I was also blameless with Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Psalm 18:23 NASB My iniquity – It would be much easier to for David to say that he kept himself “from iniquity.” Then the wickedness would be alien, outside, an enemy at a distance. But David uses the Hebrew ‘awoni, the combination…
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Psalm 51:14 NASB Bloodguiltiness – Unfortunately this text doesn’t actually say “bloodguiltiness.” That is an interpolation of the actual word, dam. The text literally says, “Rescue me from blood.” It could also be read, “Deliver…
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Isaiah 40:27 NASB Due me – Biblical justice is exactly the opposite of the guiding principle of American jurisprudence. The assumption of guilt is the determining factor…
When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” Genesis 19:15 NASB Punishment – Something happened about the time of the Babylonia captivity. The principal word for “sin” changed. Hatta’t was replaced by…
However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die. 2 Samuel 12:14 NASB Die – Tell me how this can be fair? David deliberately sins with Bathsheba. In fact, King David commits several crimes worthy of…
You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 NASB Incur – The most infectious disease the world has ever known is sin. To this day there is no cure for the spread of the virus. In fact,…
“For your guilt teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.” Job 15:5 NASB Crafty – “Naked I came into the world” is another way to say that when I arrived I didn’t have a hidden agenda. That’s what we learn from the phonetically similar Hebrew word arom in Genesis 2:25. Adam…
See my affliction and suffering and forgive all my offenses. Psalm 25:18 Robert Alter translation Offenses – hatta’t is the predominate Hebrew word for “sin.” It is a picture of missing the mark, as if we each were shooting arrows at God’s target and missing the dead center bull’s eye. Livingston notes the following insight:…
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NASB Reason – Certainly you’ve heard this verse more than a few times. Does it mean that God wants…
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. Deuteronomy 19:15 (Hebrew World) Two Witnesses – The legal system of Torah is quite clear. …
