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CHAPTER 7
A
MATTER OF TRANSLATIONS
62 cases for resolution and review
including reference to various
versions, especially to
THE AUTHORISED and NKJV
With Cautions and Resolutions as Needed
PREFACE to 2012 Edition
For
those without Hebrew and Greek facility, in the current plethora of many
translations, there is a relatively simple way of avoiding uncertainty
concerning the text. The AV is a grand translation in beauty, attesting
considerable perception, understanding, spiritual fluency as might be expected
of so many in such a time, with such a task, energised with such stark realities
for the faith, with so many revisions, cares, provisions and procedures. To be
sure, the Greek text is not the entire Majority Text, given major preference as
in (cf. Bible Translations
1 and 2), but it is a member of
that group, and departs relatively little from it.
However, it is not entirely, in today's language, without error, and moreover,
it is not always now as clear as it might be. Hence it may be valuable to some
to have a listing, here of around 30 items, where it is better, if using the
NKJV, to refer back to the AV. Again, some studies show that a greater accuracy
or clarity might be obtained, on a few cases, and at seldom met occasion, both
the AV and the NKJ version, do not cover the text adequately.
Vast
things have been done in translations, giving many options - for example the
NASB can be brilliant, the out-of-print Berkeley version (amazing loss!) can
clarify to a marvel, but the combination of AV and NKJ versions is sufficiently
valuable as a first base for factuality, that the following cases for care
seem to warrant their provision, always with the desire for that textual
fidelity which assists accurate Bible understanding in turn. In not all, is
there any need to vary at all from these two versions, and not every variation
is very significant; but with the word of God, one must not avoid precise care,
and each point is part of a precious whole.
A jot or a tittle
can sometimes do a lot. Idolatry of a particular version does not help, but
awareness of evil traps wrought in this field as in any other, is eminently
important. Nothing must be taken for granted. In fact, it is in view of this
that we should be all the more appreciative of the AV, and with due care, its
kin, the NKJV; but in neither is their room for complacency, just as they
provide an excellent joint base, not exempted from care, always, more care.
With all that has
been done in opposition to the texts and versions, it is a wonder
that the Bible is entirely clear not only in thrust, in message and in Gospel,
but in all things pertinent to understanding; but the safeguarding grace of God
is operative, and is not vexed. Knowledge and understanding are liberally
provided for what God has given; and the word of God written delights as
do those beautiful waters rather
near to the shore, where a pellucid green gleam brings gentle but glorious
beauty to the scene, where one can swim or float in peace and security. No
doctrine, no data remain of concern to this writer, because of uncertainty
relative to any part of the Bible, thus surveyed. Indeed, its felicities yield -
as for one investigating a deep tunnel, with facilities and functions clear -
what in detail and principle, is both harmonious and inspiring. His ways are
wonderful; man's ways are not.
INTRODUCTION to 2012 Edition
Long ago would the Bible have been lost in the seas of warring vessels, cultures
and counter-cultures, deceit and insertion, and the like, had not the good Lord
intervened to keep the substance, matrix and all important details available. On
this front, as on many others, there has been incessant cultural, vulture
swooping and swiping if by any means either the text might be lost or the
confidence in it, or both.
However the Lord DID act and amongst other things, the Dead Sea Scrolls have
given great attestation of the fidelity in times not hitherto accessible, to be
found in the preservation.
On this aspect,
see
Bible Translations 1 and
2,
Trust God ...
Ch. 9,
SMR pp.
1082-1083,
The Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah, by Dr. W. J.
Martin,
Second Thoughts on the
Dead Sea Scrolls, Dr. F.F. Bruce, esp. pp. 61ff..
The
English translations of the Bible have been remarkable, a long line of
preliminaries leading to the excellent Authorised Version, with so many with
such scholarship and such background in the impact of national history, such zeal in such a time of
crisis in Britain as then was, proceeding with such revisions and comparisons as were just,
but yet remarkable for their energy, facility and the ability displayed. However, now,
with centuries past since this translation, there is a linguistic gap which some
handle well, others less so, depending on knowledge of, and facility for reading
older English.
The New King James Version overcomes most of this problem,
being relatively recent, but
naturally enough, it does not always show the perception and penetration which the
multiplied translators of the AV had. Hence, it seems best for those without
knowledge of the original Greek and Hebrew, to find some way of gaining the best
of both versions, with some provision for occasions where neither appear to cover the
evidence entirely, rather rare as this is, for more of the majority family of
texts in particular and of whatever else has any applicability. Avoiding the intrusions of secular
antagonism, well exhibited through such a work as Pickering's Identity of
the New Testament Text (cf. SMR p.
569), and the illusions that wen
with them, we now have the vastly conformist Majority Text, comprising a large
majority of all text types, itself now amplified by discoveries.
It
is not contraband, but a broad path of provision. Man was idly lost in the
beginning, but the word of God is readily distinguishable from contraband, and
is the means with His Spirit, in the testimony of Christ Jesus, of bringing many
back from a listing as contraband themselves, being formerly without hope and
without God (Ephesians 2). This saving and abiding goodness of God does not depart, but continues, founded and found for the
lost, a governor of grace.
For the special task then, of helping those without knowledge of the original
biblical languages, and any other wishing to consider translation elements here
and there, more deeply, this list of some 60 items has been compiled.
