“What are your many sacrifices to Me?” says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.” Isaiah 1:11 NASB I have had enough – The Hebrew word (śābēaʿ) has two connotations. The first is about…
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, Romans 2:14 NASB A law to themselves – We’ve spent a lot of time looking at Paul’s idea of nómos, or perhaps more accurately, his ideas about all the variations encompassed…
The LORD is my light and my rescue. Whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1 Robert Alter Rescue – I checked twenty-seven English Bible translations of Psalm 27:1. Every one of them translated these words as “the Lord is my light and my salvation.” In fact, I doubt you’ve ever heard it any other way. The…
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 NASB Tradition – About half a century ago this verse was one of the standards I used to evangelize those poor souls…
Then they will cry out to the Lord, but He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds. Micah 3:4 NASB Hide His face – Hebrew is a tactile, idiomatic language. It uses common life experiences to describe crucial religious concepts. Salvation is described as a…
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 John 1:1 NIV This we proclaim – If you read this text in the NIV, you would immediately be confronted with a…
so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:4 NASB So that – Before we can figure out what the consequences of perí hamartías (“for sin” Hebrew ʾāšam) meant for Paul, we’ll need to determine who the pronoun refers…
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 NASB Religion– A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—we investigated thrēskeía, the Greek term James uses in this verse translated “religion.” The translation obscures some of the…
“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15 NASB Shepherds– Please don’t consider me a teacher. I’m not up to the task. I’m just an investigator, someone who explores the connections between culture and Scripture. I just am curious about things and I see all sorts of relationships…
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27 NASB Religion – thrēskeía is the Greek term James uses in this verse. But our translation obscures some of the odd history of…
