Thou [art] my battle axe [and] weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms. Jeremiah 51:20
The Israelites seldom listened to their prophets’ warnings to turn away from national conflict. Jeremiah vows angrily to turn the weapon of God’s law against the tribes and end their expansionist ambitions for good; war itself will be destroyed. World War I was described at the time as the war to end all wars, yet history has shown that we are no better than our forebears at heeding Jeremiah’s warning. Thomas Hardy, often dismissed as a stark pessimist by careless readers, follows Jeremiah’s thought in his poem ‘In Time of “The Breaking of Nations”’ (1915). War is not merely ineffective but in the scale of human existence merely irrelevant.
Yonder a maid and her wight*
Come whispering by:
War’s annals will cloud into night
Ere their story die. (Lines 9-12) *man
Monday, 19 December 2011
Monday, 12 December 2011
12th December 2011
It is a tribute to Gloucestershire born William Tyndale that nearly eighty per cent of the King James’ Bible originates from his 1525 Bible. Many of the expressions found in the King James’ Bible, for instance, fight the good fight, were coined by him. It also retained many of the older linguistic forms from Tyndale’s Bible, for example, the –eth verb ending and the pronoun ye, despite other texts of the early 1600s using the contemporary –s verb ending and you pronoun. The use of Tyndale’s language produced the King James’ Bible’s traditional and dignified style, which has endeared it to its readers for the last four hundred years.
For futher details, please see
Brake, Donald L. (2008) A Visual History of the English Bible The Tumultuous Tale of the World’s Best Selling Book. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Crystal, David (2010) Begat The King James’ Bible and the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Crystal, David (2010) Evolving English One Language Many Voices. London: British Library.
Crystal, David (2003) The Cambridge Encylopedia of the English Language. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Metzger, Bruce M. (2001) The Bible in Translation Ancient and English Versions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
For futher details, please see
Brake, Donald L. (2008) A Visual History of the English Bible The Tumultuous Tale of the World’s Best Selling Book. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Crystal, David (2010) Begat The King James’ Bible and the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Crystal, David (2010) Evolving English One Language Many Voices. London: British Library.
Crystal, David (2003) The Cambridge Encylopedia of the English Language. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Metzger, Bruce M. (2001) The Bible in Translation Ancient and English Versions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
6th December 2011
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. Genesis 47.9-10
Days seem like years for the old patriarch, and years like days. The longest life span is never enough and never adequate. Many years earlier God gave Jacob the name ‘Israel’ after a mysterious encounter with a being who wrestled with him until daybreak (Genesis 32: 24). Yet despite this divine confidence in him, Jacob knows that he did not achieve all he set out to do. It is tempting to remain in thrall to the past, to replicate the actions of our forebears, to expect the same of our inheritors. Jacob’s humility reminds us that we must accept what we inherit, act in the present, and go forward. Robert Browning puts Jacob’s wisdom to ironic use in ‘The Bishop Orders His Tomb’ (1845). The corrupt prelate plays his illegitimate sons off against each other as they gather around his deathbed hoping to inherit the old man’s wealth. ‘Evil and brief hath been my pilgrimage’, he remarks, before threatening to bequeath his villas to the Pope (line 101).
Days seem like years for the old patriarch, and years like days. The longest life span is never enough and never adequate. Many years earlier God gave Jacob the name ‘Israel’ after a mysterious encounter with a being who wrestled with him until daybreak (Genesis 32: 24). Yet despite this divine confidence in him, Jacob knows that he did not achieve all he set out to do. It is tempting to remain in thrall to the past, to replicate the actions of our forebears, to expect the same of our inheritors. Jacob’s humility reminds us that we must accept what we inherit, act in the present, and go forward. Robert Browning puts Jacob’s wisdom to ironic use in ‘The Bishop Orders His Tomb’ (1845). The corrupt prelate plays his illegitimate sons off against each other as they gather around his deathbed hoping to inherit the old man’s wealth. ‘Evil and brief hath been my pilgrimage’, he remarks, before threatening to bequeath his villas to the Pope (line 101).
