Issue 17.4 by Living Hope

Glad Tidings Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Psalm 103:2-3

Volume 1 7, Issue 4

July/August 2013

Glad Tidings July/August 2013

Something To Consider ............... p.3 by Vince Finnegan

The Word: More Than just The Bible........... p.8 by Cheryl and Matthew Elton

Seek Yahweh: A Hebrew Gospel Of Matthew ..... p.4

Be Reconciled............................. p.12 by Mary Ann Yaconis

by John Cortright Healing Part 1................................ p.6 by Vince Finnegan

Translating The Holy Spirit ........ p.14 by Sean Finnegan

Mark these important dates on your calendar!!

August 44-9 Teen Camp Silver Bay August 2323-25 Royal Family Reunion Living Hope Community Church

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SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: Self Determination Understanding Yahweh should be our lifelong desire and pursuit. A common worldview of God is He can do anything He desires to do because He is the Almighty. Such a view, although popular, is not consistent with God’s description of Himself in the Scriptures. Indeed, Yahweh is almighty God with a definite biblically defined holy character to which He eternally stays unwaveringly consistent. Unlike people, He does not change who He is based upon the influence of others, situations, or circumstances. He made man to have self-determination (free will) which man often uses in a way that limits God’s actions in relationship to him. God’s calling has always been by grace and is a reciprocal arrangement in that man must respond to the call by obedience to His commands. The calling of God is not a forcing, manipulating, or coercing, rather a loving invitation that must be responded to by a freewill choice. The called must respond, and God will even help us to respond the right way if we ask for His help. However, we must choose. Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live… Throughout the Old Testament, the blessing of God flourished to those called by His grace; yet, man still had the responsibility to answer with obedience. In our time called the “administration of grace,” have things changed? Today, do we just receive the blessings of God regardless of behavior? Is it the administration of grace because everything pertaining to God is free without any self-determination or responsibility? Has the way God deals with humanity changed? The four Gospels and all of the church epistles authoritatively answer these questions. God has not changed, and the way He honors man’s free will has not changed. Salvation is available to humanity by the accomplished work of Christ and not by man’s works – this is grace. However, grace does not mean we are not required to have faith and the corresponding works always connected with faith. Salvation is a gift, but it is not forced upon people. We must accept the gift by operating our free will to have Jesus as Lord in our lives. The undeniable reality of God’s dealings with man is that of free will. The original design of man was to be like God, and that included the ability to think, reason, and choose (hence free will). Too often when people experience some type of calamity, they question God based upon the wrong view that He can do anything He wants and therefore should have intervened. A more appropriate response rather than judging God in difficult times would be to ask for His help and consider the possibility that our choice may have had something to do with the problem.

God bless,

Seek Yahweh:

By John Cortright

A Hebrew Gospel Of Matthew

o early Hebrew translations of the New Testament are known. If such manuscripts did exist, we would have tremendous enlightenment regarding the name of God in New Testament times. Although no such manuscripts exist, writings of early church fathers indicate that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew.1

Papias (130 AD) “Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able” (Eusebius, Church History, 3.39.16) Irenaeus of Lyons (170 AD) “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.1.1) Origen (200 AD) “The first was written by Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published in the Hebrew language.” (Eusebius, Church History, 6.25.4) Eusebius (315 AD) “For Matthew, who had at first preached to the Hebrews, when he was about to go to other

peoples, committed his Gospel to writing in his native tongue.” (Eusebius, Church History, 3.24) Jerome (382 AD) “Matthew, also called Levi, apostle and aforetimes publican, composed a Gospel of Christ at first published in Judea in Hebrew for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed, but this was afterwards translated into Greek, though by what author is uncertain. The Hebrew itself has been preserved until the present day in the library at On Caesarea.” (Jerome, Illustrious Men, 3) No copies of this Hebrew version of Matthew exist. The Greek language “had an enormous impact in Judea in both Second Temple and rabbinic times. As far as we know, however, Hebrew remained the primary language of literary expression. The Qumran scrolls demonstrate that Hebrew was the original language of most of the works written in Judea between the period of the Maccabees and the destruction of the temple in 70 CD.”2 For years, it had been commonly believed that Hebrew was not spoken in Jesus’ day and that the vernacular of Palestine was Aramaic. However, since the 4

discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have reconsidered this supposition as these texts are overwhelmingly Hebrew, not Aramaic. Many other discoveries from Judea in the last 50 years have also confirmed the extensive use of Hebrew in the land of Judea in the early first century. The New Testament bears witness to this truth as well. Some have thought the following uses of the word “Hebrew” should be understood as “Aramaic.” However, there is a very good possibility that the Scriptures mean exactly what they say and that the language was indeed Hebrew. John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). John 19:20 Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. Acts 21:40; 22:2 When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to (Continued on page 5)

