Forty Days

• How long the flood was upon the earth (Genesis 7:12, 17)
• How long the Egyptians were in embalming Jacob (Genesis 50:1-3)
• How long Moses was in the mount with the Lord (Exodus 24:18)
• How long the twelve spies searched the promised land (Numbers 13:25)
• How long Goliath challenged the children of Israel (1 Samuel 17:16)
• How long Elijah went in the strength of the food the angel provided (1 Kings 19:8)
• How long Ezekiel symbolically bore the iniquity of the house of Judah (Ezekiel 4:6)
• How long Jonah preached to the Ninevites (Jonah 3:4)
• How long Jesus fasted before the temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2)
• How long Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection (Acts 1:3)

Exhorting the elders

Acts 20:28-31 Exhortation and warning

Verse 28: Paul charges and exhorts the elders from Ephesus to “take heed.” They must beware, be aware, and direct their heed (pay attention and be careful) both toward themselves and toward the flock. This recognizes that they are placed in oversight of the flock by the Holy Ghost. The duty of overseers of a flock is to feed the flock. The food of the flock is the word of God. “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). They must take the responsibility seriously (II Timothy 2:6) and sew the word faithfully (Luke 8:5, 11; I Corinthians 4:2). Cf. also II Corinthians 9:10.

Natural food is vital to sustaining physical life. Spiritual food is vital to sustaining spiritual life and spiritual growth. The word of God is the milk for babes and the solid food for adults (I Peter 2:2; I Corinthians 3:2). It is the essential bread and water (Deuteronomy 8:3: Isaiah 55:1-2). It provides the necessary range of flavors, from bitter to sweet (Psalm 119:103; Revelation 10:9-10). “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” Jeremiah 15:16). Taste and see that the Lord is good.

There are three names for one office. Paul, on his way to Jerusalem, calls the plural elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him in Miletus. In charging the elders, he calls them “overseers” (bishops; ἐπισκόπους) who are to “pastor” (feed; ποιμαίνειν) the church/flock of God. In this case, the noun form of episkopos is used directly. The pastoring is embedded in the verb form of feeding (poimainein) the flock. Acts 20:17, 28.

Verses 29-30: Paul forewarns them of “grievous wolves” who will attempt to decimate the flock. These will be of two kinds: (1) “enter in among you” those from the outside who will come to or into the flock; and (2) “Also of your own selves” those from the inside who will who seek to divide the flock.

Verse 31: In light of this the elders are to “watch,” be on guard against wolves entering to destroy the flock; and “remember” the time-honored teaching of Paul, wherein “night and day” and “with tears,” he grounded them in truth and warned them against error. To fight the good fight, they will need to call to remembrance the things they have been taught. Compare I Timothy 4:6 and Jude, verse 17.

NKJV moves in the right direction

Credit where credit is due.

I have a number of times cited the New King James Version for being less than it claims to be – when it prefers to follow the bandwagon of modern versions rather than be a “new” King James Version. On Philippians 2:6 I must give them credit for revising a modern reading which matched modern versions back to a reading that more closely matches the King James Version.

In Philippians 2:6, the Authorized (King James) Version states:

• who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

When the New King James New Testament came out in 1979, this verse read:

• who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.

Unsurprisingly, this more closely matched translations like the RV, ASV, RSV, and NASB. Apparently in 1982 when the whole Bible translation was released (at least I have found it in NKJVs that are dated 1982) the verse was corrected to read:

• who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

Two Johns and others have considered readings and interpretations such as not grasping at equality with God an innovation of Arianism and/or Greek philosophy:

“No, say they, but he means that being a little God, he seized not upon being equal to the great God, who was greater than he. Is there a great and a little God? And do ye bring in the doctrines of the Greeks upon those of the Church? With them there is a great and a little God. If it be so with you, I know not. For you will find it nowhere in the Scriptures: there you will find a great God throughout, a little one nowhere.” John Chrysostom, Homily 6, Philippians 2:5-8

“...as for the sense which some put upon the words, that he did not ‘affect’, or ‘greedily catch’ at deity; as the phrase will not admit of it, so it is not true in fact; he did affect deity, and asserted it strongly, and took every proper opportunity of declaring it, and in express terms affirmed he was the Son of God; and in terms easy to be understood declared his proper deity, and his unity and equality with the Father; required the same faith in himself as in the Father, and signified that he that saw the one, saw the other...” John Gill, Exposition of the Whole Bible

Note: 1. This was a translation matter and not a difference in underlying text. 2. Though I commend the NKJV for this change, I do not recommend the NKJV.

