Walk Among the Tombstones

May their encampment be laid waste, and in their tents may no one dwell.  Psalm 69:26 [Hebrew Bible]  Robert Alter No one dwell – Enough already!  David’s already cursed them.  He’s already wished them trapped, blind, and feeble.  He’s elicited the storm God to scorch them with hot lava.  Why keep the curses going?  Ah,…

The Hebrew Negative

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2 NASB No condemnation – Paul is pretty intense. He opens the sentence with ouden. It means, “not…

Nearing the End (3)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 NASB Cast me away – Broken…

Fun With Hieroglyphics

“You shall have no other gods before me.”  Exodus 20:3  ESV You shall have no – When I visited the British Museum years ago, I bought a game about Egyptian hieroglyphics.  It included many rubber stamps of hieroglyphs and an inkpad and provided instructions about constructing sentences by using these markings.  Many years later when…

The Source

There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your rage, nor peace in my bones because of my sin. Psalm 38:3 There Is No – Any dictionary will tell you that ‘ayin is a particle of negation.  It means “no, none or nothing.”  It’s used thousands of times in Scripture to negate something.  Here…

Nación Extranjera

recordad que en ese tiempo estabais separados de Cristo, excluidos de la ciudadanía de Israel,  extraños a los pactos de la promesa, sin tener esperanza, y sin Dios en el mundo. Efesios 2:12 Sin Tener Esperanza – Desde la perspectiva bíblica, no existe hombre sin nación. Si no soy ciudadano de Israel por fe, entonces…

Alien Nation

. . . remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 Having No Hope – From the biblical perspective, there is no man without a country. If I am…