One particular feature is this. Where
the NKJ Version does not seem adequate, or correct, then in that case there is a
review and a recommendation, whether taken from the AV or elsewhere. As to these
60 cases concerning
issues in Biblical Translations, first immediate provision is made of the
translation found to meet all the criteria, and then links are given, right
there, ford the grounds, reasons, evidence.
To help most, there is now provided a simple
list mainly of the actual suggested 60 translations, available in the next
section. The earlier volume of the Biblical
Translations book, has its opening
pages below, with access to the tens of thousands of words, hundreds of pages of
notes on translation cases, now amplified and revised.
Thus hyperlink edition of 2012, has been
revised from the first edition of 2005. The adjoining hyperlinks in simple order
of the Bible, for each text make it easy. Currently, perhaps about half of the
texts have some refinement or revision, but these are by no means all more than
slight or for closer reflection in our language.
2005
First Edition and Preface.
On Translations of the
Bible
Words about Words
Get out of the Way,
To Let the God of the Bible
Have His Say!
Rev. Dr. Robert E. Donaldson
Published by World Wide Web Witness
Inc.
September 2005
ISBN 0
9757881 5 9
An early part of it is here provided for
hyperlink facility.
PREFACE
with POINT
This volume commenced life
as a Chapter, but it has grown over the years since it first publication
in 1997, until both in its organisation and its size, it has become
better as a volume in its own right. It now appears to approximate some
500 pages, and various polishing, expansions and additions have occurred
in this process.
The topic is important, and
the 53 translations given of various verses, because of diversity and
developments, are an endeavour to bring clarity such as belongs to the
word of God, to bear.
In the preliminary notation,
it is explained how translation has become just one more place for
devilish intrigues as well as needless confusion, so that the word of
God being paramount for understanding of His will, an overview is
needed. His adequate care is proverbial and practical at the same time:
after all, it is His own word!
It is hoped that those who
use these pages will be able to see the fundamental simplicity of the
issues en bloc, and the savour the clarity of the word of God,
when it is given its own free rein, to govern all thought. That is the
meaning in the sub-title!
More than this, there is in
the Bible, such a cohesive correlation of the topics, themes, spirit,
order, organisation, penetration of one aspect with another, of
meanings, that it is like some living skyscraper, some organic whole,
synchronised in splendour, moulded in majesty. Thus so far is it from
needing 'help', which is very often a name for cultural invasion from
baseless premisses, that when with the utmost care, one brings out what
is there, in the text for one's own language: then there is a resonance
with the rest of the scriptural structure, a clarity which compels.
It is also deep, so that one
may be shocked by oxymorons, into a stronger awareness, hit by concepts
in augmenting cohesion, which do not yield to superficial enquiry. When
however one continues, guided by each relevant text, there is an
explosion of meaning, as in the last movement of some grand symphony:
and this of course is so in the area of
Predestination and Freewill
in particular, where the translation, for example, in Matthew 11:27 (32
below) is in beautiful accord with all the rest of the word of God.
Again, in Isaiah 64:4-5 (21
below), one finds when the utmost circumspection is given to the
integrity and accuracy of the translation, there is a positively
inspiring unleashing of meaning which both adorns the understanding, and
coalesces with the matrix of the word of God, like a kitten in the hands
of its mistress. Number 33 below (Matthew 28:9) is another startlingly
perfect example, concerning the resurrection.
Thus this is one phase of
biblical Christian Apologetics, where one may also find the scrupulous
harmony, without mere flattery to the passing reader, one which expands
the understanding and rewards careful enquiry; and it is one which
results from careful translation. Give to that work its objective due
and behold, it is then that the flow of the whole, the concurrence of
thoughts, the sweep of the splendour is to be seen, witnessed like a
spectacle at dawn.
Such is what one would
expect when no less than God is back of
the inspiration, and it is, as these pages will illustrate
continually, what one finds. In the forest of fecundity, there is
verification en masse!
Meanwhile, it needs to be
noted that compared with the original format for this topic, the order
of items has been changed, so that it may correspond both with the order
of the biblical books. It is this which is provided in the main
list, enabling hyperlink reaching of any given text in mind, from that
well-known mode of listing: starting with Genesis, ending with
Revelation.
In the text, because of its
original construction, it follows the original mode, very largely. Thus
both the continuity and ease of access are safeguarded.
For those wanting
immediate action, the list is below. For others, and it is hoped for
many in due time, the more leisurely movement through the preliminary
considerations of Chapter 1, and the
detailed conspectus of Chapter 2,
would be preferable.
II
The
62 Translations Themselves
with Notes
for Use
of Passages where the NKJV and sometimes the AV need
attention.
The latter in its text is never false doctrinally, but can err
and is not always the clearest, especially compared with current
language use.
The former more often wrong, occasionally sadly, is often lacking in
the perception
in the AV, product of enormous interchange and long history,
which it yet follows very often in substance and even tenor.
With the intention to make the most of every translation,
and especially to avoid deficiencies in the NKJV, we have
SET OUT IN
BIBLICAL ORDER,
the TEXTS AVAILABLE re TRANSLATION ARE THESE.
For the reasons for these
translations, click on the hyperlinks provided for each one of them.
The biblical books in which they occur are in the order in which they
come in it.
Special attention is given to the case of the
Authorised Version and the New King James Version. The reason is that
between them, in the former case in much precision and beauty, in the
latter, with frequent additives of clarity in modern speech, they
provide a readily usable and basically sound set for those who do not
have the Greek and Hebrew languages in which they are chiefly set.
Hence to have these 62 cases, only some of which vary markedly at all
from those two versions, allows the reader to gain that little extra
which can make such a difference in Bible study.