Quintuple Commands to the Childish Corinthians

As Paul concludes his first letter to the church at Corinth, he quickly fires off five consecutive commands, as found in verses 13-14 in chapter 16. The Corinthians were being childish (13:11; 14:18-20), carnal (3:1-4), and quarrelsome (1:10-13). He counters their chaotic inclinations with these five faithful exhortations.

1 Corinthians 16:13–14 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.

1. Watch ye.

• Luke 12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched...
• 1 Thessalonians 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 
• 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
• Revelation 3:3 ...If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Churches have no need for blind leaders of the blind. They need members who are not asleep but spiritually awake, who walk circumspectly & pay attention, who are ever on guard. Duty never ceases, and evil never sleeps.

2. Stand fast.

• 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
• Colossians 1:23 …be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard
• Luke 18:1 …men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
• Ephesians 6:13 ...and having done all, to stand.

Church members must be firm and fixed, stedfast and unmoveable, if they will abound in the work of the Lord. Paul does not exhort to be stubborn for the sake of stubbornness. The Corinthians are encouraged to stand firm and stedfast “in the faith” and not be moved away from it (Galatians 1:6). The faith is the truth of God’s word as revealed in the Scriptures (Jude 3).

Stand fast ←We are in a battle→ Quit you like men

3. Quit you like men.

• 1 Samuel 4:9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
• 1 Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
• 1 Timothy 1:18 ...that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
• 2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Quit you like men (act like men) is strong military talk, Buck up to the task; be brave. We are in a battle for the cause of God and truth. We are in a battle for the souls of men. The churches need courageous men and not cowards (John 10:12-13); mature men and not adolescents (13:11); strong men and not effeminate (6:9). The churches need men who will watch, who will stand fast, who will be strong – and act like men.

4. Be strong.

• Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
• 2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
• Joshua 1:6, 9 Be strong and of a good courage...
• Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not…
• 1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
• Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

The churches need grown men, not childish adults; strong men, but men who find their strength in the Lord and not themselves. We work through the power that worketh in us (Philippians 2:13). Without Jesus, we can do nothing, but in him we can do all things. Let us lay aside the faux human pretense of power, and find our strength in him (2 Corinthians 12:10 ...for when I am weak, then am I strong).

↑The Corinthians were being childish (1 Corinthians 1:11-12; 3:1), and they were not acting in love.↓

5. Let all your things be done with charity.

The fifth imperative subsumes the previous four: it encompasses them all, characterizes them all, and completes them all (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

• Charity never faileth: watch ye.
• Charity suffereth long: stand fast.
• Charity ... endureth all things: quit you like men.
• Charity ... beareth all things: be strong.

Charity … rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth … Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

The poor man’s Bible

“The poor man’s Bible is the word of God, in which he has no suspicion that there is anything but perfection. The Bible of the profoundly erudite scholar is often a book that is not so necessary to instruct him, as one that needs his hand for alteration, or amendment, or confirmation. Learning may be usefully employed; but if learning ever forgets that it must sit at the feet of Jesus, it will be a curse instead of a blessing. It will raise clouds and darkness, instead of communicating light to the world.”

Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (Volume I, New Edition Much Enlarged, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1842), pp. 11-12

An Address to All

1. I sing a song which doth belong to all the human race,
Concerning death, which steals the breath, and blasts the comely face.
Come listen all unto my call, which I do make today;
For you must die as well as I, and pass from hence away.

2. No human power can stop the hour, wherein a mortal dies;
A Caesar may be great today, yet death will close his eyes:
Though some do strive and do arrive to riches and renown,
Enjoying health and swim in wealth, yet death will bring them down.

3. Though beauty grace your comely face, with roses white and red,
A dying fall will spoil it all, for Absalom is dead:
Though you acquire the best attire, appearing fine and fair,
Yet death will come into the room, and strip you naked there.

