Before the King James Version of the English bible (1611), two translations were authorized by the state for official use in churches - the Great Bible (1539) and the Bishops' Bible (1568). The second of these books was the most elaborate, incorporating engravings of queen and courtiers into the biblical text. It is these political images, along with a series of initials and coats of arms belonging to bishops and peers, that frame the text of the bible in this product of religion, politics and publishing and stage complex relationships between the church and the state. In my research, I examine the representations of political and religious realities, and representations of the project of biblical translation and production, within the Bishops' Bible paratext -- in title pages, reader guides, ornaments, marginal annotations and initials that surround the biblical text.