This can the be done without venturing into dubious
guesses about texts, and venturesome dynamic translations, often not
showing not too much concern about what is actually written. Thus
"OTHER", for what is not precisely so in the AV or NKJV is sometimes
found in a text translation. "Thee" and "Thou" with the various
archaic word forms are omitted, and what is misleading because of
ancient language in English is a topic dealt with; so that this
supplement aids bible study for the one whose concern is simply what
God said in His book.
For convenience to readers, one places an asterisk by
the cases where the NKJV is either in error, or infelicitous to an
important degree: where in short, attention would be especially
repaid. In some cases, the AV rectifies this, in others not entirely,
or not, or without sufficient clarity. These appear some 37 cases in
number, of this type. Some are more important than others; all need
attention. There are about 30 cases where the language or detail in
the AV can readily be improved, very occasionally in current terms, is
in error, but these in general are less significant than those in the
NKJV. These have the symbol # when listed.
The notes show whether they come from another
translation, or a refinement, usually giving extensive grounds, since
each jot and tittle matters. The ones marked OTHER without
qualification deserve attention for the reader without Greek or
Hebrew, and should be of value to many. The objective is always one:
to give the clearest and most accurate rendering in our tongue as it
is. While no actual doctrine is changed from the AV, much is made
clear or available, that was not so, some things being rescued,
otherwise not found through AV or NKJV. Finally, the reason for the
numbering having "A" sometimes instead of the next figure, relates to
the way this was generated on the Web, and helps avoid cross-purpose
error.
These move from Genesis to Revelation in order.
Translations provided are in dull red, and successively
numbered.
1) Genesis 1:1
AV, but note the correlation with John 1:1,
which is other, but only in terms of impact.
1a)
1b)
§In
the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and it was God the Word was*2.
§In
the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth,
and the earth was without form and void.
See also,
Gracious Goodness Ch. 6,
Bright
Light Ch. 9,
Dayspring et al..
#*1 A) Genesis 1:14-18
OTHER
"Then God said:
Let the luminaries in
the firmament of heaven
be for the purpose of separating between day and night,
in order that they may be for signs,
and for seasons, and for days and
for years,
and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens,
to give light
upon the earth;
and it was so.
"Then God fashioned
the two great luminaries,
the greater light for ruling the day
and
the lesser light with the stars for ruling the night."
#2) Lev. 19:20
OTHER
§"there
shall be a judicial assessment".
#*3) II Kings 7:13
OTHER
"One of his
servants answered and said, "Please let some men take five of
the horses which remain, which are left in the city. Behold they will
be in any case like the multitude of Israel who are left in it;
behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel
who have already perished, so let us send and see."
The AV also is sound here.
#*4) II Kings 8:10 l
OTHER
and
#*5) Job 21:30
OTHER
"Have you never questioned those who travel ?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts -
that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from the day of wrath?"
Keil continues for 21:31-32
(modernised script)::
"Who likes to declare to him his way to his face,
And if he has done anything, who will recompence it to him!
§"And he is brought to the grave,
And over the tomb he still keeps watch.
The clods of the valley are sweet to him …"
There you get
cohesion of theme and consistency of argument, with an overall
atmosphere well conveyed. All these verses need to be read as one unit.
*6)
Psalm 12:6 is also covered in
the preliminaries, at Bible Translations 1, at this
link.
OTHER
"For
the oppression of the poor,
for the sighing of the needy,
"Now I
will arise, says the LORD;
I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.
"The
words of the Lord are pure words,
as
silver purified in an earthen furnace,
refined seven times.
"Thou, O
LORD wilt keep them (the believing godly),
Thou
wilt guard each one from this generation for ever.
The
wicked prowl on every side,
as
baseness is given a high rating
among the descendants of man."
#*7)
Psalm 19
is translated in Christ Jesus: the Wisdom and the Power
of God
Ch. 3.
PSALM 19 Verse 2 OTHER
1) The text runs like this:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And
the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And
night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And
their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out
of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And
its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is
warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from
presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And
I shall be innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be
acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
2) The basic point
above all is this:
"The
heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto
day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is
no speech nor language,
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their
line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world."
The word
"where" was been added to the text in verse 2, and in this step, the
actual meaning of the text has been changed. NEVER add to change
meaning; for who IS the author! In the impending majesty of the
creation of God which proclaims itself in every atom,
particle, seed and designation, every word of command and in the DNA
of life, the Speaker who has changed nothing to sound and sound not
to chatter but to precision speech, there is cause for pause. Though
no actual speech comes, as one surveys the heavens, yet the
overwhelming testimony which in its derivative and exalted state it
provides, controls the very airways of life, astounding the heart,
so that THIS mission already has its missionaries, sent out without
a word, to all the word. As the idiom has it, It speaks for itself!
For much more on this Psalm, see the
hyperlink at 7) above.
*8)
Psalm 22:30 OTHER
"a seed
shall serve him;
It shall be accounted for the Lord for the generation.
They shall come and shall declare his righteousness
Unto a people that shall be horn, that he has done this."
Equally sound is this:
It will be declared for the Lord for a generation.
*8A)
Psalm 59:10 and 17.
The Hebrew is
literally translated as in the AV, "the God of my mercy."
While the NKJV later translation of "My God of mercy," can have
the same meaning, it is broader in scope. Thus in general it COULD
mean, among the gods, this is the one where I find mercy. Again,
it could mean, among my possessions is this God, He is mine and I
there gain mercy. It is first of all subjective in possible
meaning, and has this cast of sound in it.