4. The princes high and beggars die, and mingle with dust,
The rich, the brave, the lowest slave, the wicked and the just:[i]
Therefore prepare to meet thy God, before it be too late.
Or else you’ll weep, lament and cry, lost in a ruined state.[ii]

The above hymn, less the last two lines, appeared as a 7-stanza 4-line common meter hymn “Address to All” in Hymns, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians, by Elias Smith and Abner Jones (Manning & Loring, Boston, 1805). The first of the above two stanzas appear with The Christian Harmony song Solemn Call (page 155) and all four are in An Address to All (page 101). Both those tunes were written by the Baptist songster and tunebook compiler William Walker. While the earliest source of the hymn is known, the author of the words is unknown. The “Address” is a very pointed and effective warning “to all the human race” – and especially to those who rely on their power, position, riches, or refinement without considering the end of life. Caesars and Absaloms die just as surely as beggars and slaves.

“the beggar died…the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” Luke 16:22-23

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[i] The original words are “negro slave.” In its context, it should have been an eyeopener to wealthy 1805 masters, that their end was just the same as their slaves.
[ii] The last lines are added, perhaps by William Walker or some other songwriter to round out the uneven number of stanzas. These added lines do not contain the internal rhyme present in the first and third lines of the rest of the hymn. This might be changed to: “Prepare therefore to meet thy Lord, before it be too late. Lest soon you die, lament and cry, lost in a ruined state.”

Let the Bible be the Bible

“Let the Bible be the Bible!”

Augustine of Hippo stated, “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” Truly we could further reflect “If you believe what you like in the Bible, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Bible you believe, but yourself.”

Keveh and Linen Yarn

Notes or comments in commentaries and study Bibles can be really bad. Readers think they are being given competent instruction, but you just never know! Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. At times commentators apparently just write whatever is on their minds without doing the necessary research. Here is an example from the Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald (Arthur L. Farstad, editor, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995, p. 387), regarding the translation of 1 Kings 10:28.

“⁸ (10:26-29) Keveh (also transliterated Kue) was translated ‘linen yarn’ in KJV because they did not know in the seventeenth century that is was a place name.”

The barest of research would have refuted this statement. The King James translators were well aware that this had been considered the name of a place. They just did not agree that it was. Notice, for example, how verse 28 had been translated in the 1537 Matthew Bible:

And Salomons horses came out of Egipte from Keva: The marchauntes fett them from Keva at a pryce.

The 14th rule given to the translators even said they should check these prior Bibles. “These translations to be used when they agree better with the Text than the Bishop’s Bible: Tindoll’s, Matthew’s, Coverdale’s, Whitchurch’s, Geneva.” Keva is found in the Coverdale, Matthew, and Taverner Bibles. The LXX gives it as a place name (Θεκουέ), as does the Vulgate (Coa). The translators were aware of these resources; the fact was not something “they did not know.”

No, the King James translators were not unaware of translating מִקְוֵה (miqvê) as a place. They did not agree that in this verse it was a place. They translated it accordingly. If you don’t agree with the King James translators in 1 Kings 10:28, just say so. Don’t act like they were ignorant.

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Notes:

The translational issue is the same in 2 Chronicles 1:16.

I acknowledge that research in old Bible editions is easier in 2025 than it was in 1995. However, if we do not know what we are talking about, we should not talk; if we do not know what we are writing, we should not write.

“Fett” in the Matthew Bible appears to be or mean the same as “fetched,” which is what is in the Coverdale Bible before it. The word is a bit hard to make out in the copy I looked at.

1 Kings 10:28.

• AKJV: And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
• NKJV: Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

Preview of future ministry

Acts 20:22-25: Paul’s preview of his future service in Jerusalem and beyond include:

• I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me
• the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me
• none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself
• that I might finish my course with joy
• [that I might finish] the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus
• [the ministry] to testify the gospel of the grace of God
• I know that ye all…shall see my face no more

Paul feels impelled to go to Jerusalem, despite whatever future awaits him there. While the specific events may be unknown, the witness of the Spirit through other believers indicates he will experience imprisonment (“bonds”) and persecution (“afflictions”).[1] His desire to preach the gospel, to finish his course, to fulfill his God-given ministry, is dearer than life itself. The prospects, even up to and including death, do not dissuade him from his course of action. For “finish my course,” see also II Timothy 4:7. This course of action means Paul and the Ephesians elders will not meet again in this life.

