eleven bishops and scholars divided the books of the Bible among themselves for translation and revision, largely reworking the Great Bible with reference to the original Hebrew and Greek texts and the Geneva Bible’s wording. It was first published in 1568 and revised in 1572. The result was a large, ornate “lectern” edition meant for church use rather than personal reading, and a royal injunction directed that a copy be placed in every cathedral, and where possible, every parish church in England.
Its limited popularity and legacy
Despite its official status, the Bishops’ Bible never displaced the Geneva Bible in personal, home use — it lacked the accessible study notes readers had come to rely on, and its prose was widely seen as less polished. Its lasting importance came later: when King James I commissioned a new translation in 1604, the translators were instructed to use the Bishops’ Bible as their base text, altering it “as little… as the truth of the original will permit.” That means a real amount of its phrasing survives, filtered through careful revision, inside the King James Version most Christians recognize today.
Why it matters for readers today
Understanding this history helps readers see that no English Bible fell from the sky fully formed — each translation was the product of real scholars wrestling faithfully with the original Hebrew and Greek across generations, correcting and refining the work that came before. The Bishops’ Bible reminds us that God’s Word has been carried forward through imperfect, human effort and careful revision, and its message remains trustworthy across every faithful translation. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) whether you are reading the King James Version, a modern translation, or, in another century, the Bishops’ Bible itself.
Key Bible verses
- “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” — 2 Timothy 3:16
- “Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” — Psalm 119:89
- “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” — Isaiah 40:8
Frequently asked questions
When was the Bishops’ Bible published?
The Bishops’ Bible was first published in 1568 and revised in 1572, commissioned by the Church of England under Archbishop Matthew Parker.
Why was the Bishops’ Bible created?
It was created to give English churches an authorized alternative to the popular Geneva Bible, whose Calvinist study notes some church and political leaders viewed as too provocative for official use.
Did the King James Version come from the Bishops’ Bible?
Yes, largely. The 1611 King James translators were instructed to use the Bishops’ Bible as their base text, revising it “as little altered as the truth of the original will permit.”
Is the Bishops’ Bible still used today?
No, it fell out of use after the King James Version was published in 1611. It survives today mainly as a historical artifact important to understanding English Bible translation history.