Where Rust Does Not Corrupt

I have treasured Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11  NASB Treasured – Do you have some treasure?  Want to keep it safe?  You’ll have to put it where thieves can’t steal it, where moths can’t eat it, and where the elements can’t corrupt it.  Where do you…

Translating Hebrew Poetry

Woe, offending nation, people weighed down with crime, seed of evildoers, sons acting ruinously.  They have forsaken the LORD, scorned Israel’s Holy One, they have fallen behind.  Isaiah 1:4  Robert Alter Woe, offending nation – Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible attempts to use the same English words for the same Hebrew words whenever…

Hurrying Too Much

Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and one who hurries [a]his footsteps [b]errs.  Proverbs 19:2  NASB Errs – “Err” is a funny word.  Just the look of it is odd.  In this biblical translation, it’s used for the Hebrew ḥāṭāʾ (חָטָא), the most common word for “sin.”  That causes the NKJV…

Knowing the Difference

Yet they still continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. And in their heart they put God to the test   Psalm 78:17-18a  NASB Sin/ rebel – Hebrew has several words for our general idea of “sin.”  Knowing how they differ is important.  The two words in this verse are ḥāṭāʾ…