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[1] That the witness occurs “in every city” suggests the witness of the Spirit through other Christian believers as Paul travels. This does not preclude a direct witness of the Spirit to Paul. Nevertheless, “in every city” connects the witness with travel and people. A detailed example is given when Paul comes to Cæsarea. See Acts 21:8-11. The Holy Ghost does not give the message to prevent Paul from going to Jerusalem, but to prepare him and his friends for what will happen.

The Gideon ESV

Over ten years ago, the Gideons in essence created a new Bible version. I guess I am just now catching up. The Gideons International, more commonly simply called Gideons, is a parachurch organization made up of Christian business & professional men and their wives, They are best known for freely distributing Bibles. In 2013 they made an unusual decision, to distribute a hybrid edition of the English Standard Version (ESV). The ESV, first published by Crossway in 2001, is a revision of the Revised Standard Version.

Originally the Gideons distributed King James Bibles, but at some year unknown to me, they began to distribute the New King James Version. After HarperCollins acquired Thomas Nelson, the publishers of the NKJV, apparently the Gideons were unable to negotiate a satisfactory licensing agreement with them. This is when they negotiated with Crossway and changed to the ESV. (I believe they may still distribute the KJV as well.)

Excerpts from “About This Bible” in the Gideons ESV.

“This edition of The Holy Bible is distributed free of charge throughout the world by The Gideons International. …

“The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® (ESV ®) is copyright © Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois, 60187, USA. …

“At the request of The Gideons—and in appreciation for their worldwide, century-plus distribution of more than 1.8 million Bibles—Crossway is pleased to license the ESV Bible text to the Gideons, and to grant permission to The Gideons to include certain alternative readings based on the Textus Receptus, for exclusive free distribution of a Gideons edition, as follows: Bible translations of the New Testament into English and other languages are almost exclusively based on either (1) the Greek Textus Receptus manuscript tradition (which was the basis for the 1611 translation of the KJV Bible), or (b) the Greek NA-UBS manuscript corpus (which is the basis for almost all Bible translations completed since the late 1800s). In some places in the New Testament of the ESV Gideons edition, as printed and distributed exclusively under license to The Gideons International, the Gideons edition follows the Textus Receptus manuscript tradition, which corresponds in the vast majority of instances to the corpus of the New Testament Greek manuscripts known among scholars today as the Majority Text.”

Textual changes demonstrated.

Apparently the only textual changes in the ESV Gideons Bible are in the New Testament. Joshua Holman has studied the changes and published “Gideon changes to the English Standard Version New Testament.”

Promotional puffery.

Crossway includes this edition of the ESV as part of their promotional material. For example:

“More than two billion Bibles and New Testaments have been distributed in two hundred countries, territories, and possessions across the globe. The ESV Bible text is the primary English text used by The Gideons International for their printed Bibles and New Testaments.”

Final thoughts.

All told, the Gideons ESV is a very strange mash-up of a Bible. Eternity magazine reported in 2014:

“The Gideon’s new ESV translation is a unique edition produced with permission from Crossway Publishing. It includes over 50 alternate readings consistent with the Textus Receptus, the Greek text that formed the basis of the translations for the King James Bible.”

Lack of consistency.

It certainly is unique! The Gideons and Crossway have created a Bible that does not follow the Traditional Text, the Critical Text, or the Majority Text. The theoretical underlying Greek in fact does not exist. Though it restores some traditional text readings, it does not consistently reintroduce TR readings that are missing in the ESV.

Lack of cooperation.

The Gideons ESV creates a Bible that does not exist outside of their organization. It hands readers a Bible that they cannot obtain elsewhere. In this they separate from all existing Bibles used in Christian churches, and create an exclusive version of their own making. This promotes confusion to its readers.

Lack of conviction.