Further, there is a more personal
thrust to salvation in the AV, and literal translation. Here is
the One who IS God, first of all, to whom I THEN relate. To Him I
go, as He is, and there it is that One above all, and
staggeringly, even in such a One as He, there I found the
mercy, which He has apportioned as in II Timothy 1:8-12.
Thus, as
the air is where my lungs find solace, so is the God of all glory,
changeless and wise, even He, is the giver of the mercy which has
become mine through His gift. It characterises GOD first of all,
and relates to me from this elevation. The other relates to me,
and where I find mercy, and could be construed as the one to whom
I go for this, among all the other like things to which I go for
this or that. Hence in the depths of covenantal realism, where the
God is the One, and mercy is His attribute and this I have found
in Him, as a free gift from His glorious favour, as a covenantal
reality unique from His counsel, it is more fitting.
#9)
Psalm 90:12 NKJV
good. OTHER
§"So
teach us to number our days that we might secure a heart of wisdom."
*10) Psalm 139:16
AV largely, but OTHER.
"Your eyes saw my
substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they
all were written, the
days they should be fashioned, when as yet there were none of them."
That
covers the most difficult section. For paraphrase to help one consider
the precise sense, we have this:
"My
structure was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret,
and intricately given diversity of form
in
the developmental darkness.
Your eyes saw my embryonic substance
and in your book all
(the particular results of developmental processes,
to form the physical equipment of life, organic, structural)
were written,
the
(very) days they should be fashioned,
when as yet none
(the organic, structural members) of them
(so much as) existed."
#*10A) Proverbs 8:30 OTHER
"I was
beside Him as one brought up before Him,
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him."
The
considerations constraining to this translation are both potent and
numerous, with immense correlations and thrusts for it, to the point
one would simply not dare translate otherwise. The Vulgate captures
something of this, advisedly. These matters are reviewed per hyperlink
10A).
*11) Isaiah 2:22
AV
"Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils,
for of what account is he ?"
Delitzsch has an interesting rendering, much the same:
"Oh, then, let man go, in whose nostrils is a breath;
for what is
he estimated at ?"
This is the
sense, and this is the severance
in view: from man who, estimated as empty in pride when divorced
from God, is the inflated but spiritually fallen object one must
cease to follow. Just above is a depiction of his overthrow and
devastation. Further on this is planned shortly for
Chapter 2 of the next volume,
Now
the Highway,
Then
the Heights
12) Isaiah 7:14 SMR pp.
766,
770ff.,
916
Largely AV
"Therefore the
Lord Himself shall give you a sign:
Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
However, for
reasons Professor E.J. Young discusses in his 3 volume commentary,
The Book of Isaiah, and another of his works, Studies
in Isaiah, a yet more graphically correct version would be, as
he translates:
Therefore the Lord
himself will give to you a sign.
Behold! a virgin is with child and will bring forth a son and she
shall call his name Immanuel.
Even here,
however, here is another touch needed. It is, as Young declares,
literally "the virgin" who is named, not "a virgin." He states that he
conceives the word "the" here to be used in a generic sense, a
reference to the type of being a virgin is. However, in line with our
textual fidelity approach, leaving out nothing and letting individual
research seek to justify this or that turn in refinement, we keep to
"the virgin" as what is written. THE virgin can indicate the one
in view, who is to be, who is to be commissioned, a sudden definition
of what has long been in mind for a fulfilment of the
protoevangelion from the first, as in Genesis 3:15.
Here it is, then, the virgin ... she
is with child. Moreover, in one's attempts to translate, one follows
what is held an excellent concept from the NKJV , the use of capitals
for God in pronouns.
Thus the final translation is this:
"Therefore the Lord himself will give to you a sign.
Behold! the virgin is with child and will bring forth a son
and shall call His name Immanuel."
13) Isaiah 8:19 AV with simple
updating of mode.
"And when they shall say to
you,
'Seek to them that have
familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter' :
should not a people seek their
God? should they seek
on behalf of the living to the dead?
"To the law and to the
testimony:
if they do not speak according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them. "
*14) Isaiah 9:3 AV
This is the kethib,
what is written.
§
"You have multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy.
"They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil."
The "not" obviously
many would wish to remove. But there is a contrast between the gloom
of the nation, as in Isaiah 8, with darkness and anguish of grief,
which arrives in the words of Isaiah 9, relating to those who actually (Isaiah 53:1) receive the report,
and the Lord (53:10). It is THEY,
the focus in the Lord, who do the rejoicing. As shown in the notes,
Isaiah 26 has already expounded the whole matter in no small detail,
involving just this contrast.
15) Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV
"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be
upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful,
Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting
Father,
Prince of Peace.
"Of the increase of His
government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and
over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it
with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even
forever.
The zeal of
the Lord of hosts will perform this."
*16) Isaiah 13:12 AV
§"I will make a
human more precious than fine gold,
a man more than the golden wedge..."
#*17) Isaiah
23:13
OTHER
"Behold the land of the Chaldeans:
§This people which was not,
Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They laid bare its palaces,
He
brought it to ruin."
The link above gives
you the understanding of the passage.
#*18) Isaiah 26:19
OTHER.
As in AV except
for omission of the words it has added to the text, and left there in
italics. This addition destroys much of the meaning, and in accord
with our policy of textual fidelity, no added words unless necessary
to the sense, this is omitted with profound results. Punctuation
follows.