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
29th November 2011
Matthew 13:45-6 (King James Version)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-6 is a passage of great beauty and eloquence, which illustrates perfectly the concept of worth, and describes with powerful simplicity what it means to love and to treasure. The passage also tells us that such love comes at a ‘great price’ after much searching. When eventually you find that ‘one pearl’, it is so precious that you are compelled to give away all that you possess, in order to obtain the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Its true beauty lies in the fact that it is by sharing this with others, that the value of this ‘kingdom’ becomes manifest.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-6 is a passage of great beauty and eloquence, which illustrates perfectly the concept of worth, and describes with powerful simplicity what it means to love and to treasure. The passage also tells us that such love comes at a ‘great price’ after much searching. When eventually you find that ‘one pearl’, it is so precious that you are compelled to give away all that you possess, in order to obtain the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Its true beauty lies in the fact that it is by sharing this with others, that the value of this ‘kingdom’ becomes manifest.
Monday, 21 November 2011
21st November 2011
Gen. 31: 19. ‘Meanwhile Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household idols.’ (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. The New Jewish Publication Society Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text).
Reading this biblical verse as a Jewish woman, I recall its traditional rabbinic interpretation, which is that Rachel stole the idols to keep her father Laban from the sin of idolatry. And yet it seems more plausible that, about to leave her father’s home and travel with Jacob to an unknown land, Rachel would have wanted to take the doll-like teraphim with her, hidden under her skirts, because it was these that she still half-believes had kept her safe since she was a child. If she were trying to preserve her father’s religious virtue the narrative’s tragic irony would be lost. For Jacob, not knowing that Rachel had stolen the figurines, makes an oath to her father that whoever is found with them will not remain alive (Gen. 31:32). By the end of Genesis 35, Rachel has died giving birth to Benjamin and is buried by the road to Ephrath (Gen, 35:16-20).
Reading this biblical verse as a Jewish woman, I recall its traditional rabbinic interpretation, which is that Rachel stole the idols to keep her father Laban from the sin of idolatry. And yet it seems more plausible that, about to leave her father’s home and travel with Jacob to an unknown land, Rachel would have wanted to take the doll-like teraphim with her, hidden under her skirts, because it was these that she still half-believes had kept her safe since she was a child. If she were trying to preserve her father’s religious virtue the narrative’s tragic irony would be lost. For Jacob, not knowing that Rachel had stolen the figurines, makes an oath to her father that whoever is found with them will not remain alive (Gen. 31:32). By the end of Genesis 35, Rachel has died giving birth to Benjamin and is buried by the road to Ephrath (Gen, 35:16-20).
Monday, 14 November 2011
14th November 2011
‘The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26.41) This admission, in a call to resist temptation, recognizes the difficulty of living up to high moral standards. According to Clarke’s commentary, ‘Your inclinations are good - ye are truly sincere; but your good purposes will be overpowered by your timidity. Ye wish to continue steadfast in your adherence to your Master; but your fears will lead you to desert him.’ http://bible.cc/matthew/26-41.htm
Monday, 7 November 2011
7th November 2011
While the Authorized Version was meant to replace the Bishops' Bible as the official version for readings in the Church of England, it was apparently (unlike the Great Bible) never specifically "authorized", although it is commonly known as the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom. However, the King's Printer issued no further editions of the Bishops' Bible; so necessarily the Authorized Version supplanted it as the standard lectern Bible in parish church use in England. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible — for Epistle and Gospel readings — and as such was "authorized" by Act of Parliament. The phrase "King James version" first appeared in print in 1884.’
Monday, 31 October 2011
31st October 2011
“Very many of the treasures which have enriched the lives and language of English speakers since the 1530s were made by Tyndale: a long list of common phrases like ‘the powers that be’ or ‘let there be light’ or ‘the spirit is willing’; the haunting phrasing in parables like the Prodigal Son, ‘this thy brother was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found’; the gospel stories of Christmas (‘there were shepherds abiding in the field’) […] came as something new to the men and women of Tyndale’s time in the 1520s and 1530s. That was because Tyndale translated them for the first time, from their original texts in Greek and Hebrew, into English […]”
from David Daniell, William Tyndale: A Biography, 2000.
from David Daniell, William Tyndale: A Biography, 2000.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
25th October 2011
“William Tyndale gave us our English Bible. The sages assembled by King James to prepare the Authorised Version of 1611 […] took over Tyndale’s work. Nine-tenths of the Authorised Version’s New Testament is Tyndale’s. The same is true of the first half of the Old Testament, which is as far as he was able to get before he was executed outside Brussels in 1536.” from David Daniell, William Tyndale: A Biography, 2000.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
18th October 2011
In his preface to the Pentateuch, William Tyndale, called for a vernacular translation of the Bible. ‘ I had perceived by experience, how that it was impossible to stablish the lay people in any truth, except the scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue, that they might see the process, order, and meaning of the text’. As quoted in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, when tried for heresy, he said: ‘I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the scripture than thou doest.’ Theodore Roosevelt was among those for whom this aspect of the translation is important. He claimed that: “the King James Bible is a Magna Carta for the poor and oppressed: the most democratic book in the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/21/king-james-bible-english-language
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/21/king-james-bible-english-language
Monday, 10 October 2011
10th October 2011
Deuteronomy 6: 5. ‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.’
