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    Changes to the ESV - 10 December 2009

    It’s quite normal for Bible translations to be revised slightly a few years after they’re first published. This gives the editors a chance to improve punctuation and style, tweak details of the translation and so on.

    The English Standard Version (ESV, which I love, and which we use for the readings and sermons at Emmanuel) was first published in 2001. A second edition appeared in 2007, and contains a number of these tiny changes. A representative of the ESV translation team has given a brief explanation. Most of the changes are pretty insignificant. A few, however, are worth knowing about, especially if you happen to be a preacher speaking to a congregation of ESV-users who might, in fact, have (very slightly) different versions.

    Surprisingly, the ESV team haven’t published a complete list of these changes. However, the list below was compiled by Rick Mansfield, who was alert with some Bible software during the rather odd process by which the updated version was released.

    Anyway, here’s the list of verses that have been changed.

    Gen 2:19; Gen 24:60; Gen 25:20; Gen 26:17; Gen 30:35; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:24; Gen 38:12; Gen 44:18; Ex 17:15; Ex 20:11; Ex 22:16; Ex 29:27; Ex 32:31; Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6; Lev 20:24; Lev 20:27; Lev 23:6; Lev 26:46; Num 4:7; Num 21:3; Num 21:14; Num 21:18; Deut 9:26; Deut 18:11; Josh 10:14; Josh 11:5; Judges 2:20; Judges 6:17; Judges 6:21; Judges 6:24; Judges 8:1; Judges 11:6; Judges 11:8; Judges 11:9; 1 Sam 1:14; 1 Sam 10:3; 1 Sam 11:3; 1 Sam 13:18; 1 Sam 16:14; 1 Sam 16:15; 1 Sam 16:16; 1 Sam 16:23; 1 Sam 17:19; 1 Sam 23:14; 1 Sam 23:15; 1 Sam 27:11; 2 Sam 8:4; 2 Sam 18:9; 2 Sam 24:23; 1 Kings 2:24; 2 Kings 5:5; 2 Kings 5:22; 2 Kings 5:23; 2 Kings 19:15; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 22:16; 1 Chron 4:31; 1 Chron 7:9; 1 Chron 19:19; 2 Chron 1:5; 2 Chron 9:18; 2 Chron 21:2; 2 Chron 21:19; 2 Chron 30:14; 2 Chron 31:17; 2 Chron 33:6; 2 Chron 34:24; 2 Chron 34:32; 2 Chron 36:9; Ezra 6:21; Ezra 7:8; Neh 1:9; Neh 3:15; Neh 9:29; Neh 9:35; Neh 11:30; Neh 13:24; Job 39:29; Psalm 2:2; Psalm 8:2; Psalm 10:1; Psalm 11:4; Psalm 19:4; Psalm 28:6; Psalm 35:21; Psalm 40:6; Psalm 40:8; Psalm 40:14; Psalm 42:3; Psalm 42:10; Psalm 53:6; Psalm 64:5; Psalm 65:2; Psalm 70:2; Psalm 80:19; Psalm 86:14; Psalm 106:7; Psalm 107:8; Psalm 107:15; Psalm 107:21; Psalm 107:31; Psalm 109:31; Psalm 139:16; Prov 6:33; Prov 20:14; Prov 24:22; Prov 30:15; Eccl 7:22; Eccl 9:2; Eccl 9:7; Eccl 