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Papias (130 AD) “Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able”

them in the Hebrew dialect, saying, And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said, Acts 26:14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' If this is the case, then it seems altogether reasonable to believe that some of the New Testament writings, especially those written to Jews living in Israel, would have been written in Hebrew. Although there are no known early Hebrew New Testament manuscripts, a complete Hebrew Text of Matthew was produced in the fourteenth century by a Jew named Shem-Tob. This copy of Matthew is part of a larger Hebrew writing known as Even Bohan or “The Touchstone.” Shem -To b m ade t his translation, not to support Christianity, but as a Jew he wrote this as a polemic, written to refute Christianity. The original document contained many polemical insertions used by Shem-Tob as arguments to support Judaism against the Christian doctrine. What text did Shem-Tob use to make this Hebrew translation? George Howard’s excellent analysis provides strong evidence that this translation did not come

from an existing Greek text, but more likely was a translation of an earlier Hebrew manuscript.3 One particular note of interest is in Howard’s appendix on “The Divine Name” and ShemTob’s use of the Hebrew letter “h” (Heth), which is a shortened form of “msh” (HaShem or “The Name”). The term “HaShem” is one of the common surrogates spoken by Jews today when reading the name of God. This use of the Hebrew letter “h” appears 19 times in Shem Tob’s translation – (Mt 1:22, 24; 2:13, 19; 3:3; 4:7, 10; 5:33; 15:8; 21:9, 12, 42; 22:31, 32, 37, 44; 27:9; 28:2, 9). An examination of the majority of these references reveals that this is often a quote from the Old Testament and is clearly a reference to Yahweh. The Greek texts use the word “kurios;” the Syriac versions use the word “myra;” Latin is “domino;” and in English, it is translated as “Lord.” However, in three instances there is no corresponding Greek, Syriac, 5

Latin, or English equivalent. “The Name” simply appears in Shem-Tob’s Hebrew version. The three references are as follows: Matthew 15:8 – “Thus h [HaShem] said, because this people…,” Matthew 22:32 –“I h [HaShem], am the God of Abraham…, Matthew 28:9 – “Jesus passed before them saying: May h [HaShem] deliver you, then they came near to him, bowed down…” This begs the question, “Why would Shem-Tob, a Jew of the strictest sense, add a usage of Hashem, representing the sacred Name, to a text where it did not exist in the first place?” Howard states, “The conclusion that seems inescapable is that Shem-Tob found the Divine Name already in his gospel text, having received it from an earlier generation of Jewish tradents. He permitted the Divine Name to remain in the text perhaps because he was (Continued on page 7)

Healing Part 1 By Vince Finnegan

aith is one major component for receiving healing since, according to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence or conviction of things not seen. Jesus teaches that even with faith as a mustard seed, “You shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you,” Matthew 17:20. Since faith begins with hearing the Word, according to Romans 10:17, this first article on healing will be devoted to reviewing the Scriptures that tell us God wants to heal. Does God want me well or sick? To hear some talk, they imply that God’s will is for them to receive sickness. We often think and say things to comfort ourselves when we do not understand what is going on. We make things up to feel better. Frequent comments about sickness are − “God is using this sickness for greater profit;” “God has a purpose for everything that happens;” “If it is God’s will, you will be healed.” However, the immediate relief that such popular clichés may provide is often minuscule in comparison to the damage caused in the end − that of doubting God’s love, purposes, and integrity. That which was intended to be a blessing might end up an eternal curse. Man’s starting point was Paradise wherein he enjoyed per-

fectly healthy bodies and minds intended to last forever. The believer’s destiny in the end is to return to Paradise with its eternal glory. Yahweh’s resolve for humankind’s eternal wellbeing has never altered even though the circumstances have drastically changed. The understanding of the big picture, the eternal plan, should convince us that Yahweh wants His people to be healthy and blessed in every way. Yahweh instituted a covenant with Israel in which He promised to take care of them as they obeyed His commands. Consider the following verses:

Exodus 15:26 – "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD [Yahweh] your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD [Yahweh], am your healer." Exodus 23:25 and 26 - "But you shall serve the LORD [Yahweh] your God, and He will bless your bread and your water;

and I will remove sickness from your midst. "There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. In subsequent articles, we will look at our responsibility to receive the healing that Yahweh desires to provide, but in this article I want to focus on the fact that God desires to heal His people. Deuteronomy 7:15 – "The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known… Psalms 91:9-16 – For you have made the LORD [Yahweh], my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent… "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him... Psalms 103:2 and 3 – Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Psalms 107:20 – He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. (Continued on page 7)

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Jesus always did the will of his Father, so everything he said and did was as God wanted done and said. Jesus was God’s will in manifestation, and he often healed many people. Matthew 4:23 and 24 – Jesus was throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

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Seek Yahweh: A Hebrew Gospel Of Matthew Continued...

unsure himself about what to do with it.”4 By the 14th century, Jewish tradition had completely restricted the use of the name of God. Shem-Tob, being a fervent Jew, would not have added “the Name” to a Christian manuscript. He would, however, have been careful not to write the name and instead use the common Jewish surrogate, msh (HaShem) or in shortened form “h.” Perhaps one day, more discoveries will be found that would provide insight into the use of Hebrew in New Testament writings. If that were the case, then the name, Yahweh, could be seen in the texts and not the ambiguous title “Lord.” When reading the words

Matthew 9:35 - Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Luke 4:40 – While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Acts 10:38 – ...He [Jesus] went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed.... All those who came to Jesus and received healing had faith that God wanted to heal them. Only of Jesus speaking about his Father in the Hebrew tongue, we would see him boldly declare God’s name in the Shema, the Jewish statement of faith: Matthew 22:36-38 Rabbi, tell us which is the greatest commandment in the Torah. He said to him: Thou shalt love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the first.