That G-d alone can command love is surely one of the defining differences between G-d and human beings. For if a man had to command my love it would signal too little confidence in his power of attraction and too much confidence in his power to make me act against my natural inclination not to love him all that much.
Yet when G-d commands our love it does not diminish him in our eyes but precisely reveals him as G-d and us as those in a process of human becoming. To love G-d is the least we can do in so far as G-d has, literally, given us the world. And it is also the most we can do because it is supremely difficult to love a non-entity (in the strict sense of that word) like G-d.
That G-d alone can command love is surely one of the defining differences between G-d and human beings. For if a man had to command my love it would signal too little confidence in his power of attraction and too much confidence in his power to make me act against my natural inclination not to love him all that much.
Yet when G-d commands our love it does not diminish him in our eyes but precisely reveals him as G-d and us as those in a process of human becoming. To love G-d is the least we can do in so far as G-d has, literally, given us the world. And it is also the most we can do because it is supremely difficult to love a non-entity (in the strict sense of that word) like G-d.
Monday, 3 October 2011
3rd October 2011
In 1534, Tyndale moved to Antwerp (in modern Belgium) and began to live more openly. He was betrayed, arrested for heresy and imprisoned in Vilvoorde Castle. On 6 October 1536, he was strangled and then burned at the stake. His translation of the Old Testament remained unfinished at his death, but formed the basis of the 'King James' version of the bible.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/tyndale_william.shtml
From the BBC History site
Monday, 26 September 2011
26 September 2011
According to numerous sources, the King James Bible does not have any split infinitives. The debate about split infinitives carries on to this day:
http://www.thenational.ae/news/splitting-hairs-vs-spilling-blood-the-split-infinitive-debate
Monday, 19 September 2011
19th September 2011
‘But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask… (Matthew 14:6 – 7)
Adaptations of this story include Wilde’s tragedy , Salome, Princess of Judea, Strauss’s opera, Salome, Doric Wilson’s play Now She Dances, and excerpted her, Dorothy Parker’s poem, ‘Salome’s Dancing Lesson.’
She that begs a little boon
(Heel and toe! Heel and toe!)
Little gets – and nothing soon.
(No, no, no! No, no, no!)
She that calls for costly things
Priceless finds her offerings –
What’s impossible for kings?
(Heel and toe! Heel and toe!)Monday, 12 September 2011
12th September 2011
The phrase ‘pearls before swine’ first appeared in Tyndale’s Bible in 1526 as ‘Nether caste ye youre pearles before swyne’. Matthew 7:6. Meaning something of quality given to those who cannot appreciate it, the biblical text is considered to be Jesus’ warning that those who are unable to value bible doctrine should not be offered it.
Monday, 5 September 2011
5th September 2011
Tyndale Monument at North Nibley
The William Tyndale Monument is on the Cotswold escarpment and can be clearly seen when travelling north on the M5. In the distance the Severn estuary can be seen and on the extreme left the two white towers supporting the old Severn Bridge are just visible.
The William Tyndale Monument is on the Cotswold escarpment and can be clearly seen when travelling north on the M5. In the distance the Severn estuary can be seen and on the extreme left the two white towers supporting the old Severn Bridge are just visible.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
30th August 2011
Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea (Exodus 15:4, KJV).
This famous image of liberation readily becomes symbolic of all triumph of order and good over evil and chaos. The old spiritual has it exactly right:
Oh Mary, don't you weep don't you mourn
Oh Mary, don't you weep, don't you mourn.
Pharaoh's army got drownded,
Oh Mary don't you weep.
'Mary' could be Mary of Bethany imploring Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead, or Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross, being reassured that the unimaginably awful scene before her is not the end of history. Pharaoh's army got drownded - and the meaning of Good Friday is known only on Easter Day.
