All Your commandments are faithful; they have persecuted me with a lie; help me! Psalm 119:86 NASB Faithful – It’s unfortunate that this translation pushes us to view the commandments as spiritual. “Faithful” makes it sound as if miṣwâ belong in the realm of religion, where “faith” operates differently than the rest of our “practical” lives. Such would…
I have chosen the faithful way; I have [l]placed Your judgments before me. Psalm 119:30 NASB Placed – What does “I have placed” really mean? TWOT notes the difficulty with this word in translation: “The use of šāwâ in Ps 119:30 is open to question. Is it, ‘Your judgments have I “placed” before me,’(šāwâ II); or, ‘Your…
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6 NIV Can be trusted – I’m not a big fan of the NIV. For me, it has too much implicit theology, especially in the New Testament. In this particular verse, Robert Alter’s criticism of the translator’s need to explain rather than…
“Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household;” Numbers 12:7 NASB Is faithful – We aren’t surprised to find that this is the Hebrew verb ‘aman. Its derivatives, ‘emunah and ‘emet are found all over the Tanakh. Faithfulness and truth are inextricably linked in Hebrew thought. The TWOT points out that…
My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. Psalm 101:6 NASB The faithful of the land – “The Torah is God’s wisdom, and Israel translates it into real life.” “. . . Israel…
“You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many. Matthew 25:23 Faithful – God gives. That is an essential part of the foundation of Christian thought. God, the Sovereign Master of the universe, gives. He determines the distribution of assets. They are His, not ours. He determines the degree of obligation….
Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good reputation Philippians 4:8 True – True is not correct. I don’t mean that this isn’t the right translation. It is. The Greek word, alethia, means “true.” But the…
