Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; for his reward will be emptiness. Job 15:31 NASB Deceiving – How can you trust in something that doesn’t exist? That would be real foolishness. Fortunately, Eliphaz isn’t“foolish” enough to insist that some people believe in nothingness. No, the word he uses also means “vanity” or “useless.” His…
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me. Hosea 7:13 NASB Strayed – Tossing and turning. Sleeplessness. And when you eventually drift off, then you find yourself in the midst of a trauma—a scary nightmare. If…
The wicked have set a trap for me, yet I have not wandered from Your precepts. Psalm 119:110 NASB Trap – The Hebrew word translated “trap” is paḥ. It is literally a snare for birds. Its root is pāḥaḥ, to ensnare. Why would we want to be sure that we understand its use before we use “trap.” …
You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Your commandment. Psalm 119:21 NASB Arrogant – We have a contemporary proverb, based on an ancient one (Proverbs 16:18-19). It goes something like this: pride comes before a fall. If we wanted to say it in Hebrew, we’d most likely use the word zēd. Here it is plural encompassing…
With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Psalm 119:10 NASB Let me wander – “The loving care of the Father in heaven is shown by the fact that he hears all prayers, that there is no seeking without finding and no knocking without opening.”[1] Is Lohmeyer right? Is…
Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and one who hurries [a]his footsteps [b]errs. Proverbs 19:2 NASB Errs – “Err” is a funny word. Just the look of it is odd. In this biblical translation, it’s used for the Hebrew ḥāṭāʾ (חָטָא), the most common word for “sin.” That causes the NKJV…
“And when God made me wander from my father’s house, I said to her . . .” Genesis 20:13 Wander – Abraham’s faith is legendary. His long relationship with YHWH establishes blessings which we enjoy today. But Abraham’s perception of the character of YHWH is often at odds with our “refined” view. Consequently, we tend…
