For David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my heart. Psalm 25:1 Robert Alter translation To You – Lamentations and Psalms use a form of poetry called acrostic. In poems of this type, each new line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this psalm, every letter is represented except the…
“Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4 ESV Puffed up – Let’s get the Greek out. Neither Habakkuk nor Paul nor God Himself use the word “soul.” The Hebrew is nephesh. We have the English translation “soul” because of the…
Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:21 NASB Ascends upward – “Ecclesiastes, alone in the Bible, is aware of the belief that at death the soul goes upward to the heavens, rather than down to Sheol. This idea is not…
And you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5 Heart/ Soul/ Might – If we are commanded to love God with all (kol) we’ve got, obviously that command affects the entire body of behaviors. Rather than allow us to fumble around…
He satisfies the thirsty soul and He fills the hungry soul with good. Psalm 107:9 With Good – Did you expect that? Wouldn’t we expect the psalmist to say, “He fills the hungry soul with food?” After all, isn’t this verse about what we need to survive? The Hebrew mi le-tov is literally “He satisfies…
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 Living – Is the Bible a living Word for you? This…
Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NASB) Our Own Lives – “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” St. Francis got it…
