Satan has multiplied versions so greatly that Christians and lost people are confused. by Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor Satan has multiplied versions so greatly that Christians and lost people are confused. God is not the author of confusion, so the confusion illustrated in this short article is not of God:

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Disagreement Between Versions Causes Confusion

A friend of mine needed to replace a worn-out Bible. He described his shopping experience:

An entire wall was dedicated to the sale of Bibles. Impressed, I headed to that section. This should be quick and easy, I thought, but I became quite confused. Some of the Bibles is saw were The Voice Bible (2012), the Tree of Life Bible (2014), Third Millennium Bible (1998), Today’s New International Version (2005), The Holy Bible: Jah International Version (2017), The Story Bible (1971), Simple English Bible (1980), The Scriptures (revised 2009), Revised English Bible (1989), Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (2006), Revised Standard Version (1952), New Revised Standard Version (1989), Revised New Jerusalem Bible, (2019), New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revised), New Living Translation (1966), New King James Version (1982), King James Version (1611, 1769), New International Version (2011), New International Version Inclusive Language Edition (1996), English Standard Version (2016), New American Standard Bible (2020), The Message (2002), The Living Bible (1971) Good News Bible (1976) . . . the available selections went on and on! How am I ever going to choose? Is there a Bible right for me?

There are large Bibles, small Bibles, pocket-sized Bibles, partial Bibles, large-print Bibles, interlinear Bibles, study Bibles, Bibles bearing people’s or ministry names . . . Wow! Trying to select one was not going to be easy. As a matter-of-fact, it was overwhelming!

Some say the KJV is hard to understand because of outdated language. I selected some passages in a few translations to see which was easiest to understand. I was surprised at what I read:

Psalm 10:5

KJV: His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

ESV: His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

NASB: His ways prosper at all times; Thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.

NIV: His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty, and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.

NKJV: His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

Now this is interesting. The KJV (which has been around for about 400 years) seems to be out of step with these more modern translations—at least that is what some writers claim. I compared a few other passages.

Ecclesiastes 8:10

KJV: And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

ESV: Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.

ASV: So I saw the wicked buried, and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.

NIV: Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

Two versions say that the wicked were forgotten in the city and two say that they were praised. Being forgotten and being praised are two different concepts. They don’t mean the same thing. Which did God say?

Isaiah 9:3

KJV: Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

ESV: You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

ASV: Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

NIV: You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, when men rejoice when dividing the plunder.

The KJV is out of step. It says their joy was increased and the others say that joy was not increased. This reminds me of a book title by Dr. Mickey P. Carter, Things that are Different are not the Same.

Colossians 2:18

KJV: Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

ESV: Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

ASV: Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he hath seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

NIV: Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worshipping of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unscriptural mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Two versions talk about what they have seen. One states that they intrude into those things which they have not seen. And one states . . . well it implies having seen. Which one has the correct wording?

Hosea 11:12

KJV: Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.

ESV: Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.

ASV: Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Holy One.

NIV: Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the House of Israel with deceit, and Judah is unruly against God.

Three versions say that Judah ruled with God and was faithful to God, but one version says the opposite! How can this be? Are not these supposed to be from the same Bible? Do they not claim to be the Word of God? Shouldn’t we be reading the same ideas in all the versions? Let’s try one more:

Proverbs 18:24

KJV: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

ESV: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

ASV: He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction; But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

NIV: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Two of these say may come to ruin. One says the man will cause his destruction if he makes many friends. These concepts are not the same. One version doesn’t mention destruction—it says that one must show himself friendly to have friends. These are three different concepts. Which is from God? Are we to study an armful of bibles, compare every verse, and choose one we think or feel is the correct one? Are we to choose one that we believe is right for us but may not be right for someone else? How confusing!

The unsaved will laugh Christians to scorn. I can hear their complaint: Christians can’t agree on what their so-called authority (the Bible) says. How can we believe anything they say?

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. I Corinthians 14:33

This widespread confusion should settle the discussion by identifying the author of the newer versions:

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Matthew 12:30

He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Luke 11:23

There are only two sides, God’s and Satan’s. The KJV was relied on for 400 years, then confusion about God’s Word came through many versions. Confusion is not of God, so non-KJV should be avoided.