The Gideons ESV demonstrates a lack of conviction – on both the part of the Crossway and the Gideons. If Crossway had a conviction that Bibles should be translated from the Critical Text, they should stand by the courage of their convictions. If the Gideons had a conviction about the Traditional Text, they should not settle for a hodge-podge Critical/Traditional text.

Though I do not prefer or promote interdenominational parachurch organizations, I have generally thought well of the Gideons in their doing the work of distributing Bibles widely. This Gideons ESV, however, is a bad decision from every angle.

It’s My House

It’s My House.

Mark 11:15-18.

Mark 11:-1815 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.

Matthew 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Luke 19:47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Introduction.

Jesus cleansed the temple twice, once near the beginning of his ministry and once near the end. See John 2:13-16 for the first cleansing. Jesus made “a scourge of small cords” to drive out the animals, the moneychangers, and the merchants. He poured out the money and overturned their tables. He commanded the doves be taken from the house of God. Some 18 years earlier (cf. Luke 2:42; 3:23) as a youth of twelve Jesus spoke in the temple of “my Father’s business.” Here he speaks of it as “my Father’s house” being made into a house of merchandise.  The reference to “my Father” is a claim of his Messiahship.

Jesus had the authority (and power) to cleanse the temple.

• My house. Jesus said, in effect, “It’s my house,” thereby making himself equal with God (as the Jews said of him at the feast in Jerusalem (John 5:1, 18).
• The Old Testament tabernacle was called the house of God (Judges 20:18) and the house of the Lord (1 Samuel 1:24); the Old Testament temple was called the house of God (2 Chronicles 3:3) and the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 3:1). It was the Lord’s by right of pattern (his design) and possession (his ownership). Though the chief priests were offended, they could not stop him. Neither could the moneychangers, the merchants, or their clientele. They were driven out by one man, the God man. “It’s my house, and I’ll cleanse what I want to, when I want to.”
• Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Ecclesiastes 8:4. ...none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Daniel 4:35.

Jesus had a reason for cleansing the temple.

• The house of God served as a place of religious worship. “for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:17).
• The house of God had become a place of uncontrolled commerce and uncontested crime. “Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 7:11)

Jesus had results from cleansing the temple.

• The chief leaders were enraged by his actions at the temple (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47). They should have been the very ones guarding the integrity of the temple. The house of prayer divides the true and the false.
• The people were attentive to hear him at the temple as he taught (Luke 19:47-48). The house of prayer is a house of teaching.
• The blind and lame were healed at the temple (Matthew 21:14). The house of prayer is a house of healing.
• The temple needed cleansing. The cleansing brought division or separation, some hating him, some hearing him, and some healed by him.

Application.

The cleansing occurred at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus made it clear, “It’s my house.” But what shall we then say to these things? We are not Jews in Jerusalem. We are Christians in the church age. We have no temple. Or do we? Of what today might Jesus say to us, “It’s my house”?

• There is the temple of the human body. The Bible speaks of the temple of the body (John 2:21). We dwell in an earthly tabernacle of clay (2 Corinthians 5:1), indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As God inhabited the temple by his Spirit, so the Spirit of God dwells in the temple of our body. Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
• There is the temple of the church body. The gathered church is the body of Christ, and his Spirit dwells in them. 2 Corinthians 6:16-17 and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. See Ephesians 2:19-22. Jesus did not come to overthrow the Roman government, but he did overthrow the false religious system of the Jewish world (Matthew 21:43).

When I was a child, an American singer named Lesley Gore sang “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.” We have continuously revised that somewhat innocuous phrase of teenage self-interest so that by the twenty-first century we have, “It’s my body, and I’ll kill my baby if I want to,” “It’s my body and I’ll claim whatever gender I want to,” “It’s my body and I’ll sell it if I want to,” “It’s my body and commit adultery if I want to,” “It’s my body and I’ll worship what I want to.” But hear the word of the Lord. He says, “It’s my body!” “Ye are not your own…ye are bought with a price.” “All souls are mine.” He owns all, our bodies and souls, even the gold and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Others go on to say, “It’s our church and we’ll do what we want to,” “It’s our church and we’ll use any Bible we want to,” “It’s our church and we’ll use any worship style we want to,” “It’s our church and we’ll observe the ordinances the way we want to,” “It’s our church and we’ll preach salvation like we want to.” But hear the word of the Lord, “It’s my body!” For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17).