(This is a rendering of George Howard’s translation of Shem Tob’s Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, replacing the Hebrew letter “h” with the name of God, Yahweh, – rather than the ambiguous surrogate “Lord” or the Jewish substitute “HaShem.”)

one time did someone (a leper) say what so many today say − “If you are willing, you can heal me.” Jesus quickly and authoritatively responded as is recorded in Matthew 8. He said: “I am willing; be cleansed,” and immediately he was healed. The Scriptures convincingly communicate the will of God to heal. We should never utter the faithdestroying words that are often spoken − “If it be Your will.” Thinking such as this eliminates faith in God to heal and any responsibility on our part to take godly action. We become fatalists. In the next article, we will revisit some of these verses and focus on our responsibility to receive the gift of healing.

All Church Father quotes are translated by Ernest Cushing Richardson. From Nicene and PostNicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co. 1892.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/father s/2708.htm>. Downloaded on 2/22/2013 2

George Howard, Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (Mercer University

Ibid., pg 231

The Word: More Than Just The Bible By Cheryl and Matthew Elton

“I

n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” -John 1:1

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” -Matthew 4:4 NKJV “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” -Romans 10:17 NKJV “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” -Ephesians 6:17 NKJV These are well-known verses of Scripture that demonstrate the importance of the “word.” To most Christians, the “word” simply means the Bible. They mentally insert “Bible” into all of the above verses when they read “word.” When we hear “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” we might picture a Bible floating in space with God. We hear “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” and “take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” and our minds again insert “Bible:” We live by the Bible, have faith by hearing the Bible, and fight the devil with the Bible.

But is this really what these verses mean? In the early church, few people had access to the Scriptures, and even if they did, most didn’t know how to read. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Bible, it would be difficult for most early Christians to have faith. If man lives by every word that comes out of the Bible, it would likewise be challenging for most early Christians to live out their faith. Is there more to the “word” than just the Bible? The New Testament was translated from Greek, and “word” can take on several different meanings depending on which Greek word it was translated from. It’s worth gaining a clearer understanding of the Greek words logos, graphe (grah’-fay), and rhema (ray’-muh). The Architect’s vision God, from the beginning of time, has had a vision for the world and for His Kingdom. This overarching plan, reasoning, or vision is expressed by the Greek word lógos (Strong’s 3056). It is “a decree, mandate, or order; what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim.”

Logos is used 316 times in the 8

New Testament. It does not refer to the written Scriptures, but to the eternal plan and purpose of God, existing from the beginning and becoming manifested to us in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:1 reads: “In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was with God and the logos was God.” Then in John 1:14, Jesus is the logos made flesh: “And the logos became flesh and dwelt among us….” John 1 isn’t saying that scrolls or Bibles were floating around in heaven at the beginning of time. Rather, it means that from the beginning God had a supreme plan for His Messiah and His Kingdom. He had a big picture in mind. This supreme plan that was in God’s mind from the beginning finally came to fruition with the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ (“the Word became flesh”), and is continuing today. As we explore the words graphe and rhema, I’d like to do so in the context of an illustration in which we’ll see how logos, graphe, and rhema work together. When an architect is hired for a building project, he must start with a clearly defined vision (logos) of the end result. This vision serves as the basis for all other methods of communication relating to the project. The architect then draws up written blueprints detailing every as(Continued on page 9)

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pect of the building. These sketches and instructions serve to guide the contractors as they start working. Each step of the building process is still incomplete in expressing the architect’s vision. Only the finished building will express his full intentions. Think of God as the Architect and us as His work crew. He guides our steps as we endeavor to work on His building (His Kingdom). He has a clear vision of every detail, and He communicates His vision to us so we can build according to His specifications. The Scriptures - our blueprint The word graphé (Strong’s 1124) describes this concept of the blueprints. Used 51 times in the New Testament, it refers to the written word and is usually translated as “scripture.” It’s used in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture (graphe) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” KJV Most Christians have taken the Architect’s blueprints – the Scriptures – and viewed them as expressing His full plan and purpose. But as anyone in construction will tell you, if the architect were to hand the blueprints to the builders without any further communication at all, the plans would be left to the builders’ own interpretation. Without personal,

step-by-step communication and supervision from the architect, the building would never be constructed exactly as intended. Give the same set of blueprints to 100 different construction companies without any other communication, and you’ll likely end up with 100 slightly different buildings, as each interprets the blueprints his own way. The functionality and look of the building could end up quite different from what the architect originally envisioned! Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened to the Christian church. God, the Architect, is building a Kingdom, and His plan (logos) has existed from the beginning of time. He revealed it to us in the written revelation of the Bible, the divinely inspired Scriptures (graphe), which serve as the blueprint for His Kingdom. Yet, many Christians assume and live as if God’s communication to us stops there. If the Bible is the totality of God’s Word and if God does not communicate with us outside of the Bible, then we are left on our own when it comes to interpreting it. We now have thousands of different denominations and groups, each interpreting the Bible in slightly different ways. It wasn’t meant to be this way. At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them, and there was more they would need to know to continue his work. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will 9

teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” -John 14:26 NKJV “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” -John 16:13 NKJV Jesus knew that his time had come and he would soon face death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. He knew that he would soon leave the earth to sit down at the right hand of God and would no longer be physically present to speak to his disciples in person. Yet the things he needed to communicate to them were sadly incomplete at that time! “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,” Jesus said in John 16:12. Also, John tells us in John 21:25 that the Bible records only a small fraction of Christ’s ministry: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Jesus clearly said there is much more to the Architect’s vision than he could communicate to his disciples during his brief time here on earth – indeed, much more than could be written down in the Gospels! All the things Jesus spoke about and showed them during his years on earth were but a fraction of the en(Continued on page 10)