THE TRANSLATION

All scripture is given by inspiration (theopneustos) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. II Timothy 3:16-17

Theopneustos is two words, theos meaning God, and pneustos meaning “breathed” from which we get “pneumatic.” Scripture is literally God-breathed. Peter explained the origin of scripture:

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II Peter 1:21

Some describe this process as “plenary verbal inspiration;” a fancy way of saying that the Holy Spirit was involved in each and every word of the original documents. The Bible uses “inspiration” in one other place:

But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration

of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Job 32:8

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5

God gives inspiration such as Thomas Edison’s desire to create an electric light or Einstein’s desire to explain the movement of the planet Mercury. Earlier translators had been burned at the stake; they knew that their work might displease King James. The translators wrote the Epistle Dedicatory to flatter the king and to save their lives. The dedication is so far inferior to the translation that it’s hard to believe they were written by the same group. Although the translation was not inspired in the same sense as the original manuscripts, the difference in writing quality shows that Holy Spirit was visibly involved.

THE LESSONS OF HISTORY

History shows that the KJV is the version God wanted for all English speaking people.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD

, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Proverbs 21:1

God involves Himself in human affairs to work out His plans. He helped Alexander the Great spread Greek language and culture from Macedonia to India. When the Romans conquered Greece, Greek became the language of culture and business and Latin was the language of government. Pilate’s title for Jesus “was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. (Jn. 19:20)”

At the time the Gospels were written, Roman roads and the “pax Romana,” or Roman peace, made Paul’s missionary journeys possible. God inspired the “holy men (2 Peter 1:21)” to write in Greek, the language of culture and business in much of the known world. Paul preached the Gospel in Greek in Athens (Acts 17:22).

The East India Company

Queen Elizabeth I chartered the East India Company in 1600; the KJV was published in 1611. The British spread the English language and the KJV: Gibraltar, Crete, Malta, Canada, Australia, India including Pakistan and much of Afghanistan, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Fiji, and what became the United States.

English became the language of business and government wherever the British ruled; the KJV came with it. Children of powerful people and anyone who could learned English and many read the Bible. To this day, offering free English lessons using the KJV as a textbook is a powerful evangelistic tool.

God arranging for the KJV to be translated near the start of the British Empire shows that the KJV was His choice for spreading the English Bible. He had the British spread the English language so people could read it.

Absorption into the Culture

So many Biblical memes such as “feet of clay,” “good Samaritan,” “fig leaf,” and “scales fell from his eyes” have been absorbed into English culture that Time described the history [32], the New York Times the endurance [33], and NPR the impact [34] of the KJV to celebrate its 400^th anniversary in 2011. NPR described King James’ motivation:

I think he was generally scandalized that there were all these different Bibles going around. And when somebody said, you know, I refer to the Bible, the first response was, well, which Bible? My Bible says this, your Bible says this. So he was trying to create a standard version that everyone could agree on.

The KJV translators avoided controversial matters. For example, translating the Greek word baptizmo as “immerse” would have angered groups which believed in sprinkling or pouring. By leaving the Greek in the text, they made their translation acceptable to all groups who could discuss the issue while using the KJV. This helped the KJV achieve wider use than it would have if they had supported one of these three positions.

Many speakers borrow from the KJV. Dr. Martin Luther King drew on Isaiah in “I have a dream:”

Every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

The 400-year acceptance of the KJV as part of the English speaking culture and its broad absorption into the language shows its unifying effect. In this contentious age, unification is much to be desired.

TRANSLATION BETWEEN HUMAN LANGUAGES IS VERY HARD

It is extremely difficult to translate from one human language to another because God did a super job of scrambling languages at Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). Even words for colors can be confusing. I told my mother-in-law that we’d painted our bathroom green. When she visited, she said, “You painted the bathroom again.” My wife said, “No, we painted it once.” My mother in law said, “Your husband said you painted it green but its blue.” She looked at me funny. I told her, “I’m not colorblind; I get the names of blue and green mixed up.” She looked at me funnier. My wife later told me that my mother-in-law thought I was mentally defective.

My wife studied Japanese before we visited Japan where I’d grown up. She said, “I understand blue and green!” Japanese use aoi for the color of the grass and use the same word aoi for the color of the sky. I grew up using one word for both. It never occurred to me that getting English words mixed up was strange – my Japanese friends did it all the time, and Kentucky blue grass looks green to me.

How would a translator render aoi in English? Use blue if it’s about sky and green if it’s about grass. How would this come out in Japanese? “The fireman was so green at his first fire that he was blue afterward.”