"Your
dead shall live.
My dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing,
you
who dwell in the dust;
for
your dew is as the dew of herbs,
and
the earth shall cast out the dead."
It is precisely as in I Corinthians
15:23,41-58. Just as Christians become HIS generation, the One He now
has, so here Christians, His body as in Romans 12, become what is
afterwards raised in one bloc, though each an individual like seed, to
change the image, so that it is His dead body, now shown in its full
application in the saints, which rises: it is as intimate as that.
19) Isaiah
33:6 AV in the main.
1)
"Wisdom
and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation.
The fear of the Lord is his treasure"
or
2)
"Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation.
The fear of the Lord is His treasure"
Where there appears no clear way to
differentiate, we in terms of textual fidelity take both meanings. If
this negatively impacted on others of the word of God, this would not
be an option; but here it is.
*20)
Isaiah 53:10
AV
in the main.
"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When you make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall SEE His seed, He shall prolong His days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."
Capitalisation
is the result of examination of the text,
and is important as representing the sense.
See hyperlink
for reasons.
#21) Isaiah 64:4-5
OTHER
§ "And from eternity,
they have not heard,
they have not given ear,
nor has eye seen a God beside You,
who works for the one who
waits for Him.
"You have met with the one rejoicing
and executing
righteousness.
In Your ways they remember You.
"Look, You have been wrathful, and we have sinned: in those
ways is eternity, and we shall be saved."
21A)
Jeremiah 13:27
AV
"Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
Will you not be made clean ?
When shall it once be ?"
A magnificent
rendering, moulded to its masterful but gentle base.
#*21B) Jeremiah
49:19 OTHER
Keil in the
Commentary of the Old Testament from Keil and Delitzsch
makes this far more comprehensible than either the AV or the
NKJV. Indeed there is more to be considered as well, and this is
done in the notes, and the display of this verse, extended.
Keil's translation seems impelling, with relatively slight
changes.
"Behold, he shall come up like a lion
from the thicket of reeds of Jordan,
to the dwelling of rock;
but in a moment will I drive him away from her,
and will appoint over her
him who is chosen;
for who is like Me ?
and who will summon me {before the judge} ?
and what shepherd shall stand before Me ?
"Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord
which He has counselled against Edom,
and His purposes which He has purposed
against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely they shall drag them about,
the little ones of the flock;
surely he shall lay waste their dwelling over them.
At the noise of their fall the earth tremble; a cry -
its noise is heard in the Red Sea.
"Behold,
he shall come like the eagle and dart after {his prey}, and
spread his wings over Bozrah; and the heart of the might men of
Edom in that day shall become like the heart of a woman
travailing."
Not only does
this indicate that the Lord, in disposing the evils in the
unrepentant hearts of many, bring on whom He will, but there is
a hint of reflection as well, in terms of the partial parallel
in Jeremiah 30:20-21 and the prelude in Ezekiel 21:27, that the
good rule is to be found ONLY in the LORD Himself, and in
His appointment of mercy, in Him to whom rule is only His due,
the Messiah Himself! See notes per hyperlink at 21B).
#*22) Ezekiel 34:29
OTHER
The True God ... Ch. 1
§"I
will raise up for them a planting of renown".
The wording must be watched, and when
as here, it is closely, then a profound result arrives. See
hyperlink above at 22). The wording change may be small, but the
reward is vast.
Incidentally, on Ezekiel, the NASB has
what prima facie appears a good effort at putting the temple
dimensions and architectural specifications into modern and penetrable
English: Ezekiel 40-46.
Ezekiel 47
significantly leaves this architectural and procedural vision for one
tangy with deep truths, in the magnificent imagery of healing,
evangelisation and cleansing.
#*23) Hosea
7:13
OTHER
"Woe
to them! for they have fled from Me: destruction to them! because they
have transgressed against Me. Though I would redeem them, yet they
have spoken lies against Me."
#*23A)
Hosea 13:1-2,
OTHER
"When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling:
He exalted himself in Israel.
"Now they sin more and more,
and have made for themselves moulded images,
idols of their silver, according to their skill:
all of it the work of craftsmen.
"They say of them, 'Let the sacrificers of mankind kiss the
calves!' "
There is a blatant and baneful irony of reproach in this,
dealing with religionist murderers, sanctified in obtrusive
slaughter, by their lusts.
#*24) Joel 2:23
OTHER
§"Fear not, O land:
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done marvellous things!...
Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God:
For He has given you the teacher of righteousness,
And He will cause the rain to come down for you,
The former rain and the latter rain ..."
*25) Amos 4:13
AV
"For behold,
He who forms mountains
And creates the wind,
Who declares to man what His thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth,
The LORD God of hosts is His name."
"Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils,
for of what account
is he ?" is the testimony as so often.
The point is, as contextually apparent in
the preceding section of Amos, that it is the thought of God, HIS
speech in contrast to those of man, that is to be considered. Hence
the capitalisation, which in the NKJVindicates man here, though often
useful in that version, and a net asset, is misleading concerning the
sense, in this case.
#*26) Habakkuk 2:13
OTHER
§"It is not of the LORD of hosts
that peoples toil for the
flames,
and nations grow weary for nothing,
for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
the Lord
as the waters cover the sea."
*27) Zechariah 9:17
AV
very largely.
"For
how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!
corn will make the young man cheerful, and new wine the maids."
28) Zechariah 14:5B
(with
I Thess. 3:13)
is to be found
at
End-note *2A.
