Unintentional

then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or acquired by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost property which he found,  Leviticus 6:4  NASB Becomes guilty – It is often claimed that Leviticus deals only with unintentional sin.  Verses…

A Matter of Conscience

then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or acquired by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost property which he found,  Leviticus 6:4  NASB Becomes guilty – When are you guilty?  As soon as you commit a sin?  As…

Missing “Faithful Words”

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.  [b]The Lord is faithful in His words, and holy in all His works.  Psalm 145:13  NASB [b] – Did you notice the footnote in this verse?  Ah, maybe your Bible doesn’t have such a footnote.  Maybe your Bible translates verse 13 like this: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,…

Stand and Deliver

Yes, I am like a person who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no arguments. For I wait for You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God.  Psalm 38:14-15  NASB No arguments – Maybe the psalmist read Job.  Maybe we should before we try to understand this poem.  The word he uses is tôkaḥot, “reproofs, arguments.” …

Quarantine

My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my kinsmen stand far away.  Psalm 38:11  NASB Plague – Perhaps the modern world is finally uncomfortably familiar with this word, negaʿ.  Translated “plague,” we discover that the root (nāgaʿ) is about touching.  The noun, which we have in this verse, isn’t always about…

Going Home

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.  2 Corinthians 5:8  NASB 1995 Absent – “The fantasy of escape from the struggle of existence must be deeply addressed if one is to find the vital center of one’s being.”[1] “I just…

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.  My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me.  Psalm 38:9-10  NASB My desire – Edward Mote (1797 to 1874) wrote the famous hymn, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and…

Sick to Death

I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go in mourning all day long.  For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no healthy part in my flesh.  I feel faint and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.  Psalm 38:6-8 NASB No healthy part – Despite the fact that the idea is theologically untenable, the…

A Tender and Delicate Sadness

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.”  Job 14:1  NASB Man – I still have places to go. Katmandu, Nepal Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan Skógafoss, Iceland Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan Cao Bang Ban Gioc Waterfall, Vietnam Caño Cristales, Columbia Raja Ampat, Indonesia Dongchuan, China Marble Caves, Chico, Chile…

Air Time

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden . . . Genesis 3:8a  Robert Alter Walking – Sometimes our English translations cripple Hebrew intention.  Verses become pedestrian instead of surprising.  We read them as if they had nothing more to say than our simple-minded interpretation.  We reduce the biblical…