The Word: More Than Just The Bible Continued... (Continued from page 9)

tirety of God’s Kingdom vision or logos. Fortunately, Jesus assures us that the Architect isn’t going to leave us with only a set of blueprints. Instead, He has sent a job foreman (the holy spirit) to guide us and instruct us, communicating to us every detail we need to carry out the work. God’s voice for us today The instruction (revelation) we receive from the holy spirit is God’s rhḗma rhḗma (Strong’s 4487) – another Greek word translated “word.” Rhema means “that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken; word; any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning.”

Rhema is the personal, relevant, conversational, relationship “word.” It is God in Jesus Christ in us through the holy spirit. It is the Lord’s voice for each of us, just as it was for Samuel. “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” -1 Samuel 3:1 NKJV

We read that the word of the Lord was rare in those days. This doesn’t mean there was a shortage of scrolls. It means the spoken rhema revelation of God was unusual. In the Old Testament, it was not often that God would pour out His spirit on someone that they might prophesy or would reveal Himself in a dream or a vision. But today, in the post-Pentecost church, God has graciously poured out His holy spirit on all who believe. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted what had been prophesied by the prophet Joel. “’And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.” -Acts 2:17NKJV A deeper level of meaning A proper understanding of these words – logos, graphe, and rhema – reveals a new and deeper level of meaning on how God communicates. This is not at all to diminish the greatness of His written word, the Scriptures. God expects us to read and learn the Scrip-

tures to understand Him. However, the Scriptures are only a portion of what He desires to communicate to us. Let’s revisit the verses at the beginning of this article with the new understanding of “word.” “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceeds from the mouth of God.” -Matthew 4:4 NKJV While most Christians think this is talking about the importance of knowing the Bible, the Greek word used here is not graphe but rhema, meaning the spoken revelation of God. In the context of Matthew 4, Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness to turn stones into bread. It is often assumed that Satan was tempting Jesus to sin. But nowhere in the Bible does it say it is wrong to turn stones into bread and eat them. If Jesus had done this, he would not have violated any commandment written in Scripture. Christ’s answer to Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every rhema that proceeds from the mouth of God,” is essentially saying that the spiritual revelation of God – His daily instruction to our lives through the holy spirit – is more important than physical food. God had not yet instructed Christ to eat. Although he was extremely hungry, Jesus remained obedient to God’s spiritual revelation. He walked in perfect fellowship with his Father (Continued on page 11)

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and followed the Father’s instructions every step of the way. (John 5:19 “…Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”) Jesus would have rather starved to death than do anything outside of the Father’s rhema instructions for his life. Jesus didn’t live by bread alone or by the Bible alone (graphe, the written word – because on that basis alone, the temptation would have been fine!), but instead he lived by rhema – the Father’s daily, personal instruction. We can do the same. Other key ‘rhema’ verses “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema] of God” -Romans 10:17 NKJV Most people think this is talking about the Bible. Yet, “word” in this verse is rhema – the spoken utterance or revelation from God. If faith came solely by hearing the written Scriptures, surely graphe would have been used. God is telling us that the way to grow our faith is to recognize and follow His personal, present voice in our lives. How exciting this is! We are to have a personal, present relationship with God through Jesus Christ, walking and talking with Him throughout the day (all relationship involves communication).

Surely this time spent in relationship with Him will grow our faith, as He gives us His daily revelation ‘bread’ to guide our way. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [rhema] of God;” -Ephesians 6:17 NKJV This usage of “word” has been interpreted as “the Bible” for too long! Simply quoting Bible verses will not stop the devil – he’s heard it all before! What Satan doesn’t have access to, which we do, is the rhema of God – the relevant, personal ‘word’ via the holy spirit through which the Lord guides our steps. It’s interesting that of all the pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6, only one is an offensive weapon – the sword of the Spirit – the rhema of God. His personal revelation instruction to us will defeat the devil every time. Knowing about God vs. knowing God A key lesson we can take away from our study of “word” is that there’s an important distinction to be made between knowing about God and knowing God. The Pharisees had great intellectual knowledge about God and the Scriptures. They memorized every law and prided themselves in what they believed to be their superior understanding and handling of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, bogged down by legalism and concerned mainly with the outward appearance, they lacked any real relationship 11

with God! Jesus saw through the façade and said to them in Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and selfindulgence.” NKJV We certainly don’t want to be like the Pharisees. We should desire to know God personally and walk with Him every day. If we want to know our Heavenly Father, we must begin by looking to Jesus Christ because God is most fully revealed in His Son. Hebrews 1:3 tells us: “Who [Jesus] being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word [rhema] of His power….” NKJV In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” NKJV From our brief study of rhema, it’s clear that God desires a living relationship filled with daily communication with us. This dynamic, active relationship with God is made possible only through Jesus Christ. The holy spirit has been given so we can receive God’s daily rhema instruction in our lives. Jesus is calling us into a relationship with him so that through him we will know and experience God. As we learn to hear the voice of the Lord by way of the holy spirit, we learn to know God and His will for our lives. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” -John 10:27 NKJV

