An Idea Borrowed

Years ago on a radio program someone shared that they read a chapter in Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters and the longest month has 31 days it allows you to read through Proverbs on a regular basis. I use it as the launch pad for my personal worship time and branch out from there. On this blog I will try to share some of the insights I have in the Word. I will try to organize them in the archive by reference.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Feast in Famine

(Proverbs 10:3 KJV)  The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

Is this a law or a suggestion?  This verse requires some thought and digging.  It seems there are differences in the text.  The NASB translation is a bit different:
PRO 10:3 The \Lord\ will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will thrust {aside} the craving of the wicked.
“Allow” is not in the Hebrew.  The word that the KJV translated “soul” (5315) does not seem to be in the Hebrew text of the NASB.  This is a difference that effects the translation as well as the meaning.  The KJV translation makes sense, the NASB does not.

The Douay version is like the KJV:
“The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine, and he will disappoint ther deceitful practices of the wicked.”
This is a translation that comes straight from the Latin Vulgate and also makes sense.

If you put these three together it seems safe to assume that this is talking in spiritual terms.  God will not abandon His people.  Even in hard times they will feel His presence.  Even if I do not understand all the issues in translation, I can understand that and it fits with my trans-Bible understandings.

So I may have hard times.  God will be with me.  In fact it seems that God is at his closest when things are going hard.  I think that is because we are more willing to listen when we get to the end of our ability to cope.

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