NORMAL, AV, NKJV ... typical slight variation; heavily reinforced.
"Thus
the LORD my God will come,
And
all the saints with You."
29 -
30) Malachi 2:12,15,
2:12
OTHER
"The
Lord will cut off the man who does this -
wakers and answerers, from the tents of Jacob,
yet brings an offering to the Lord of hosts."
It might be put:
"stirrers and responders", in place of
"wakers and answerers", with very good sense.
2:15
OTHER but close to AV and NKJV
§"Did He not make one - with a
residue of spirit ?"
The text puts the
question and simply adds the continuing residue of spirit, following
"and", an associative term.
#31)
Matthew 10:8
OTHER as in
Majority text.
"Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give.
#32)
Matthew 11:27
NKJV
§"All
things have been delivered to Me by My Father,
and no one knows
he Son except the Father.
Nor does anyone know the Father except the
Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son wills to reveal Himself"
The SON WILLS to reveal Himself, as the
Greek declares. It is not just a future, but a volition. The AV does
not show this.
#*33)
Matthew 28:9
OTHER
"And
as they were going to tell His disciples, behold , Jesus met
them, saying, All hail. And they came and held Him by the feet, and
worshipped Him."
34) John 1:1
AV but with some provision for
emphasis.
For the actual wording of the translation,
see here.
§"In the beginning was the
Word,
and the Word was with God,
and it was God the Word was."
*2
Similarly, the
translation shown for Genesis 1:1 is:
§In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth,
and the earth was without form and void.
#*35) Acts 9:35
OTHER
§"And all those inhabiting Lydda and Sharon saw him -
those who turned to the Lord."
#*36)
Acts13:19-20
OTHER
§"And
when He had destroyed seven nations
in the land of Canaan,
He distributed their land as an inheritance -
all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.
And after these things He gave them judges
until Samuel the prophet."
The NASB here is good, for it keeps
idiomatic flow while keeping equally strictly to the meaning of the
Greek prepositions, giving the sense of the Majority text.
37) Romans 3:25
Minor refinement
NKJV
"Whom God has set forth as
a propitiation,
by faith through His blood,
to declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God."
#*38) Romans 5:12-15
OTHER
"It is therefore as
follows:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and death
through sin,
and so death passed on to all persons
in that all
sinned.
To be sure, sin was in the world earlier than the Law;
but in absence of law, sin is not charged up.
Death, however,
held rule from Adam to Moses
over those who sinned but did not
transgress
a command in the way Adam had done -
who
foreshadowed the Coming One.
"With the free gift,
however, it is by no means
as it is with the fall, for if
through the lapsing
of one person many die, far more richly
did
the grace of God and His gift,
that comes through the favor of
one man Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. "
That is the Berkeley version, a feat of clarity.
We
could with perhaps more consonance with the actual text write.
"It is therefore as
follows:
As through one man sin entered the world,
and death
through sin
and that passed to all persons since all sinned
(for
until the law sin was in the world,
but sin is not charged up,
law not being in place,
but death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even on those who had not sinned
after the manner of Adam's
transgression,
who is a figure of the Coming One):
yet not as the
offence, so is the free gift.
For if through the offences of the one, many died, much more the
grace of God and the gift in grace which is derived from one
man, Jesus Christ, abounded to the many."
The
comparison of two things, not in terms of likeness but contrast,
requires without help a little linguistic nimbleness perhaps. Both
translations provide in different ways.
39) Romans 9:5
AV
NKJV
"Theirs
are the fathers, and from them in human lineage
has come the Christ,
the-being-over-all-GOD, BLESSED FOR EVER. AMEN.
That is the direct sense
of it. However, it may sound un-English, so we could have this:
has
come the Christ, the all-ruling God, blessed forever.
or
has
come the Christ, He being God over all, blessed forever.
The last may be the best:
"Theirs are the fathers,
and from them in human lineage
has come the Christ,
He being God over all, blessed forever. Amen."
The pinnacle of
focus is Christ, last in the divine actions in view,
and the summit deals with the same, continuing the concentration on
His action in progression with the participle, without further
indication, except of description of this same one, the Christ.
Adding concepts to this sequence makes the result a hybrid of man and
God, as writer! To translate, you need evidence for any addition, on
the basis that if more were meant, it would be sent, not left for mere
imagination to supply! We translate in textual fidelity, what is there
ONLY. Idioms may require this or that, but that is another matter.
This requires nothing.
#*40)
Romans 16:25-26 OTHER Berkeley is very good here in the
main.
"Now
to Him who is able to establish
you according to my gospel,
and the preaching of Jesus
Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery,
kept secret since the world
began
but now made manifest,
moreover through prophetic
Scriptures
according to the commandment
of the everlasting God,
for obedience to the faith to all nations made known:
 |
to God, alone wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."
|
Paul's use
of a long sentence is an illustration of the fact that short
sentences, though brittle and busy, are not the only thing to which
the human mind can be adapted, with relish and a sense of symphony and
perspective. Modern fashions have their point in language; but that is
all they are. There have been others; men have not been mad. There is
room for wonderful variety in language and thought.
#*40A) I Cor. 13:8-10 OTHER
"Love
never fails. But whether there are prophecies,
they will come to an
end;
whether there are tongues, they will cease;
whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
But when
that which is perfect has come,
then that which is in part will be
done away."
41)
I
Cor. 15:33
OTHER
"Evil
company corrupts good morals"
#*42) Ephesians 1:3-5
OTHER
§"...