10:20; Song 4:14; Isa 2:6; Isa 5:26; Isa 7:8; Isa 8:1; Isa 8:3; Isa 8:6; Isa 8:13; Isa 10:30; Isa 14:22; Isa 26:12; Isa 28:24; Isa 31:4; Isa 37:16; Isa 45:15; Isa 48:14; Isa 49:13; Isa 51:9; Isa 53:1; Isa 53:10; Isa 59:14; Isa 66:19; Jer 2:20; Jer 9:26; Jer 11:11; Jer 18:11; Jer 22:2; Jer 23:23; Jer 29:11; Jer 29:13; Jer 31:19; Jer 31:38; Jer 32:17; Jer 38:10; Jer 44:30; Jer 46:14; Jer 48:3; Jer 49:3; Jer 50:20; Jer 52:31; Ezek 3:7; Ezek 16:30; Ezek 21:9; Ezek 33:19; Ezek 37:11; Ezek 44:19; Ezek 46:20; Ezek 48:35; Dan 2:26; Dan 7:9; Dan 11:11; Jon 2:4; Mic 4:3; Mic 5:2; Mic 7:19; Hab 1:13; Zech 9:9; Zech 14:14; Mal 2:16; Mal 3:10; Matt 3:7; Matt 3:11; Matt 5:32; Matt 8:18; Matt 13:17; Matt 13:38; Matt 16:26; Matt 17:18; Matt 17:24; Matt 19:5; Matt 22:15; Matt 24:37; Matt 25:26; Matt 27:62; Mark 1:10; Mark 2:5; Mark 3:30; Mark 3:35; Mark 4:41; Mark 5:5; Mark 7:25; Mark 8:34; Mark 8:36; Mark 8:37; Mark 9:23; Mark 10:8; Mark 13:14; Mark 13:22; Mark 13:35; Luke 1:19; Luke 1:53; Luke 8:12; Luke 14:14; Luke 18:24; Luke 20:4; John 3:19; John 3:20; John 3:21; John 4:7; John 4:14; John 5:46; John 6:58; John 6:53; John 7:21; John 8:17; John 8:39; John 8:41; John 12:2; John 12:8; John 15:2; John 15:13; John 19:17; John 20:23; Acts 1:3; Acts 1:18; Acts 2:15; Acts 2:42; Acts 3:11; Acts 5:21; Acts 7:52; Acts 8:7; Acts 10:6; Acts 13:15; Acts 13:38-39; Acts 17:19; Acts 20:4; Acts 25:10; Acts 27:34; Rom 1:23; Rom 2:2; Rom 2:3; Rom 3:30; Rom 4:5; Rom 5:17; Rom 6:12; Rom 6:20; Rom 6:21; Rom 7:2; Rom 7:6; Rom 7:7; Rom 7:8; Rom 7:15; Rom 8:6; Rom 8:21; Rom 9:10; Rom 9:11; Rom 9:21; Rom 10:2; Rom 10:3; Rom 10:12; Rom 10:14; Rom 11:20; Rom 11:25; Rom 11:30; Rom 12:16; Rom 13:6; Rom 13:9; Rom 14:8; Rom 15:27; 1 Cor 1:30; 1 Cor 1:31; 1 Cor 4:4; 1 Cor 6:9; 1 Cor 7:9; 1 Cor 7:16; 1 Cor 9:17; 1 Cor 9:24; 1 Cor 10:1; 1 Cor 11:5; 1 Cor 11:27; 1 Cor 12:8; 1 Cor 15:19; 1 Cor 15:30; 2 Cor 2:10; 2 Cor 4:16; 2 Cor 4:17; 2 Cor 5:1; 2 Cor 8:3; 2 Cor 8:13; 2 Cor 9:3; 2 Cor 9:7; 2 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 10:14; 2 Cor 11:2; 2 Cor 11:5; 2 Cor 12:7; Gal 2:21; Gal 3:28; Eph 1:5; Eph 2:15; Eph 4:9; Eph 4:11; Eph 5:7; Eph 5:19; Phil 2:21; Phil 3:3; Col 3:12; Col 4:5; 1 Thess 4:1; 1 Tim 1:3; 1 Tim 1:11; 1 Tim 3:15; 1 Tim 4:15; 1 Tim 5:1; 1 Tim 5:2; 1 Tim 5:16; 2 Tim 2:26; Phlm 5; Phlm 14; Heb 2:11; Heb 3:9-10; Heb 3:14; Heb 6:4; Heb 6:6; Heb 6:10; Heb 7:18; Heb 9:13; Heb 10:2; Heb 10:3; Heb 10:9; Heb 11:29; James 1:20; James 1:27; James 3:2; James 5:6; 1 Pet 1:20; 1 Pet 2:2; 1 Pet 3:3; 1 Pet 3:5; 1 Pet 3:15-16; 1 Pet 4:3; 1 John 2:5; 1 John 3:24; Jude 12; Jude 14; Jude 20; Rev 1:14; Rev 2:23; Rev 6:4; Rev 17:13