This famous image of liberation readily becomes symbolic of all triumph of order and good over evil and chaos. The old spiritual has it exactly right:
Oh Mary, don't you weep don't you mourn
Oh Mary, don't you weep, don't you mourn.
Pharaoh's army got drownded,
Oh Mary don't you weep.
'Mary' could be Mary of Bethany imploring Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead, or Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross, being reassured that the unimaginably awful scene before her is not the end of history. Pharaoh's army got drownded - and the meaning of Good Friday is known only on Easter Day.
Monday, 22 August 2011
22nd August 2011
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God (1 Kings 19:4-8).
Elijah, in the space of a few short verses, descends from the giddy heights of victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel to the depths of suicidal depression in the wilderness. In this state he twice has an angelic visitation. The angel does not miraculously lift his depression but first provides sustenance for Elijah’s present condition and, on a second occasion, provides food and drink for a forty day journey through the wilderness. Only at the end of this long journey does Elijah have a transformational encounter with God. Food, drink and the presence of ministering angels are essential accompaniments through the long journey of depression.
Elijah, in the space of a few short verses, descends from the giddy heights of victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel to the depths of suicidal depression in the wilderness. In this state he twice has an angelic visitation. The angel does not miraculously lift his depression but first provides sustenance for Elijah’s present condition and, on a second occasion, provides food and drink for a forty day journey through the wilderness. Only at the end of this long journey does Elijah have a transformational encounter with God. Food, drink and the presence of ministering angels are essential accompaniments through the long journey of depression.
Monday, 15 August 2011
15th August 2011
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12).
If God revealed himself to Moses at Sinai through fire and earthquake (Exodus 19:18), this is precisely not the case for Elijah. This text subverts the typical biblical language of theophany. Elijah here learns that God is not necessarily to be found in spectacular signs such as he had previously witnessed on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-40).
This text is the inspiration for the American Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier’s great hymn:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!
With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
If God revealed himself to Moses at Sinai through fire and earthquake (Exodus 19:18), this is precisely not the case for Elijah. This text subverts the typical biblical language of theophany. Elijah here learns that God is not necessarily to be found in spectacular signs such as he had previously witnessed on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-40).
This text is the inspiration for the American Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier’s great hymn:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!
With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
Monday, 8 August 2011
8th August 2011
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. I Corinthians 9:24
The Greeks celebrated physical achievements; here, the Greek-speaking St Paul draws on that cultural tradition for a metaphor for the Christian life. English poets seem drawn to the alliterative possibilities of ‘race’ and ‘run’. Wordsworth describes how the watchful sun marks the diurnal patterns of our passing life – years: ‘another race hath been, and other palms are won’ (‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality (1802-04), l. 199). Many people will also remember J. Mansell’s exhortation to ‘Run the straight race through God’s good grace’ from the Victorian hymn ‘Fight the Good Fight’ (English Hymnal, 389)
The Greeks celebrated physical achievements; here, the Greek-speaking St Paul draws on that cultural tradition for a metaphor for the Christian life. English poets seem drawn to the alliterative possibilities of ‘race’ and ‘run’. Wordsworth describes how the watchful sun marks the diurnal patterns of our passing life – years: ‘another race hath been, and other palms are won’ (‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality (1802-04), l. 199). Many people will also remember J. Mansell’s exhortation to ‘Run the straight race through God’s good grace’ from the Victorian hymn ‘Fight the Good Fight’ (English Hymnal, 389)
Monday, 1 August 2011
1st August 2011
From Daniell, David (2003), The Bible in English: its history and influence, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press
‘The Authorized King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Holy Bible begun in 1604 and completed in 1611 by the Church of England. Printed by the King's Printer, Robert Barker, the first edition included schedules unique to the Church of England; for example, a lectionary for morning and evening prayer. This was the third such official translation into English; the first having been the Great Bible commissioned by the Church of England in the reign of King Henry VIII, and the second having been the Bishop's Bible of 1568. In January 1604, King James I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans, a faction within the Church of England.'
‘The Authorized King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Holy Bible begun in 1604 and completed in 1611 by the Church of England. Printed by the King's Printer, Robert Barker, the first edition included schedules unique to the Church of England; for example, a lectionary for morning and evening prayer. This was the third such official translation into English; the first having been the Great Bible commissioned by the Church of England in the reign of King Henry VIII, and the second having been the Bishop's Bible of 1568. In January 1604, King James I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans, a faction within the Church of England.'
