The last article I wrote with excerpts from my life was really meant to illustrate a life without freedom in a different way to get us to realize sometimes we don’t appreciate freedom until it’s gone or we’re desperate for it.  I really didn’t mean the story to be about me or my life.  I just draw from my experiences.

So many wrote to offer sympathy or condolences for my difficult childhood. Thank you.  But I really didn’t want that to be the focus.  Because we’re all coming from our own set of experiences and worldviews, I can see how that could be the thing that stood out for some.  I don’t mean to write about myself, because I don’t want my writing to be about me.  I just have some life lessons that have helped me along the way, and I try to pass some of my gleaned wisdom along.

Because my childhood was painful, it draws attention.  I’d like to offer part of the other half to keep things in perspective and because I think some are curious.

My parents did disown me.  I did try to reconcile a few times.  It never really worked.  My mother died tragically in a freak farming accident sixteen years ago, without ever reconciling.  It was heartbreaking for me.  I had been hoping we would eventually reconcile, so the finality of death was bitter for me. 

She was a harsh mom, and my childhood was devoid of love and affection.  This greatly impacted me, as it would anyone.  My mother’s father, my grandfather, was sexually abusive to my sister.  I picked up the vibes and steered clear of him, so I was spared that anguish (from him).  However, in my efforts to try to understand my mother, I surmised she had her own difficult childhood.  I grew up in an era when families who had skeletons in their closet removed the closet doors and walled them over.  No one talked about abuse, dysfunction, etc.  Honoring family at all costs was the norm.  I may never know what my mom lived with in her childhood.  

I lived two years with my biological mother, and two years in a foster home, before I was adopted.  I encountered a significant amount of abuse in those early years, so I am sure I brought “issues” into my adopted parents’ home.  Topics like this were not talked about in that era, and I doubt my parents were given any instructions.  I’m guessing my own dysfunctions coupled with whatever was going on with my mom, was just fuel for the devil’s fires of destruction. 

My mother died a slow, painful death.  She suffocated to death slowly, and it probably took an hour or two.  She was suffocated by a piece of equipment that crushed her, and no one was there to rescue her.  My only prayer was that she came to know her Creator and receive our Savior’s gift of salvation.  Taking that long to die would have given her time to get her soul right with God, which I pray she did.  Anyone who thinks I was happy or relieved that my mom died, or died in that manner, would be mistaken.  I was grieved.  I wanted reconciliation and I wanted my mom’s peace.  She was conflicted.  I loved my mom.

Four years ago my dad re-entered my life.  He has since remarried and his wife is a kind and lovely soul.  With her encouragement he reached out to me.  He apologized to me, owned some of his actions, and repented.  He had spent the last thirty years thinking I just didn’t come home.  He didn’t realize my mother had locked me out.  I can’t imagine the shock to him when he realized he had believed that lie for three decades.  He has come to walk with God, and he has been a demonstration of true repentance to me.  I am grateful for him and I love him.

I am not angry with my parents.  I forgave them long ago, and longed for reconciliation and healing in our relationship.  Half of that has happened.  Without doubt my life has been kept by my Creator.  I’ve had hard things, yes, but God has been good.  I was a precocious child, strong and independent.  I’m sure I wasn’t the easiest to parent.  I think my mom, without the governance of the Holy Spirit, thought her iron fist was the way to parent.  (The book of) James speaks of the conception of sin, its growth and ultimate leading to death.  My mom’s strict discipline led to abuse because she didn’t have the guidance of her Creator.  My mother, without the Holy Spirit, was a pawn in the devil’s hand for destruction and death.  We quite simply need God. 

I lived with and was trained by a religious spirit.  I readily identify it today in our culture, our churches, our government, and our world.  I spent over fifteen years pursuing deliverance and healing – deliverance from the destructive patterns, habits, cycles and emotions of abuse, neglect and abandonment, and healing from the damage and pain done.  These are things I can now help other people overcome.  It came at a high cost.  I paid it, my husband paid it, and my children have paid it.  If I can help others from that same treacherous and destructive path, it would be an honor and I would feel my life wasn’t for nothing.

Please don’t hold offense toward my parents for my childhood.  I do not.  I appreciate your love and concern, your compassion and your desire for justice.  But I have learned that God is able to manage each and every place of affliction.  He has bought my freedom.  He has procured my healing.  He has been both father and mother to me.  I owe all that I am to Him.

Invariably in the public forum when the topic of Bible passages comes up, there is the diehard King James fan who is compelled to confront your choice of translation.  (or your non-choice of King James)  I’d like to address that here and now, so I don’t have to keep addressing it ad nauseam. 