Be Reconciled By Mary Ann Yaconis

ne of Jesus’ seemingly radical teachings (recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7) stresses that the law regulated outward behavior, but what Jesus promoted as more important is the condition of the heart. Matthew 5:21-24 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Jesus tells us that not dealing with anger in a godly manner could lead to hatred which could lead to “fiery hell.” Not a comforting thought. Anger seems to be such a close “friend” to so many − easy to come by, quick to act, and devastating in its results. There are two parts to this situation with anger that Jesus is mentioning. One time is when we ourselves are the angry ones, and the other time is when another is angry with us. Let’s first take a look at being angry with others.

Luke 17:1 He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! The words for “stumbling blocks” here have also been translated “offences” in the King James Version. “Offences will come, but WOE to those who cause these offences!” Angry outbursts startle people. They cause the recipient of them to feel hurt, frightened, defensive, and that they need to strike back to save themselves. Others react by retreating and avoiding the angry person at all costs. Anger comes from the heart. Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. We cultivate seeds of anger in our hearts when we have emotional wounds that we have not resolved. These could be feelings of unworthiness, sadness, fear, failure, not being safe or loved, and many more. Instead of recognizing these emotions and allowing God to heal our hurts, we hide them and “protect” ourselves by getting angry to push people away, make them afraid of us, and basically to leave us alone. It generally works because no one wants to approach an angry person. It just isn’t pleasant at all. The second part is someone being offended or angry at us. Luke 17:1 is very clear that we are not to be the stumbling block to someone. Our actions that cause someone to become angry, whether we think we did something wrong or not, are not in question. We are to seek reconciliation from the one offended as 12

quickly as possible. Now, this can be difficult for a couple of reasons. One is that we want the person who hurt and offended us with anger to know just how rotten, mean, and nasty the outburst was and how really very hurt we are! How dare they!! We might even bring up the Christian “card” and say something like, “If you really are a Christian, you wouldn’t have said those things.” Ouch. The heart that Jesus is talking about with reconciliation is one of love. Love covers a multitude of sin. It is more important to reconcile than to be right or wrong. This is the radical part of being a Christian. The way most people settle arguments is to determine finally who was right and who did the wrong thing, and, brother, that one who did wrong better grovel and apologize a lot! Not so with the love of God. Another reason we find reconciling difficult is that our pride gets in the way. We have the thought that for some reason, even if I am wrong, I don’t need to apologize and reconcile. It is up to the other person to do the apologizing. This thinking is contrary to what Jesus says. Still another reason is that we think that magically the fuss will be over in time, and then we can be friends again without any discussion or repair. This thinking is far from the truth. These offenses that are not resolved add up and add up in our hearts. Then we find we are very quick to anger because of what we have held in our hearts. I am not (Continued on page 13)

(Continued from page 12)

generally about to think of murdering someone because of a single offense! But, if I have held this offense and that offense and yet another day after day after day…it adds up to murderous rage. Romans 14:19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. The only way to pursue peace is humbly to reconcile. Possibly when you try to reconcile, the other will lash out again. There is a great possibility of becoming angry all over again at what is said. This is where we have to rely on the precepts of the Word in our heart and the holy spirit so that we do not sin. We can say to the person only that we will search our hearts to see if these things are so and to apologize for causing the pain. If we have in fact done these things, we ask for forgiveness. Matthew 5:25-26 Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. Jesus stated that the one who caused the offense is to seek out the one offended. Many times, the one offended is so hurt that it is difficult to be the one to reach out and reconcile. Either way, both being obedient to the Scriptures could actually find one coming towards the other on their way to reconcile and meet with open arms and tears of joy.

If we have difficulty with angry outbursts that just seem to be so quick to happen, we need to have God search our hearts, and we need to begin an inventory of stumbling blocks that we have held in our hearts. We need to face them and allow healing of these wounds. If we have caused pain for others with our rants and rages, we need to seek out friends and family and apologize and/or ask for forgiveness. Repentance comes as we are mindful that we are quick to blow up and to stop ourselves as we start to feel the anger rise. It is easier to stop a tractor trailer at ten miles per hour than at 60.

know what the other person is thinking. Only when things are calm and peaceful can we discuss what is going on to figure out, in most cases, that nothing was wrong in the first place. It was merely a misunderstanding. The basic example for reconciliation is that we have all sinned against Yahweh. What leads us to repentance? Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Yahweh’s kindness reaches into our hearts and constrains us to desire to love and be at peace with Him and with others. God has no barriers of anger with us. He has reconciled us. Yahweh did “...Yahweh reconciled not do anything wrong. We you to Himself even with are the ones who are to seek all the foolishness and forgiveness from Him. We sin you commit. This are to do the same with oththought constrains us ers. We are to pursue those whom we have offended and not to sin with anger.” those who have offended us in a spirit of peace and humility to settle the issue. Remember the next time you start to get angry and have an outburst:

If we have loved ones around us that frequently have anger towards us, we as mature Christians do not let it steal our peace. Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Our fleshly nature urges us to defend ourselves with more angry words. However, if there is no one to fight with, then it is not a fight. People have their opinions because of what they perceive. We don’t 13

Luke 17:1 He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! Remember that Yahweh reconciled you to Himself even with all the foolishness and sin you commit. This thought constrains us not to sin with anger. Reconcile with your brothers and sisters in Christ and others, if possible. What a wonderful world this would be!

