Educational Collapse

He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.  Proverbs 5:23  NASB Greatness of his foolishness – It is the common assumption of the West that education is the accumulation and manipulation of data.  “The facts, ma’am” sets the tone.   We believe that armed with the facts…

Lost Souls

So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord came to an end.  Numbers 32:13 NASB Wander – Shake, rattle, and roll.  Ah, but not a dance.  The Hebrew nûa’ means “to shake,…

The Rough Road

You have taken account of my miseries; put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your book?  Psalm 56:8  NASB Miseries – There’s been a change.  Between the 1995 version of the NASB and the contemporary one, the word nôdi was changed from “wanderings” to “miseries.”  Here’s the 1995 translation: You have taken account of my wanderings; put…

Celestial Debate

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.  Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.  Job 13:15  NASB Argue – Before we look at the vocabulary, take a moment to read the Chabad translation: Behold, let Him kill me, I will hope for Him; but I will prove my ways to His face.  Chabad Did…

What Do You Need?

Give us this day [a]our daily bread.  Matthew 6:11 NASB Daily bread – What does Yeshua imply in this difficult expression?  Oh, wait.  Did you think this verse was “difficult”?  Probably not.  It’s been an accepted part of the Lord’s Prayer for so long that we don’t even recognize that scholars have puzzled over this particular…

Personal Passion

“Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them?”   Jeremiah 26:19b  NASB 1995 Entreat – What does it mean to entreat someone?  Even in English we have a difficult time expressing this thought succinctly. Certainly the…

Reflections on Being Human

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”  Genesis 1:26  NASB Make mankind – I want to…

Grammar Messages

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has becomemy salvation.”  Isaiah 12:2  NASB Is/has become – Hebrew verbs don’t work the same way as English verbs.  As you already know, the usual copula “is” is not expressed in Hebrew.  Therefore, when this verse is…