Monday, 25 July 2011
25th July 2011
Mark 1:22 (King James Version)
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
Here, Mark writes about what happens in teaching. The importance of teaching and learning are at the heart of human existence. From the tenderest beginnings of human life, we are engineered to learn. Absorbing and processing experience is an essential part of our genetic fabric. Through teaching ‘as one that had authority, and not as the scribes’, we are able to equip others with the tools to determine for themselves, and to imagine new possibilities.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
Here, Mark writes about what happens in teaching. The importance of teaching and learning are at the heart of human existence. From the tenderest beginnings of human life, we are engineered to learn. Absorbing and processing experience is an essential part of our genetic fabric. Through teaching ‘as one that had authority, and not as the scribes’, we are able to equip others with the tools to determine for themselves, and to imagine new possibilities.
Monday, 18 July 2011
18th July 2011
‘Get thee behind me, Satan’ (Luke 4.8)Jesus’ response to the devil when being tempted with all the kingdoms of the earth is a rejection of the self-centred lure of power and of worshipping that which is undeserving (i.e. all that is not God).
Having gained a life of its own, the phrase has both grown and been diminished. Today, it is a dieting slogan, the message on mugs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, even a thong (see, e.g., http://shop.cafepress.co.uk/get-thee-behind-me). Who knows what the King James’ translators, or the Jesus whom they depict, would make of this? ‘Get thee behind me,’ perhaps?
Having gained a life of its own, the phrase has both grown and been diminished. Today, it is a dieting slogan, the message on mugs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, even a thong (see, e.g., http://shop.cafepress.co.uk/get-thee-behind-me). Who knows what the King James’ translators, or the Jesus whom they depict, would make of this? ‘Get thee behind me,’ perhaps?
Monday, 4 July 2011
4th July 2011
‘I desired mercy and not sacrifice’ (Hosea 6:6, KJV).
This saying is a little odd, coming from the same Lord who prescribed a good deal of sacrifice in the covenant with Israel made through Moses at Mt Sinai (see Leviticus, passim!). But he has become impatient with the practice! ‘Sacrificing’ can become a fault: a calculation of life in terms of cost and gain; an attempt to force God and the earth to yield their bounty.
‘Mercy’ is first a quality of God that overwhelms even his requirement of human obedience. In human beings, it entails both receiving life as a gift, and a disposition to seek the good of others, beyond personal interest or due.
This saying is a little odd, coming from the same Lord who prescribed a good deal of sacrifice in the covenant with Israel made through Moses at Mt Sinai (see Leviticus, passim!). But he has become impatient with the practice! ‘Sacrificing’ can become a fault: a calculation of life in terms of cost and gain; an attempt to force God and the earth to yield their bounty.
‘Mercy’ is first a quality of God that overwhelms even his requirement of human obedience. In human beings, it entails both receiving life as a gift, and a disposition to seek the good of others, beyond personal interest or due.
Monday, 27 June 2011
27th June 2011
From Daniell, David (2003), The Bible in English: its history and influence, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press
‘By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars.
Throughout most of the world, the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced.
In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775 (which implemented this clause) in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 13(1)), which expire in 2039. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, HarperCollins and the Queen's Printers have the right to produce the Authorized Version.’
In October and November, the National Theatre is providing readings of the King James Bible. Please follow the link for more information. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/kingjames
‘By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars.
Throughout most of the world, the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced.
In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775 (which implemented this clause) in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 13(1)), which expire in 2039. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, HarperCollins and the Queen's Printers have the right to produce the Authorized Version.’
In October and November, the National Theatre is providing readings of the King James Bible. Please follow the link for more information. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/kingjames
Monday, 20 June 2011
20th June 2011
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that SUMMER is near: Mark 13:28
Monday, 6 June 2011
6th June 2011
The phrase ‘twinkling of an eye’ was used by William Tyndale to mean ‘in an instant’. It appears in 1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
31st May 2011
Unicorns?
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? (Job 39.9-10)
There are unicorns in the Bible! At least there are in the King James Version. Nine times the King James mentions them, suggesting to some that they really existed – this is God’s word after all. Most, however, argue that this is a case of mistranslation and that an ox is more likely what is meant. The latter certainly makes more sense, but is the prosaic, dependable ox preferable to the fantasy of the unicorn?
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