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world
that we should be holy and blameless before Him,
in love having predestined us to adoption as sons
by Jesus Christ to
Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace,
in which He made us objects of grace in the Beloved.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood..."
43)
Ephesians 3:21 OTHER
§'To Him be glory in the Church
by Christ Jesus, throughout all phases of history here and
hereafter. Amen.'
*44) II Thessalonians 2:2 with
words preceding
Largely AV.
§"We ask you not to be quickly
shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by
letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ were at
hand."
45) II Timothy 3:16
AV
§"Every scripture is
God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness."
46) Titus 1:1-3 OTHER
§“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of
Jesus Christ,
according to the faith of God’s chosen people,
and the sure knowledge of the truth
which is in accord with
godliness:
in hope of eternal life.
"God,
who is alien to all lying, promised this before time began; and
so, in its own appointed times, He has openly shown what He has in
mind, expressing it through preaching, with which I stand
entrusted,
according to the commandment of God our Saviour:
"TO TITUS, my own son in terms of the common faith …"
47) Titus 2:13 NKJV
§"looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us
from every lawless deed
and purify for Himself His own special people,
zealous of good works."
#*48) Hebrews 11:1
OTHER
§"Faith is the foundational
assurance
of things hoped for,
the concurrent evidencing and evidence-based conviction
of things not seen."
The
intimate tie between the complementary points is made more
manifest by "concurrent" which may be left out, or used as a help.
It is after all, italicised.
48A)
James 4:5-6 OTHER
"Or do you
think that it is to no purpose
that the scripture
speaks ?
{cf. Hebrews 9:5}
Does the Spirit which dwells
within us yearn to envy!
But it is more grace that He
gives
As it is written, God resists
the proud,
But gives grace to the lowly."
{The inversion in the line "But it is
more grace" enables us in English to bring out the force of the
"more" which in Greek comes first, before the verb, to be followed by
'grace'}.
The Berkeley Version here briefly
notes, re yearns jealously over us, their rendering, that God wants all of a
person, our undivided loyalty.
The use of imagery concerning
zeal and spiritual depth and love is often found in the Bible, as in a bad
sense, in its misuse, in Ezekiel 16, and again of course in Hosea, while in a
good sense in Ephesians 5. Misconceptions based upon a failure to realise the
use of imagery have no excuse, but the actuality has a certain glory of purity.
49) II Peter 1:19-21
OTHER
-
§"Knowing this first: that no prophecy of scripture
is sourced simply in itself;
for prophecy was never introduced by the will of man,
but by the Holy Spirit, being borne along,
did holy men of God speak."
The
sense is that no personal attribute of any man led to the
scriptures,
for the will of man had nothing to do with it.
It
was in fact, being borne along by the Holy Spirit,
that holy men of God spoke."
As pointed out in the notes, for good
reason, we could instead of "is sourced simply in itself," put
"is accountable in its own terms." Both
apply.
The topic is not human authority to
interpret,
but divine power to present in the first place,
consistently maintained throughout the passage,
the context and words of which permit nothing else.
The heart and the head of man,
individually, have nothing to do with the
divulgements whatsoever; and the reason for this state of affairs is
expressly given, in the link term, "for". Not man but God impelled the
arrival of these words, the men being MOVED, and that not merely by an
inclination, as with a soft breeze, but through the driving thrust of
the Holy Spirit. See also I Corinthians 2:9-13 with SMR
Appendix D.
#*50)
I John 5:7-8 -
see Ch. 1,
*2 above, and in Ch. 1
as marked.
OTHER
There is, as the NKJV admits in margin, no sound
textual ground for including the words from 'in heaven' in I John 5:7,
to 'on earth' in I John 5:8. thus it reads:
"For
there are three that bear witness in heaven,
the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and these three agree in one."
These three bring to
mind: the Spirit in its testimony of truth,
the water signifying washing and repentance,
as well as the water of the womb, the incarnation,
and the blood, showing the crucial redeeming sacrifice achieved.
It is all part of one divine plan of salvation.
*51) Rev. 19:8
AV in
substance.
"And
to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white,
for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints."
#*52) Rev. 20:4
OTHER
§"I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded
because of the testimony of Jesus
and because of the word of God,
and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image,
and had not received the mark upon their forehead
and upon their hand;
and they came to life
and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years."
53) Rev. 22:14
AV,
NKJV but with very slight refinement.
"Blessed are they who do
His commandments,
that they may have authority to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates, into the city."
#*54) Rev. 13:12-15
OTHER
"Then
I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a
lamb,
and he spoke as a dragon.
And he exercises all the power
of the first
beast before him,
and and ordains that the
earth
and those who dwell in it
should worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed.
"He performs great wonders,
so that he even makes fire come down
from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
and he deceives those who
dwell on the earth
by means of those miracles
which he had power to do
in the
sight of the beast:
telling those who dwell on the earth
to make an image to
the beast,
which had the wound by a sword, and lived.
He was given power to
give life
to the image of the beast,
so that the image of the beast might
both speak,
and require that as many as
would not worship the image of the
beast
should be killed. And it mandates over all,
both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond,
that it should give them a mark
in their right hand,
or in their foreheads ... "
It is important to
distinguish, in terms of the various grammatical points in the Greek
text, what is MADE to happen, and what is ordained or directed to
happen.