Google Translate rendered it “Shōbō-shi (fireman) wa kare no (his) saisho (first) no kaji (fire) de totemo midori (green) dattanode (because he was), sonogo wa kanari (afterward quite) aoku (blue) narimashita (became).” It used “aoi” and “midori” as word-for-word translations of “blue” and “green.”

In this American usage, “green” means inexperienced or untrained and “blue” means depressed or unhappy. Japanese don’t use color names that way, so word-for-word translation gives nonsense. A better Japanese translation would be “Shōbō-shi wa kare no saisho no kaji de hijō ni keiken ga asakattanode (because he was inexperienced), kare wa zan’nendatta sonogo (disappointed).”

Should we translate “green” to a Japanese word meaning “untrained?” Should we translate “blue” to a Japanese word meaning “sad?” What about “frustrated?” Such distinctions require deep knowledge of both languages to produce a translation that captures the sense of the original.

Sometimes we aren’t sure what the original words meant. For example, the Hebrew of Exodus 36:19 has been translated at least 5 different ways, two of which are in different NIV versions:

1. NIV 1984, hides of sea cow

2. NASB 1995, covering of porpoise skins

3. KJV 1611, covering of badgers’ skin

4. ESV 2001, a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins

5. NIV 2011, covering of the other durable leather

Multiply these sorts of uncertainty by hundreds and you get an idea of the difficulty of translating text, especially ancient text. Poetry and puns are harder. Classical scholars say that Homer’s “Odyssey” is riddled with Greek puns, but the only one anyone has been able to translate is “You’re odd, I see.”

Dynamic Equivalent

As with English to Japanese, word-for-word translation from Greek to English or to any other language gives awkward sentences that can be hard to understand. “Dynamic equivalence” is the process of understanding the meaning the author intended and translating it to the target language to express the author’s message accurately. Bible translators must be theologians first and linguists second. The Mind of God can be hard to understand, so deep theological knowledge is needed to have an accurate understanding to translate.

Some translation teams are linguists with weak theological skills. In their desire to make the Bible available in a new language, they may hire non-Christian who speak the target language to help. If the head translator doesn’t know both theology and the target language well, incorrect theology can creep in.

This is particularly dangerous when translating the Bible into Arabic because Islam borrows from the Bible. Translation teams who hire Muslim assistants often find that a Muslim flavor creeps into their final text.

Italics

The KVJ translators strove for word-for-word translation wherever possible and inserted English words that weren’t in the Greek to make the English more understandable. These extra words are in italics.

One of the most vivid examples is:

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? ⁵They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. ⁶As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. John 18:4-6

If the officers had asked, “Which of you is Jesus?” “I am” would have made sense in English. When they said, “We’re looking for Jesus,” saying “I am” would have been awkward; “I am he” reads much better.

In Greek, Jesus’ answer is ego (I) emi (am) without any “he.” That makes sense according to Greek grammar, but adding “he” make the English easier to understand. It’s interesting to read the KJV and think about how it would read without the extra words:

For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. Psalm 38:7

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. ¹¹Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. Isaiah 3:10-11

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; ⁴Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. II Corinthians 8:3-4

Stylistic Differences

All scripture is given by inspiration (theopneustos) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. II Timothy 3:16-17

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II Peter 1:21

Although God breathed His Word through holy men as He chose, their different personalities and writing styles are evident to those who know Greek or Hebrew. The KJV translators didn’t want to show the styles or personalities of the individual translators so they strove for a common style for the entire work. This masks differences in style between the books of the Bible – the KJV English is stylistically uniform.

Some say there are three different Hebrew writing styles and therefore three different writers of the Book of Isaiah. That isn’t proof – many writers have multiple styles which they use for different audiences.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet (prophētēs) Esaias. And when he had opened the book (biblion), he found the place where it was written, Luke 4:16-17

Prophētēs is singular, the plural is prophētae. Biblion means one book; the plural is biblia. “Esias the prophet” or “the prophet Esias” appear 8 times in the gospels; sometimes spoken by Jesus. The Bible describes one book of Isaiah written by one prophet.

Many believe that Paul didn’t write Hebrews because the writing style in Hebrews is different from his other books. Someone who knows how multilingual people think would expect stylistic differences.

A young missionary writes sermons in English and translates to the members’ language. He can’t speak from an outline because he must use the dictionary to look up words he doesn’t know before he can deliver the message. Native hearers will know that the message was composed in English and translated.