• The temple needs cleansing.
• Our Lord has the right.
• There will be results.

The Lord’s house of prayer reaches out to all people, the lame and blind, high and low, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, Jews and Gentiles, calling out to every one of the thirsty. Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. May the Lord’s house truly be a house of prayer, a house of worship and praise, to which all may come, without money and without price.” He determines the rules of his house. “It’s my house,” saith the Lord.

Never forget

“We should never forget, that when we are explaining any expression of Scripture, we are treating what are the very words of the Holy Ghost, as much as if they had been spoken to us by a voice from heaven. The profane rashness of many critics is much emboldened by the circumstances that men have been employed as the instruments of the Almighty in communicating his revelation. A sort of modified inspiration only is granted to the Scriptures, and they are often treated as the words merely of those who were employed as the penmen. When God is thus kept out of sight, little ceremony is used with the words of the Apostles. That profound reverence and awe with which the Scriptures ought to be read and handled, are in many instances too little exemplified.”

Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (Volume I, New Edition Much Enlarged, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1842). p. 11

Manuscript Search

Manuscript Search at Bible Theology Blog.

A search tool created by Seth Knorr to quickly and easily find where you are at in the manuscript. 

When you are looking at images of a Greek manuscript, you can type in a string of characters into the search box (either in Greek or a transliteration). The search will then tell you what passage or passages have that string of characters.

The Lord Our Rock

The Lord Our Rock, words arranged and music by J. P. Lane, describes the Lord as a strong rock, fortress, shield, and sure defense. We rest in him, our changeless God.

1. O the Rock! ’tis a cleft and a strong, sure defense
From the dark gath’ring tempest so threat’ning and dense;
In the Rock we are safe, we will suffer no fear,
But in peace that is changeless, we rest sweetly here.

Chorus:
For the Lord is our Rock and is mighty and strong,
And in him we are safe—he’s our help and our song,
In the Rock we will rest till the storms all are past;
He will guide thro’ the gloom,
He will guide thro’ the gloom till the light dawns at last.

2. O the Rock safely shields from the foes that surround,
Tho’ the perils are many, and tempters abound;
In the Rock, all secure, from all harm we abide;
Since he shields us and keeps us, no ill can betide. 
[Chorus]

3. O the Rock, blessed Rock, what a calm, blest retreat,
We will rest in the Shade all secure from the heat;
In the Rock we’re contented, we’re happy and free;
Sinner, flee for thy life, O to this Refuge flee.
[Chorus]

The Lord Our Rock was first published in 1898, in the songbook Songland Melodies: a New Song Book for Revivals, edited by Horace Neely Lincoln. The author of the text is uncertain. James Pleasant Lane arranged the words and wrote the music.

James Pleasant “Plez” Lane was born September 20, 1856 in Arkansas. He was the son of Robert Russell Lane (1832–1895) and Elizabeth Williams (1835–1860). Lane appears in four U.S. Federal censuses – 1860 (Madison County, Arkansas), 1870 (Madison County, Arkansas), 1880 (Comanche County, Texas) and 1900 (Comanche County, Texas). He married Martha Ann “Mattie” Harris (1862–1904) sometime before 1880. They appear as a young couple without children in the 1880 Comanche County census. By 1900 they were parents of 9 children, 6 of whom were still living. His occupation had changed from farming to music. J. P. Lane was preceded in death by his wife, and he died March 9, 1910, when only 53 years old. They are buried at the Zion Hill Cemetery, in rural Comanche County, Texas.

J. P. Lane composed music for hymns that he wrote, as well composing for the hymns of others. As of 24 December 2024, Hymnary.org lists 31 songs by Lane. In addition, he wrote Rudiments of Music (1909) and Lane’s Analysis of Harmony and Musical Composition (1903). Copies of these have been preserved at the Abilene Christian University Library, a gift from Firm Foundation editor Austin Taylor.