    Streams in the Negeb - 4 December 2009

    Psalm 126:4 urges us to pray, ‘Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb.’ Among the many things this could mean, here’s one thought.

    How many times have you found yourself diligently pouring in your efforts over here, only to discover that the Lord pours out his blessing over there. You spend ages praying and trying to explain the gospel to the bloke across your desk at work, all to no avail; and then your next-door neighbour calls round out of the blue to ask if he can come to church with you next Sunday.

    This is how the ’streams in the Negeb’ work. There are no streams in the Negeb – at least not most of the time. It’s a desert. But occasionally, when you get heavy rain up in the mountains a hundred miles away, the Negev’s river beds spring into life. Heavy rain over here; abundance of life over there. The water comes from … well, nowhere obvious. But it certainly makes an impact when it does.

    If you don’t believe me, take a look at this. It was shot in the Negeb at Nahal Zin, about 40 miles south of Beersheba. I’m not sure whether the guy with the camera is brave or just plain stupid. That’s right, he’s standing at the edge of a waterfall…

    That’s beautiful - 1 December 2009

    Hebrews 11:23 says that Moses’ parents hid him from the Egyptian slaughterers because ‘they saw that the child was beautiful.’

    Strange thing to say, don’t you think? Don’t all parents think that their kids are beautiful? And in any case, why would Moses ‘beauty’ be sufficient reason to hide him?

    Look closer, and we discover a couple of intriguing details.

    The word translated ‘beautiful’ (asteion) is, to put it mildly, a bit tricky. To put it less mildly, no one really knows what it means. It appears only a couple of times in the Greek translation of the OT, one notable example being Judges 3:17, where ‘beautiful’ is hardly an apt description of King Eglon. So why use it about Moses?

    One possibility is that it rhymes. Seriously. Here’s what the full phrase says in Greek: eidon asteion to paidion.

    It means, literally, ‘They saw [that] beautiful [was] the child.’

    Try reading it out loud a few times, accenting the bold bits. There, good huh? Poetry. That’s beautiful.

    Another possible explanation is found in the underlying Hebrew phrase in Exodus 2:2, where Moses’ mother says (literal translation again), ‘She saw that he was good.’

    Now where have we heard something like that before? Yup, Genesis 1, where God says exactly the same thing over and over again about the newly-created, perfect world.

    So, maybe Moses’ parents saw something (who knows what) that told them that their little baby would grow up to lead God’s people into a New World, a land of freedom, away from the sin-cursed land of Egyptian tyranny.

    That would be a good reason to keep him hidden, don’t you think?

    Red letter Bible - 30 November 2009

    Here is a simplified version of this outline of Hebrews 11:23-28, which might help if you’re inclined to listen to this.

    23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful,

    and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

    24By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

    26He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27By faith he left Egypt,

    not being afraid of the anger of the king,

    for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

    A greater reward - 24 November 2009

    The invisible God is beautiful; growth to maturity is our reward; to suffer with God’s people is to endure the reproach of Christ; the treasures of Egypt are the pleasures of sin; and our eternal hope is for greater riches.

    It’s all in Hebrews 11:23-28.

    23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents,

    because they saw that beautiful [was] the child,

    and they did not fear the decree of the king.

    24 By faith Moses, when he was full-grown,

    refused to be called [the] son of the daughter of Pharaoh, 25 choosing rather to suffer with the people of God

    than temporarily to have [the] pleasure of sin.

    26 Greater riches

    he considered [than] the treasures of Egypt

    the reproach of Christ,

    for he kept his eyes on the reward.

    27 By faith he abandoned Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king,

    for just as seeing the invisible, he endured.

    28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, in order that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

    Notes on Noah - 9 November 2009

    Some assorted scribbles about Noah.

    Building up - 6 November 2009

    Scripture frequently reminds us of the danger of sinning in our words. Lies, anger, corrupt talk – all these things have no place among the people of God. Listen, for example, to Ephesians 4:

    25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil… 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

    Notice that the Lord here also makes a positive demand of us. It’s not just that our words shouldn’t do damage; they should positively do good: only such words as are ‘good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.’

    This is particularly important to remember when we are discussing the sins of other people. It’s sometimes necessary to discuss the sins of others – for example, parents talking about their children, or when we feel wronged and need to seek advice about responding to a difficult situation.

    But Ephesians 4 reminds us that the goal of all such conversations should never be simply to get confirmation that we were in the right and that ‘they’ (whoever they are) were in the wrong.

    Rather, our goal should be to do good to everyone, including the one who has wronged us. ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up.’

    Three lettuces - 4 October 2009

    A few notes on the three exhortations (Let us…) in Hebrews 10:22-25.

    1. ‘Faith’ (v. 22), ‘hope’ (v. 23) and ‘love’ (v. 24).

    2. Father, Son and Spirit.

    3. We focus on the Lord, ourselves and each other.

    4. The three exhortations map onto the three ‘offices’ of priest, king and prophet.

    Hebrews 10:19-25 - 4 October 2009

    19 Having, therefore, brothers, confidence unto the entrance/entering of the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 which he has opened for us: a new and living way through the curtain, that is, his flesh, 21 and [having also] a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts having been sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies having been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast [to] the confession of the [our?] hope, without wavering, for faithful is the one who promised. 24 And let us consider one another unto [the] encouragement of love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting the assembly of each other, according to the custom of some, but exhorting, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

    Another good book on Hebrews - 3 October 2009

    Simon J. Kistemaker, Hebrews (NTC). Energetic, insightful, non-technical, less detailed than Bruce or Lane, but very readable.

    Here’s a quick taster. Having observed the faith-hope-love triad in Heb 10:22-25 (p. 286), he says:

    One of the first indications of a lack of love toward God and the neighbor is for a Christian to stay away from worship services. He forsakes the communal obligations of attending these meetings and displays the symptoms of selfishness and self-centredness. (p. 290)

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