Cross Reference

Proverbs 23:35 (KJV) They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

This verse is at the end of a long section dealing with the abuse of alcohol.  The advice of Proverbs is to use great moderation and caution, at least in this chapter.

What hit me today as I was looking at this in the KJV and comparing it to the NASB,  I noticed that the final phrase here is, “I will seek it yet again.”  What I find much more compelling to me is what the NASB says.  It says, “I will seek another drink.”  I like that.  It is well put.  The problem is it’s not a literal translation.  The King James here has the literal translation and the marginal reading in the NASB points that out.

I still prefer the reading of the NASB, but I find that it is really helpful to cross reference it with another translation, such as the KJV, to find out the truth.  No group of translators is 100% on board with being literal.  Everybody wants to paraphrase.  Everybody wants to put in their two cents worth.

So?  Keep seeking truth.  It is available.  In a case like this, it’s not the end of the world, but there’s a principle involved.