J. P. Lane is the author and composer of Only Through Grace.

Art that accords, and other music links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Welcome To The Home of Gospel Singing Conventions -- “GospelConventions.com offers the most comprehensive listing of singing conventions, singing schools, and gospel music publishers available anywhere on the internet today.”
• The Timelessness of Black Gospel Christmas Music -- “The spirituals reflect a people who believe they're in the middle of the Bible story. I think that gives them a power that's hard for others to match”
• Thanksgiving hymns are a few centuries old, tops – but biblical psalms of gratitude and praise go back thousands of years -- “Interestingly, for songs associated with a distinctly American holiday, none [of these] have American origins.”
• Tennessee State Officials Recognize 70th Anniversary of Sunday Tradition -- “Sunday Tradition is a television program that was started in 1954 by J. Bazzel Mull, who was a prominent preacher, radio personality and promoter in the Knoxville area for decades.”
• NYC priest who allowed Sabrina Carpenter to shoot a music video in church stripped of duties -- “Church officials said they were appalled Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello permitted Carpenter to film the provocative video last year for her hit song ‘Feather.’”
• In Loving Memory Of Dottie Leonard Miller – Founder & CEO Of Daywind Records -- “Dottie later added Daywind Music Publishing, now the predominant music publisher in Southern Gospel and Bluegrass music genres...”
• Girls’ choir fills in ‘missing piece of the puzzle’ -- “At the end of June a new choir was formed - the first choir made up entirely of girls.”
• FOR OR AGAINST: Style-Based Worship Services -- “People are not starved for the greatness of our music, they are starved for the greatness of our God.”
• Does Music Have Meaning? -- “Music mimics what emotions feel like and how they express themselves, and in this way music is able to express what words alone cannot.”
• Dire hissings -- “I am writing this on the eve of the day Americans celebrate a day of Thanksgiving, and it puts me in mind of William Billings’s delightful An Anthem, for Thanksgiving.”
• Art that Accords with Sound Doctrine -- “For Christians, making or evaluating culture must always be measured against God’s special revelation.”
• African American Gospel -- “The precursor to black Gospel music is the African American spiritual, which had already been around for well over a century before Gospel music began its rise to popularity starting in the 1930s.”
• A Common Meter Christmas -- “Today I want to briefly highlight four Christmas carols to show one aspect of how Christmas traditions have changed over the centuries.”
• A Brief Overview of Sacred Harp Music -- “Sacred harp survives both in church services in the South, as well as conventions where singers travel long distances...”

Apocrypha in English Bible Versions

A few notes about the Apocrypha:

“Article VI of the Church of England (1562) authorizes the reading of these books (I (III) Esdras-II Maccabees) for example of life and instruction of manners, but not to establish any doctrine. However, much Protestant (especially Calvinist) opinion disapproved of the Apocrypha, which are frequently absent from extant copies of Geneva Bibles, particularly those printed in Holland. In 1615 Archbishop Abbott forbade the issue of Bibles without the Apocrypha, but copies of the Authorized Version surviving from editions of the 1630’s often lack them [i.e., the Apocryphal books], and were perhaps so purchasable. The first edition of an English Bible deliberately issued without them was probably the Geneva Bible of A. Hart, Edinburgh, 1640, which retains the Prayer of Manasses only and gives reasons for omitting the rest.”

The Cambridge History of the Bible: the West from the Reformation to the Present Day, S. L. Greenslade, editor, page 169

The 1650 Stationers printing of the King James Bible does not have the Apocrypha.

Review of Asian ministry

Verses 18b-21: Paul’s review of his service in Asia include:

• serving the Lord with all humility of mind
• [serving] with many tears
• [serving in] temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews
• I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you
• [I] have taught you publickly
• [I have taught] from house to house
• testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks
• [testifying] repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ

Sincere service proceeds from an humble mind (cf. Proverbs 3:34, 11:2; Matthew 23:12; Colossians 3:12; James 4:6; I Peter 5:5-6). On the other hand, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). “Tears” suggest great concern, compassion, and charity (cf. verse 31 and II Corinthians 2:4).

Jews lying in wait for Paul can be noted on several occasions: in Damascus (Acts 9:22-25), in Greece (Acts 20:3), in Jerusalem (Acts 23:12-16, 30; 25:2-3). This reference appears to be to an otherwise unrecorded instance of plotting against him – that happened in Asia, and about which the Ephesian elders knew.