Translating the Holy Spirit By Sean Finnegan

he Bible is not a book, and it was not written in English. It is actually a collection of sixty-six books, written in three ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Since most of us do not read these archaic languages, we depend on translations of the Bible to encounter God’s holy Scripture. In fact, translators have historically held incredible power to influence millions of Bible-readers over the ages. Many impressive developments have occurred in the field of textual criticism1 and lexicology2 over the last century. Today, we can access dozens of English translations, Greek interlinears, and lexical aids online for free. In no other age have Christians had better access to biblical tools for personal study than today. Even so, rather surprisingly, many Bibles contain wild distortions, especially on texts related to dogmas long ago etched in the stone of infallible tradition. The uninformed Christian walking into a local bookstore sees dozens of Bibles lining the shelves and picks the one that best meets his or her needs—the Green Bible, the Extreme Teen Bible, the American Patriot’s Bible, the Catholic Holy Bible, the Archeology Study Bible, the Life Application Study Bible, and so on. The number of translations produced in the last sixty years is even more impressive. Although most of these versions stay relatively true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in

most places, nearly all of them still have significant blind spots that subtly lean readers towards a traditional understanding of who God is. In what follows I intend to expose one of the smoking guns of text tampering as it relates to the holy spirit. I am interested in exposing one of the most flagrant (mis)translation practices found in virtually all English Bibles: rendering impersonal Greek pronouns as personal in English when referring to the holy spirit. What I present here is neither sectarian nor ground breaking. Anyone who can read Greek can verify what I am saying. To start with, I will present a list of key texts that reference the holy spirit using pronouns in English translations. Every one of these texts is an example where one of the very best and most literal English versions—the NASB— chose to use personal pronouns to refer to the spirit. Yet, in every case the Greek words are actually neuter! *See Chart on page 15 As we can see from these texts, the Bible consistently employs neuter (not masculine) pronouns to refer to the holy spirit. We will return to see how other English Bibles translate these clear verses in a moment. First, we need to consider what the translation committees themselves set for standards.

Translator Standards Since most people do not have any way of testing how trustworthy a Bible is, they depend on what the translation committees say they intended to accomplish. Here I will quote from just a few of the most popular Bibles in current bookstores to show what their translation philosophies are: The Lockman Foundation (NASB)4 The New American Standard Bible translation team adhered to the literal philosophy of translation. This is the most exacting and demanding method of translation, and requires a word-for-word translation that is accurate and precise, yet easily readable. This philosophy of translation follows the word and sentence patterns of the original authors so that the reader is free to understand God's message as the Holy Spirit leads…. First published in its compete form in 1971, the NASB is excellent for Bible study because it aims at a precise translation of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. As such, it renders, where practical, the original order of words and phrases. In passages where this literalness produces unacceptable English, the translators used modern (Continued on page 16)

John 6:63 [NA273]

John 6:63 [Literal]

John 6:63 [NASB]

τὸ πνεῦµά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν, ἡ the spirit is that which gives life, σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν… the flesh does not benefit anything…

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing…

John 7:39 [NA27]

John 7:39 [Literal]

John 7:39 [NASB]

τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν περὶ τοῦ πνεύµατος ὃ ἔµελλον λαµβάνειν οἱ πιστεύσαντες εἰς αὐτόν…

But this He spoke of the Spirit, but this he spoke concerning the spirit which those who believed on whom those who believed in Him were to receive… him [were] about to receive…

Acts 5:32 [NA27]

Acts 5:32 [Literal]

καὶ ἡµεῖς ἐσµεν µάρτυρες τῶν ῥηµάτων τούτων καὶ τὸ πνεῦµα τὸ ἅγιον ὃ ἔδωκεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς πειθαρχοῦσιν αὐτῷ.

and we are witnesses of these words And we are witnesses of these and the holy spirit which God gave things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those to those who obey him who obey Him.

Acts 8:15-16 [NA27]

Acts 8:15-16 [Literal]

Acts 8:15-16 [NASB]

οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περὶ αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσιν πνεῦµα ἅγιον· οὐδέπω γὰρ ἦν ἐπ᾽ οὐδενὶ αὐτῶν ἐπιπεπτωκός…

who, having come down, prayed for them so that they may receive holy spirit; for it has not yet fallen upon any of them…

who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them…

Romans 8:16 [NA27]

Romans 8:16 [Literal]

Romans 8:16 [NASB]

αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦµα συµµαρτυρεῖ τῷ πνεύµατι ἡµῶν ὅτι ἐσµὲν τέκνα θεοῦ.

the spirit itself testifies together with our spirit that we are children of God.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

1 Corinthians 2:12 [NA27]

1 Corinthians 2:12 [Literal]

1 Corinthians 2:12 [NASB]

ἡµεῖς δὲ οὐ τὸ πνεῦµα τοῦ κόσµου ἐλάβοµεν ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦµα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ…

but we did not receive the spirit of the world but the spirit which [is] from God…

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God…

1 John 5:6 [NA27]

1 John 5:6 [Literal]

1 John 5:6 [NASB]

…καὶ τὸ πνεῦµά ἐστιν τὸ µαρτυροῦν, ὅτι τὸ πνεῦµά ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια.