Awkwardness is reduced as the missionary learns the language, but sermons won’t sound natural until he thinks and writes in the target language without translating. Japanese user manuals translated to English caused much amusement until the Japanese hired Americans to write manuals in English. The Americans didn’t need to know Japanese; they needed to know how to use the device they were explaining.

Paul was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews (Phi. 3:5).” He spoke Greek to the men of Athens (Acts 17:22), changed his evangelistic focus to the gentiles (Acts 18:6, 22:21, 26:20), and spoke Greek to the chief captain in Jerusalem (Acts 21:37). He ministered to gentiles, so he thought in Greek when writing most of his letters. He thought in Hebrew when writing to Jews, but translated Hebrew to Greek as he wrote. That would change the writing style of the Greek text even though the books had the same author.

A COMFORTING LESSON FROM TRANSLATING NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

Peter went fishing (Jn. 21:3) instead of spreading the Gospel as Jesus had commanded (Jn. 20:21-23). Having created Peter, Jesus knew that Peter had seen that Jesus was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (is. 53:3)” and wouldn’t want to admit his love for Jesus to himself – Peter wanted no part of the sorrow Jesus felt when people whom He loved refused His message. Jesus pursued the matter because Peter couldn’t spread the Gospel until he admitted his love for Jesus.

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agapaō) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileō) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agapaō) thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileō) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. ¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (phileō) thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileō) thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. John 21:15-17

Agapaō is in John 3:16 “for God so loved (agapaō) the world” and in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love (agapaō) one to another.” Agapaō is not just an emotion, it’s also an act of will, you decide and determine to have agapē for God or for another person.

Phileō is brotherly love, affection, or friendship; it’s an emotion of the heart. Agapē is much broader, including judgment and the deliberate bending the will as a matter of principle, duty, and doing what’s right. It includes both mind and heart.

Some say that agapaō and phileō are synonyms, but if that’s true, why did Jesus start by asking Peter about agapaō and switch to phileō when Peter couldn’t testify to agapaō? It’s true that you can’t tell whether the underlying Greek word was agapaō or phileō from looking at English sentences containing “love,” but this is because the English language doesn’t have words which can properly express the difference. We may not always understand the difference, but it’s in the underlying Greek.

Agapē is different enough from the English meaning of “love” that the KJV used “charity” instead of “love” for agapē in 1 Cor. 13 even though “charity” does not include as much duty, reason, or principle as agapē. The difference mattered to Jesus or He wouldn’t have asked twice for agapaō and switched to phileō for His third request. This distinction is lost in translating John 21:15-17 from Greek to English. Jesus use of agapaō and phileō offers these lessons:

· We obey Christ because “the love (agapē) of Christ constraineth us (2 Cor. 5:14).” Peter went fishing instead of obeying Jesus because he hadn’t admitted to himself that he loved Jesus. Once Jesus persuaded Peter to recognize phileō, Peter was constrained to spread the Gospel in spite of opposition by religious authorities (Acts 4:19) even though he had not yet grown enough to offer agapē.

· God has decided to (agapaō) the world (Jn. 3:16), but His love doesn’t do a sinner any good unless we convince the sinner of God’s love. That’s nearly impossible unless the sinner can see our love, and we can’t show love (agapaō) to others without first recognizing it in ourselves and deciding to offer it.

· Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost added 3,000 to the church (Acts 2:14-41)! Jesus’ using Peter to spread the Gospel at this early stage of Peter’s walk with Christ reminds us that God accepts what we have if we’re willing to serve Him (1 Chr. 28:9, 2 Cor. 8:12) and that He gives the increase.

· A man can’t convince his wife that he loves her unless he recognizes his love for her. She won’t be able to comfort him as he expects (Ge. 24:67) unless she’s convinced he’s channeling agapē to her.

The difference between agapaō and phileō shows Peter’s spiritual growth. When Jesus confronted him, the best Peter could express was phileō but years later he wrote that Christians agapaō Jesus:

Whom having not seen, ye love (agapaō); in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: I Peter 1:8

Peter’s maturing from phileō to agapaō illustrates Paul’s prayer “that your love (agapē) may abound yet more and more (Phil. 1:9).” That’s extremely encouraging to me. Peter’s growth confirms 2 Cor. 8:12 “if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” God accepted Peter’s willingness when all he had was phileō. This reminds us that God continues His work in us and helps us mature in service to Him (Phi. 1:6), but that bit of encouragement is lost in the translation.