NOTE
*1
This passage in Jeremiah 49:19 has to be seen in the
total context of the book, for whether in life or in books, we have to
consider the surrounding evidence. There is bountiful emphasis on the
sovereignty of God in this passage, on His prevailing and prevalent
excursions, exclamations, indications and decisions, despite anything to
the contrary. This is judgment, when loose talk is past, hope is
contained and results rule in the mode of discourse. The cackle, to use
the vernacular, is over.
There is another passage with no small
resemblance both to Jeremiah 49:19 and 50:44, entirely similar in
disposing of a nation in judgment. It is found at Jeremiah 30:21. There
is in 49-50, an impactive series of questions asked. It is presented as
rhetorical but informative interrogation.
FOR WHO IS LIKE ME ? and WHO WILL SUMMON ME
? ... and WHAT SHEPHERD SHALL STAND! We
meet here a wonder, a revelation. It reminds one of the tender word of a
father concerning a child who suddenly does the unexpected or the
notable: "Who is this who is suddenly able to mow the lawn!" It is an
introduction to a kind of spectacle, one not entirely expected, but
notable!
In Jeremiah 30:21, there is a
somewhat similar arresting rhetorical question about an identity, about
one who comes into view! Here we are learning of a situation the exact
opposite to those concerning Edom and Babylon in Jeremiah 49 and 50.
Here in Jeremiah 30 there is, as there the tragic, now the triumphal. Having
told us that when Israel at last comes back to its culminating time of
mercy and restoration, even the Governor will be from their midst (cf.
Isaiah 59:20,Micah 5ff.), the matter is made vibrant through the
question that suddenly follows. Let us inspect this case further.
Back now, in this vision, in their
land, and with their own Governor no less, is Israel. They have even a
government structure as well as the Head of it! No more, as was the case
with conquering Babylon in its little day, is there some foreign
appointed governor: now theirs is from their own midst, just as was the
Messiah to be (cf. Isaiah 53:2, which also follows the lead question in
Isaiah 53:1).
In Jeremiah 30, we find that there is
One who is to draw near to the Father (as with the Messiah in Daniel
7:23-24), and in this express drawing close, there is an approach,
for it is not merely in place, but in grace. It is an effectual drawing,
the thing is happening, as it were, before our very eyes. Then the
question is asked: " 'For who is this who pledged
His heart to approach to Me ?, says the Lord." In succinct
answer, He announces that Israel will be His people, and He their God
(as in Zechariah 9:9, 12:10, it is deity with whom they deal, deity
direct, their Commander as in Isaiah 55, and their Governor as here).
Who is HE ? It is the one before whom
kings and principalities will be overturned, overthrown as in Ezekiel
21:27. It is the One who is the lead-out from endless evils and lead-in
to the glory of God, summoned to send out sin and to bring in
righteousness (as in Psalm 40l 72).
When from this bold prelude of intimacy
and profound blessing, the Lord identified as their Governor in Jeremiah
30, we turn to the contrasting horror of the fate of Edom and of
Babylon, again we are questioned about the identity of the one in view.
Having announced a disaster by one represented by a lion, in context
evidently Babylon, in the case of the pair of Jeremiah 49 and 50, God
makes it clear that the "him", the lion will by the Lord
Himself be driven away from her whom it assaulted. (Keil does well
here in clarity of rendering concerning "driven" and the non-question,
that He will appoint over her, him who is chosen).
Indeed, let us notice from the text,
God HIMSELF will appoint the one to be chosen, and rule as He will.
In fact. as Keil points out, that while
Babylon mauled Edom, the Maccabeans and the Romans devastated her. He
does not seem however to apply this, and certainly not in terms of
Jeremiah 30:21, that powerful analogue.
So using the two steps forward of Keil
in translation, concerning 'driven' and "I will appoint over her
him who is chosen." we come in Jeremiah 49:19, to what is then the first
question: "For who is like Me ?"
In other words, God who has sent the
lion (Babylon), will in due course dispossess it (other nations taking
over Edom). Fierce will be the evils of the possessor, who will drag the
little ones about; but this all passes. The whole things becomes a
horror where judgment is condign, and uninterrupted by atonement.
Thus there appears a parallel, in
Jeremiah 30 and 49-50. Who is like the Lord who draws near to Israel at
the last, and who like the appointed One who pledges His heart to draw
near; but when it comes to the arraignment, the judgment for Edom
and Babylon, this same sovereign God will bring on, in and out, the
marauding nations of ruin. Who in this also is like Him, and who can
contest with Him ? Whether in the epoch of judgment, or deliverance,
there is a time, an epoch perhaps, a situation when it is all
developed: grace is past, judgment is present. Indeed, whether it is to
be disjoined by the atonement, or suffered by the dismissal of mercy by
man, its era arrives (cf. John 3:16-19,36). Just as eternity makes the
finale operative, so even history contains seeds of hope, and sediments
of ruin.
The path to heaven is as sovereignly
hallowed as the path to doom. When you pass from the day of appeal, to
that of the judgment, in both cases things are as appointed, the One,
the Messiah, the other the nations of entanglement and ruin, in their
entanglements.
The road to hell has its own episodes;
and it has its infamous figures as history draws near to it; while that
to heaven has its own leader, the Messiah Himself, God manifest in the
flesh and on this earth, the ultimate assurance. There is no haven but
He, and when His mercy is disesteemed, there is no option but to find
the appointees of ruin for ruin. Whether in Obadiah or in Jeremiah, Edom
the brutal has found the road as unlovely in the end, as at the first
(cf. Obadiah 10ff.).