…and the spirit is that which testi- …It is the Spirit who testifies, fies, because the spirit is the truth. because the Spirit is the truth.

Acts 5:32 [NASB]

Translating the Holy Spirit Continued... (Continued from page 14)

English idioms and indicated the literal renderings in marginal notes.” The Biblical Studies Foundation (NET)5 The NET Bible is a completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes! It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Turn the pages and see the breadth of the translators’ notes, documenting their decisions and choices as they worked. The translators’ notes make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator’s shoulder at the very process of translation. This level of documentation is a first for a Bible translation, making transparent the textual basis and the rationale for key renderings (including major interpretive options and alternative translations). This unparalleled level of detail helps connect people to the Bible in the original languages in a way never before possible without years of study of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It unlocks the riches of the Bible’s truth from entirely new perspectives.

Committee on Bible Translation (NIV)6 …the translators were united in their commitment to the authority and infallibility of the Bible as God’s Word in written form…The first concern of the translators has been the accuracy of the translation and its fidelity to the thought of the biblical writers. They have weighed the lexical and grammatical details of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. National (NRSV)7

Council

Churches

Many of us pay scant attention to the Bible translation we use, and yet we all want the most accurate and readable translation available for our study and devotional use. That Bible translation is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Widely recognized by scholars and religious authorities as the most accurate translation, it is also the direct successor of the beloved King James Bible, following in that Bible’s tradition of elegant, readable prose. As a literal translation rather than a paraphrase, the NRSV leaves interpretation in the hands of the reader. Notice how they are all committed to accuracy of translation. None of them indicates that their commitment is first to a creed or tradition over and above reliable translation. As a result, we should see 16

these versions rendering the texts I listed above using impersonal pronouns, since that is what the Greek says. Let’s see how they do. Putting the Translations to the Test Imagine someone jumps online and accesses the most popular and well received translations to investigate the meaning of Acts 5:32 and they check a bunch of translations: *See Chart on page 17 After seeing that eighteen of these nineteen translations personalize the holy spirit by capitalizing “Spirit” (most capitalize “Holy” as well) and that seventeen out of the nineteen use “who” or “whom” to refer back to holy spirit, what would someone conclude? Of course, he or she would go with the majority. Besides, the only translations that differ on this point are the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation (NWT) and the Roman Catholic’s New American Bible (NAB)—the very two sources that evangelicals and Protestants are trained never to trust! In fact, the New World Translation does not even appear on major Bible websites and computer programs, so access to it is limited. What is so shocking is that the Greek very clearly reads “the holy spirit which God gave….” There is no ambiguity or confusing grammar to cloud the question. It is as plain as day, and any first year New Testament Greek student could easily verify it. The most frustrating aspect of this (Continued on page 18)

Nestle Aland 27th Edition Greek Text (NA27)

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)

We are witnesses to this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.'

King James Version (KJV)

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

New World Translation (NWT)

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

And we are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.”

We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to everyone who obeys God.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

New Living Translation (NLT)

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him."

Amplified Bible (AB)

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

And we are witnesses of these things, and the Holy Spirit is also, Whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him.

We are witnesses to these things; so is the Ruach HaKodesh, whom God has given to those who obey him."

New American Bible (NAB)

English Standard Version (ESV)

We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him."

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Message (MSG)

"And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail.”

Today’s English Version/Good News Bible (TEV)

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

We are witnesses to these things—we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him.”

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

New International Version (NIV)

New English Translation (NET)

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

And we are witnesses of these events, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

New King James Version (NKJV)

Today’s New International Version (TNIV) 17

"And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

Translating the Holy Spirit Continued... (Continued from page 16)

chicanery is that these translations mislead honest-hearted men and women who simply want to read and understand the Scriptures. What is more, most Bible readers implicitly trust the scholars who produce translations in the same way that most people trust doctors or school teachers. This is partly due to the impressive verbiage we saw above in their translation philosophies. The NASB team “adhered to the literal philosophy of translation” and required “a word-for-word translation that is accurate and precise,” yet, they literally did not translate the word “ὅ” as “which.” The NET boasts that its nearly 61,000 translators’ notes enable readers to “look over the translator’s shoulder” and make “transparent the textual basis and the rationale for key renderings (including major interpretive options and alternative translations).” However, when I look at the footnotes on Acts 5:32, I see nothing whatsoever indicating they flat out changed a word to make their translation more palatable. Ironically, Daniel Wallace was one of the primary scholars involved in the NET, and his paper on this subject exposes this very issue. The NIV committee stated that they were committed “to the authority and infallibility of the Bible as God’s Word in written form,” yet they corrected the infallible Scripture in their translation to read “whom” instead of “which.” Isn’t a correction the result of an error? But, if Scripture is infallible, why is the NIV

correcting it? Lastly, the NRSV claims it is “the most accurate and readable translation” and that it “leaves interpretation in the hands of the reader.” Yet, in this verse (and many others like it), it obscures the meaning of the text and does not so much as leave a footnote indicating their decision.