That’s why it’s useful to be familiar with the many free tools that help explain Greek and Hebrew.

The lack of an English word like agapaō doesn’t mean that we can’t learn the idea from the KJV, but it takes more work. The command “love the Lord thy God” appears 14 times! You must read them all:

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5

Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. Deuteronomy 11:1

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. Deuteronomy 11:13-14

For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Deuteronomy 11:22

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 13:3

If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: Deuteronomy 19:9

And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 30:6

In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:16

That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:20

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua 22:5

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. Joshua 23:11

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:30

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27

These verses command us to offer God agapaō and much more. Loving God with your soul is mentioned 8 times, mind 3 times, strength twice, might once, and so on. We’re to decide in our minds to go beyond agapaō and love God with everything we have!

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. Proverbs 25:28

We must be careful not to let our emotions go where they shouldn’t. We guard our hearts to avoid involvement in anything that becomes more important than God or with someone who takes too much away from our spouse, but salvation starts as an emotional experience – “What a friend (phileō) we have in Jesus.” It takes time for our reason to accept the joy of salvation (Job 7:17, 15:14, Ps. 8:4, 144:3, He. 2:6) so our mind (agapaō) comes along with the rest of our being. Is your all on the altar?

Eph. 5:25 commands “Husbands, love (agapaō) your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” but, like the command to love God, this goes beyond agapaō. Christ gave His life for the church; a husband is expected to give his life day by day in labor to nourish and cherish his wife. As with salvation, married love starts with feelings of attraction (ludus, eros), should deepen to a conscious decision to serve the other party (agapaō) before marriage, and should mature beyond agapaō over time (pragma).

You don’t need Greek or Hebrew to learn what God expects you to learn from His Word, but it helps.

AN ANCIENT LANDMARK SHOWN IN TRANSLATING OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW

Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28

God expects us to keep landmarks which our ancestors observed because He gave them to us. The English language doesn’t have a word like the Hebrew word berith which the inspired words of the Hebrew Bible use to describe marriage vows. “Covenant” is the best English word, but “covenant” suggests that we can break the marriage covenant if our spouse breaks it first. This hides God’s definition of Holy Matrimony.

And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. ¹⁴Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant (

berith)

. Malachi 2:13-14

Malachi said God witnesses each marriage berith; God is a party to a Christian’s marriage berith.

God didn’t value their offerings because they “dealt treacherously” with the “wife of thy covenant (berith).” Berith came from a word meaning “cut” or “divide;” it’s a promise by one person, not by two people.

It is the rendering of a Hebrew word meaning a “covenant” or agreement (from a verb signifying “to cut or divide,” in allusion to a sacrificial custom in connection with “covenant-making,” e.g., Gen. 15:10, “divided” Jer. 34:18-19). In contradistinction to the English word “covenant” (lit., “a coming together”), which signifies a mutual undertaking between two parties or more, each binding himself to fulfill obligations, it does not in itself contain the idea of joint obligation, it mostly signifies an obligation undertaken by a single person. … God enjoined upon Abraham the rite of circumcision, but His promise to Abraham, here called a “covenant,” was not conditional upon the observance of circumcision, though a penalty attached to its nonobservance. [emphasis added] Vine’s Dictionary

There are two points about berith. First, the party who made the promise would be cut in pieces if he didn’t keep the berith. Second, the berith was not based on what the other party did. In Genesis 15, Abraham accepted God’s offer of a berith and gave up his animals to provide blood to sanctify the promise. God walked between the pieces; that bound God to fulfill the berith even if Abraham disobeyed God.

Marriage is the husband’s berith; he’s bound by his berith whatever she does. As Abraham, the weaker party, gave up his animals to provide the blood to seal his berith with God, the woman, as the weaker party (1 Pe. 3:7), gives up her innocence to provide the blood to seal her husband’s berith with her.

Kids used to say, “Cross my heart and hope to die,” which meant we’d rather die than break our promise. Kids may be closer to the mind of God than adults are (Mk. 10:15, Luke 18:17).

A berith binds the man; it doesn’t bind the woman (Mal. 2:14). What binds her? First, adultery was punished by death. Second, a woman was stoned if she couldn’t prove she’d been a virgin when she married:

But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel

: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die

: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. Deuteronomy 22:20-21

Third, the New Testament clarifies the woman’s duty if she accepts her husband’s marriage berith:

Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress

: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress

, though she be married to another man. Romans 7:1-3

Once a woman seals a man’s berith, she’s his (Song 6:3) until he dies and he’s hers (Song 2:16) until she dies, no matter what. God told Hosea to buy back his wife Gomer who abandoned his home, slept with other men, and was sold into slavery (Hoses 2). God’s marriage berith lasts until death no matter what.

