You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Psalm 71:20 NASB Revive – Don’t jump too quickly to those comforting thoughts about revival. Pay attention to the beginning of this verse. Who is the one who showed the poet’s many troubles…
For the sake of Your name, LORD, give me life, in Your bounty bring me out from the straits. Psalm 143:11 Robert Alter Give me life – The NASB translates this single Hebrew word as “revive me,” but that implies I only need resuscitation. Alter’s translation is more fundamental. “Give me life,” implies that I…
For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 63:3 NASB Better – Let’s correct the syntax. ki-tov comes first. “Because good” Your ḥesed me ḥayyîm. The last phrase (me ḥayyîm) adds the “than life” part. Min is the preposition of comparison, in this case ki-tov me becomes “better than.” But min…
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, Romans 8:6 NASB Life and peace – Returning to Paul’s great exposition of life in the Messiah, we have learned that “the mind set on” is really the single Greek word phrónēma, a word that encompasses…
The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem Ecclesiastes 1:1 JPS Words – I love the line from the movie The International where the old Communist officer, now a sage, says, “There is a difference between truth and fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” I don’t know who wrote that line for the…
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. Exodus 2:23 NASB Cried out– Do you suffer from the Egyptian disease? Does the Church in the…
Irn shrpns irn s n mn shrpns nthr Proverbs 27:17 Shrpns – Can you read this verse? It’s only missing the vowels, but vowels are the units of the sound system of a language that form the nucleus of a syllable. You can’t speak without them. But you can read. Why? Because you read the vowels into the consonants. The consonants are merely the framework for engagement. They hold up the house while you go about…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Behind and before– What does it feel like to have God’s hand heavy upon you? Does it feel comfortable? Gracious? Or do you feel as if you can’t move? Pressed? Coerced? Curbed? In this verse, the emphasis comes first, and in this…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Behind and before– Do you want to be free? Free to determine your own way? Free from the expectations of others? Free to explore who you really are? Free to choose God? Then get ready to be constrained! Human freedom is not the clear path…