Scripture without depending on external traditions or authorities. This came up quite a bit in the battle between the reformers and the established Roman Catholic Church. The Catholics claimed tradition was necessary for rightly interpreting Scripture, whereas the Protestants argued people could understand the Bible without the Church telling them what it was supposed to mean. To this day, the mentality of sola scriptura dominates the confessions and creeds of most non-Catholic denominations.

Sola Scriptura is, I think, a very

So if the Greek is clear, why do nearly all of these translations get it wrong? Why do all of these translations think the simple word ὅ (which) is really ὅν (whom)?

good idea, but it can be practical only for the one who is willing to change his or her beliefs based on what the Bible actually says. Still, one will always need external help from translations, lexicons, cultural studies, etc. To be uncompromisingly sola scriptura would require someone to be able to read uncial manuscripts fluently without the aid of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek dictionaries. Even so, the sentiment has great force, and it combines with another idea from the Reformation—perspicuity. Someone who is perspicacious can accurately see or grasp a matter. The idea here is that Scripture is clear and understandable by nearly everyone.

Sola Scriptura and Perspicuity From the time of the Protestant reformation to today, countless Christians have embraced the motto “sola scriptura,” a Latin phrase meaning “scripture alone.” The idea is that Christians can find whatever pertains to faith and piety in the pages of 18

This mentality puts an incredible burden on Protestants to find their doctrines in Scripture. It will not do to say, “Well, the creed has the following…” or “The Church teaches that this means….” No, they must show (Continued on page 19)

(Continued from page 18)

the teaching in plain Scripture. This would all work out well enough if denominations were actually willing to evaluate their long cherished creeds in the light of Scripture, but, of course, they are not. The whole situation is doomed from the start, because the Protestant Reformation did not start from scratch and question each belief based on Scripture. Sure, there were a few, highly significant doctrines that they put on the chopping block of biblical scrutiny and successfully eliminated, but many of their core beliefs were never up for discussion. For example, they never allowed the Trinity to be questioned, and when people did apply sola scriptura to the dogma, they found themselves on the chopping block. However, now that Catholics and Protestants are no longer able to execute their fellow brothers and sisters on the charge of heresy, they have had to find new ways to deal with this thorny problem. This is precisely where the need arises for translators to monkey with the text. The issue comes down to pressure—pressure to make the Bible conform to the creed so that we can say the creed is biblical. The translators begin with the belief that the holy spirit is the third “person” of the Trinity. As a result, they go against their own stated translation principles to change the text literally from “which” to “who/whom.” Next, a reader comes along and, on the basis of all those personal pronouns, concludes therefore that the “Holy Spirit” is, of course, a “person.”

We begin with a creedal belief, and we end with one—and at the end of the day, we have proved nothing. We should not allow our doctrines to determine the text. To do so is like a doctor who believes that cancer is the root cause of all sickness. Someone comes to him for examination, and though the patient’s symptoms line up perfectly with the common flu virus, the doctor finds ways of convincing himself that cancer is the true culprit. Every test he orders comes back negative, but still he knows in his bones that chemotherapy is the right treatment. When translators see that troubling ὅ (which), they ignore the negative results for the test of personhood and merrily capitalize the “S” on spirit and put “who” anyhow. This is a smoking gun of translation bias, and it is absolutely unacceptable. It does the exact opposite of what all of the translations say they want to do − it injects theology into Scripture and limits the reader’s access to what the text really says. How This Works in Our Favor The fact that nearly all modern translations change the text so that it supports their doctrine about the third person of the Trinity is actually evidence that the Bible does not teach that the holy spirit is a person. This whole issue smacks of anachronism. Of course, neither Jesus nor Paul would say something like, “God the Spirit” or “the third person of the Trinity” or “three persons in one essence” because this kind of language did not yet exist! Pneumatology slowly evolved into full 19

blown Trinitarianism over centuries of reflection. It was not until a.d. 381 that some Christians officially recognized the holy spirit as an equal person of God in the Constantinopolitan Creed. Since the theologians cannot find any of this terminology in Scripture, they tweak the translation to ensure compliance with their beliefs. This dastardly act needs to be exposed so that doubt can be cast on the doctrine of the personhood of the holy spirit. These mistranslated pronouns are like make-up covering a large pimple. If we can help people see through this deception, they just may turn away from the stubborn deception that has held sway for so many centuries and instead simplify their piety and come to worship the true God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 1

Textual critics compare ancient manuscripts to each other and figure out which ones are more accurate. 2

Lexicons are language dictionaries that translators depend on to determine what English word corresponds to the original. 3

The Nestle Aland 27th edition is the standard Greek text translators use for the New Testament (same as the United Bible Societies’ fourth edition). 4

http://www.lockman.org/nasb/ nasbprin.php

http://bible.org/article/prefacenet-bible

The NIV Study Bible, (Grand Rapids:

Zondervan 1995), p. xi. 7

http://www.nrsv.net/about/aboutnrsv/

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I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, ~Deuteronomy 30:19