English language doesn’t have a word as strong as berith. This has led to much confusion about marriage.

As with agapaō, you don’t need berith to understand that Holy Matrimony is until death. You can get it from the KVJ, but you must read with an open and obedient heart and mind. Consider salvation:

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead

to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another

, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Romans 7:4

Jesus expects you to die to your former life and be born again into marriage with Him so you can bring fruit to God. Revelation 19:9 speaks of “the marriage supper of the Lamb” where His bride, the church, is united in marriage with Jesus in Heaven forever.

The Bible uses the word “marriage” to describe the relationship between God, His people, and the church. When lost people see that Christians, who are Christ’s ambassadors to the lost (2 Cor. 5:20), can’t handle this life any better than they can, why should they care what we say about the life to come? If we can’t keep our promises, how can they believe that God will keep His promises?

[1] The region of the air; the sky or heavens; the great arch or expanse over our heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds.

[2] Daniel reported to the “prince of the eunuchs.” Conquerors “recruited” captives into their bureaucracies. Family loyalties can be strong; it was prudent to deny captives the ability to form families so their loyalty would be to the administrative deep state.

[3] The Hebrew word for “help” is ezer used in “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my ezer (Psalm 121:1).“ God helps us when we cry. Is a “help” inferior? “Meet” means suitable. A wife is a suitable help for her husband. We used to say, “Behind every successful man there’s a woman” because of the value of a wife’s contributions to her husband’s success.

[4] Matthew Henry, “Commentary of Genesis 4”

[5] Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, “Commentary on Genesis 4”

[6] https://arkencounter.com/noahs-ark/size/

[7] https://www.vita-romae.com/roman-ships.html

[8] https://answersingenesis.org/geology/mount-st-helens/

[9] https://www.grisda.org/rapid-bedrock-incision-by-water-stream-outburst-the-case-of-the-oroville-dam-california-usa-1

[10] https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/things-to-do/fly-geyser-one-of-nevadas-little-surprises/

[11] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62619397

[12] https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/balfour-declaration

[13] https://www.britannica.com/event/Balfour-Declaration

[14] This doesn’t work as well once you have children, of course, mothers want children in bed on time.

[15] Sexual Relations and Cultural Behavior, by J. D. Unwin (Frank M. Darrow 1969)

[16] Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski quoted in Daniel Patrick Moynihan Family and Nation, (San Diego CA: Harcourt Brace, 1986) pp. 169-170.

[17] David Popenoe, “The Controversial Truth”, New York Times December 26, 1992, A-24.

[18] The Hebrew word for “help” is ezer used in “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help (Psalm 121:1)?“ God helps us when we cry. Is a “help” inferior? “Meet” means suitable. A wife is a suitable help for her husband. We used to say, “Behind every successful man there’s a woman” because of the value of a wife’s contributions.

[19] Mount, Jr., Eric and Bos, Johanna W. H. “Scripture on Sexuality, Shifting Authority,” Journal of Presbyterian History 59 no. 2, (Summer 1981): 224

[20] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-559949/Downfall-decent-clan-What-Shannon-family-tree-reveals-social-breakdown-Britain.html

[21] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2159476/Tennessees-deadbeat-dads-The-men-81-children-46-different-women–theyre-paying-child-support-them.html

[22] https://www.faithandreason.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mondale-Act-After-Forty-Years_-True.pdf

[23] https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/05/a_legal_system_corrupted.html

[24] Westcott and Hort, p. 282

[25] Epp and Fee, Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism (1993, pages 157-8)

[26] New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible

[27] http://www.thetextofthegospels.com/2017/06/fool-and-knave-hebrews-1-in-codex.html

[28] https://codexsinaiticus.org/en/

[29] https://www.bereanpatriot.com/majority-text-vs-critical-text-vs-textus-receptus-textual-criticism-101/

[30] https://afaofpa.org/archives/afa-of-pa-action-alert-bible-is-hate-speech-in-co-coming-to-pa-soon/

[31] https://www.newsweek.com/lawmaker-pastor-charged-hate-speech-quoting-bible-walk-free-1693385