I have looked at a lot of evidence for the King James, including the comparisons of passages and the omission of other passages.  There’s valid data for the discussion, and I do find the King James to be one of the most reliable translations.  However…

I choose to quote the New American Standard or the English Standard frequently for purposes of clarity and flow.  Sometimes it just reads better.  When I’m discussing a topic and referring to a Scripture that speaks on it, I need the reader to be able to quickly make the connection.  If the reader has to stop and think about what they just read to comprehend it, it breaks up the continuity of thought.  I’ve done that and found it tedious. 

When I study I actually go to the original language.  I speak neither Greek (New Testament) nor Hebrew (Old Testament).  So I go to a Strong’s concordance and run the words through the concordance to make sure I get the fullness of the meaning.  [I know a Messianic Rabbi who if I really get stumped, I shoot an email and he helps me with idiom and phraseology that matches the original language more precisely.  I do my homework.]

But for reading purposes, the King James is not my go-to.  For reading purposes, I choose a translation that reads smoother.   It’s just a personal preference. 

For teaching purposes, I use a little bit of a lot of different translations.  (If you want to be perfectly honest, the Geneva Bible is more accurate than the KJV, and is older.)  I make sure they align with the original language, and then I use what I prefer.  The Amplified is actually the most thorough translation, taking into account the original language’s variations in its wording, instead of selecting the most succinct.  But the Amplified gets tedious in reading, so I just use it when I’m trying to expound on something and I feel it has the best rendition.

A recent article I wrote about our corrupt justice system in America brought about a couple of indignant replies because of my choice of Bible translations.   One person even deduced that because I didn’t use a KJV for my scripture reference, “I, as a Christian, can’t believe that you know what you are talking about.”  Hmmm… because I quoted from the New American Standard, my entire article was invalidated…?  According to this religious spirit, yes.

Another person tried to tell me the changes in words between what I provided and what the KJV reads doesn’t match.  The examples I was given were from the passage I quoted in my article from Revelation 18:11-13.  For argument’s sake, I’m going to break down those Scriptures here for you, and we’re going to really compare the differences in the translations.  Then I’m going to take the “discrepancies” against the original language and we’ll see the real differences.  (Mind you, most people will not care that one version says “merchandise” and the other says “cargo”, but I’m willing to walk this whole argument out.)

[I realize this part gets tedious, so if it’s tedious for you, just skim it or skip ahead.  For integrity’s sake, I need to put the whole thing out in black and white.]

Revelation 18:11-13, New American Standard — I will bold the words that are different in the King James Version.

Rev 18:11-13
“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more — cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

There are small changes, like “because no one buys” versus “for no man buyeth” that I really don’t want to split hairs on.  The King James old English is the primary reason other versions read smoother for 21^st century modern English speaking readers.  I’m going to go through the other changes one by one.  (Again, skim or skip if you must – but I need it in the black and white for understanding.)

In the King James, “merchandise” is used for cargoes. “All manner vessels” is used for every kind. “Thyine” is used for citron. “Brass” is used for bronze. “Odors and ointments” is used for spice, incense and perfume. “Beasts” is used for cattle. And “souls of men” is used for human lives.

There’s  the variation of “every kind” versus “all manner”.  Legally speaking, if I remember right, a translation had to vary a word here and there to keep it from being plagiarized from the King James, so subtle variations HAD to be inserted.  But here’s the original language:

Every article [NAS]/all manner [KJV]:  from Greek  “pas”  (3956)  including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole:

Now for the differences in words, where my critic really had to draw the line with me:

• cargoes [NAS]/merchandise [KJV]:  from Greek “gomos” (1117)a load (as filling), i.e. (specially) a cargo, or (by extension) wares:

• Citron [NAS]/thyine [KJV]:  from Greek  “thuinos” (2367)   from a derivative of NT:2380 (in the sense of blowing; denoting a certain fragrant tree); made of citron-wood

• very costly [NAS]/most precious [KJV]:  from Greek “timios” (5093) 
• valuable, i.e. (objectively) costly, or (subjectively) honored, esteemed, or (figuratively) beloved;

• bronze [NAS]/brass [KJV]:  from Greek “chalkos” (5475)  through the idea of hollowing out as a vessel (this metal being chiefly used for that purpose); copper (the substance, or some implement or coin made of it)

• (cinnamon and) spice and incense and perfume [NAS]/(cinnamon and) odours and ointments [KJV]:  from Greek  “thumiama” (2368)  an aroma, i.e. fragrant powder burnt in religious service; by implication, the burning itselffrom Greek “muron” (3464)  “myrrh”, i.e. (by implication) perfumed oil:

• Cattle[NAS]/beasts[KJV]:  from Greek “ktenos” (2934) property, i.e. (specially) a domestic animal:

• human lives [NAS]/souls of men [KJV]:  from Greek “psuche” (5590) and “anthropos” (444)  breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely man-faced, i.e. a human being:

So I think it’s not too difficult to see that the “discrepancies” in wording between the KJV and NAS in the passage I selected are nominal, and in some cases, the NAS has the better translation.  For example, the word that King James translates “merchandise” is better translated “cargoes” from the Greek “gomos”, as the “citron” tree from the New American Standard is more accurate than a “thyine” from the KJV. 

