Wait a Minute!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;…

English Nuances

Reproach breaks my heart, I grow ill: I hope for consolation, and there is none, and for comforters, and do not find them.  Psalm 69:21 [Hebrew Bible]  Robert Alter Consolation – Look at this verse in two other translations (verse 20 in English Bibles): Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair.  I looked…

Be Prepared

Yes, let all who hope in You be not shamed. Let the treacherous be shamed, empty-handed.  Psalm 25:3  Robert Alter translation Hope – After our recent discussion of batah, you might expect to find that word behind the English “hope.” To trust is to hope.  The result is a public display.  But that’s not what the psalmist wants…

The Turning Point

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:7  NASB For what – Remember the punctuation.  Hebrew doesn’t have any.  So the phrase, ma(h)-q-qiwwiti, could be a question or it could be a statement, like, “I wait for.”  Or it could be, “Now, Lord, what.  I wait.”  The verb is qāwâ,…

The First Today’s Word

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength” Isaiah 40:31 NASB This is the first Today’s Word I wrote. It was written in 2003 and has never been published to the web. When Today’s Word started, it was the beginning of a long journey for me; a journey that has taken some…

More Than Me

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NASB Hope – What does Paul mean by the term “God of hope?” Does God hope? Does He wish things would turn out better?…

Be Prepared

Yes, let all who hope in You be not shamed.  Let the treacherous be shamed, empty-handed.  Psalm 25:3  Robert Alter translation Hope – After our recent discussion of batah, you might expect to find that word behind the English “hope.”  To trust is to hope.  The result is a public display.  But that’s not what…

Speed Limit

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.  Psalm 130:5  ESV Wait – I don’t like to wait.  I don’t like to wait for anything.  I hate lines.  I want to get there now.  No red lights, no detours, no queues.  Just a freeway without traffic.  Pedal to the…