And in this rendition of the same passage, I merely put the KJV word choice in brackets, so we can all see the variations in words side by side.  Hopefully an honest mind can see the meaning of the verse has not been altered at all.

Rev 18:11-13 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes [merchandise] any more —  cargoes [merchandise] of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron [thyine] wood and every article [all manner] of ivory and every article [all manner] made from very costly [most precious] wood and bronze [brass] and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume [odours and ointments] and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle [beasts] and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives [souls of men].

And speaking of translations, did you know the King James has six verses with “unicorn” in it? [Five other references can be found at Numbers 24:8, Job 39:9, 39:10, Psalm 29:6, 92:10.]   Let’s look at one:  Numbers 23:22 “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.”

Now unless I’m mistaken, the unicorn is a fictitious creature .  The original Hebrew is from the word “re’em”, (Strong’s number 7214) and it renders “a wild bull”.    I would venture a guess that most people get a better connotation of the context from “a wild bull” than a unicorn…

I don’t have the time or the patience to argue with someone about slight word variations.  Is the meaning of the Scripture being conveyed?  If it is, I’m not arguing about which translation or version of the Scripture I am using. 

I was given the worst “translation” possible:  a living translation paraphrased Bible, The Way, when I was five years old.  I picked that book up when I was a teenager and found the Messiah in the process.  I came to a saving knowledge of my Savior, and I turned to God through a paraphrased Bible.  God was somehow able to use a nonliteral translation of His Word to bring me to salvation! However could He do that??

God breathes on His Word to accomplish its purposes.  I’m all for accuracy and being a serious student of the Word.  I am a serious student of the Word.  But when I’m writing for a varied audience of all different backgrounds, the most important thing to me is to convey my thoughts as clearly as possible, so I choose the translation that will do that for me.

Isa 55:10-11  [New King James]

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

God moves on His Word.  It is His Word and He is the one ultimately responsible for it.  I only proclaim what He gives, and He brings the understanding as He chooses.

Probably my absolute favorite verse as a comparative tool is Luke 1:37.  It’s when the angel comes to Mary to tell her that she’s going to bring forth the Savior of the world as a baby in her womb.  The angel is telling Mary that even her older cousin Elizabeth is bearing a child in her old age.  Then the angel says this, according to the King James:  “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

In ten translations it says almost the exact same thing.  BUT the original Greek is best captured by the Amplified:  

For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. 

Do you know why this is more accurate, and actually captures what the angel says better?  Because the original Greek reads like this:

                Hoti  (a conjunction meaning “because”)

                Ou  (absolute negative, “nothing”)

                Adunateo  (to be unable, “impossible”)

                Para  (a preposition for “in the proximity”, near or with)

  Ho  (a definite article indicating the next word is specific, in this case, “THE (one and only) GOD”)

                Theos  (deity, Supreme Deity when coupled with “ho”)

                Pas  (every, all, the whole)

                Rhema  (an utterance, the spoken word)

Every other translation except the Amplified neglects the reference to Rhema. The Rhema Word of God is his spoken word.  But Rhema is in the original Greek scripture!  The Amplified is by far the most accurate representation of what the angel was saying.  The angel was saying that every spoken word uttered from the Supreme God is impossible to NOT come to pass.  This exceedingly more specific than “nothing is impossible with God.”

Lastly, God asked Jeremiah what he saw in a vision, and Jeremiah responded correctly with what he saw.  God commended Jeremiah for seeing correctly, and then says this:

[I’m going to give this passage in multiple translations.]  Jeremiah 1:12

 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.  [King James]

Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”  [New American Standard AND English Standard Version]

 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast seen aright: for I will hasten my word to perform it.[1599 Geneva]

Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it. [Amplified]

God watches over His Word to perform it.  He takes care that what He says is acted upon by Him.  That’s all the assurance I need.  The original Hebrew language says,

                aniy  shaqad  al  dabar  asah

Literally:  I, will be on the lookout- alert- sleepless, my word- matter- thing,  to do- make.

I have the assurance that God is sleepless and always on the lookout to do the thing or matter of His word.   That is enough for me.

Let’s do study to show ourselves approved, a workman who needs not be ashamed.  Let’s do be prepared in and out of season to convey the Word and works of our God.  But let’s not put undue pressure on our brethren sharing Scripture to use the translation we think is the “right” one.  It’s an unnecessary burden and full of Pharisaical requirements not given to us by God Himself.