The heart of Paul’s message was the same for both Jews and Greeks, “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance and faith two sides of the same coin, In the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, for example, they are called “inseparable graces.” For repentance and faith (belief) in salvation, see also Matthew 21:32; Mark 1:15; Acts 11:18, 19:4, 26:20-23; Romans 10:9-10; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2, 7:10; Hebrews 6:1; II Peter 3:9. Repentance toward God, proceeded by godly sorrow, is turning toward him, a turning in his direction, seeing God as right about our sin – and a Saviour of those who are wrong, sinners. This turning in the right direction brings one face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, and embracing him in faith. Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ is one message testified to all, both Jews and Greeks.

Bock assesses Paul’s ministry in Ephesus with three characteristics: “faithfulness, direct preaching of all that is necessary, and testimony about Jesus to all people without distinction.”[1]

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[1] Darrell Bock, Acts, pp. 627-628.

Exhortation to Discipleship

To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3.15). Join your response with the old hymn:

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Behold, I freely give
The living water,—thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream,
My thirst was quench’d, my soul revived,
And now I live in him.

 …behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6:2 For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14. You must drink the water of life when it is given. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

For the wages of sin is death; Romans 6:23 …it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14-15

Hear the word of the Lord. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. John 4:10 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters…Isaiah 55:1

behold, I come quickly… And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:12, 17

Straining at a gnat and not swallowing a camel

In a post in 2023, I took notice of Dan Wallace’s claim that “strain at” in Matthew 23:24 is a translation error. I addressed the usage and whether it is an error (and James Snapp, not a KJV defender, really “cleaned his (and others) clock” about the usage, in the essay Straining at a Gnat). However, in a different article, I noticed Wallace made an additional claim not included in what I addressed. This claim by Wallace is that the 1611 printing of the King James Bible originally had “strain out” rather than “strain at.” That is false.

“Another well-known error is found in Jesus’ discourse against the religious leaders of his day, recorded in Matthew 23. In v. 24 the KJV reads, ‘Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.’ The Greek verb διυλίζω means ‘to strain out.’ I believe that the KJV of 1611 actually had this wording, but inexplicably changed it later to ‘strain at.’”

To be fair, Wallace presents “the KJV of 1611 actually had [strain out], but inexplicably changed it” as what he believes rather than what he knows. Obviously he did not check and did not know, because what he believes is wrong. Checking a scan of a 1611 Bible printing makes it obvious that the original printing has “at” rather than “out.”

This may not be a very large camel in the grand scheme of things – and Snapp has already rebutted this – but I want to add it to my blog. Perhaps someone will stumble along and find this post, and learn that the urban myth perpetuated by a highly esteemed doctor is just that, an urban myth camel to be strained at and strained out of our minds. It is false. Or, as James Snapp concluded, “Those who have promoted that theory (and especially those who have presented it as a fact) should stop doing so.”

We do not allow Dallas doctors to prescribe phony pharmaceuticals. Hopefully Wallace has learned better by now, and has stopped, but his error still adorns the pages of Bible.org to dupe unsuspecting readers.

All Scripture is given

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16

“V. 16. All Scripture is given ] See 2 Pet. 1. 21. Or, the whole Scripture, as the word is taken, 1 Cor. 13. 2. and elsewhere. Every part of the Scripture is divinely inspired, 2 Pet. 1. 20,21. and is profitable to some of these ends, to furnish the man of God to some good works: but the whole Scripture is profitable to all those ends, to furnish him to every good work. The parts of the Scripture as they were delivered were sufficient for the instruction of those to whom they were delivered; and now the whole is most sufficient for us, and all Churches to the end of the world.”

Westminster Annotations, on 2 Timothy 3:16.

Joy and Anxiety

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Edward Henry “Ted” Joy wrote the hymn “All Your Anxiety,” and also composed the tune. 50 Uncommon Songs: for Partakers of the Common Salvation gives the date of the song as 1920. The hymn stanzas are metered 9.8.9.8., with a refrain of 9.9.9.7. The hymn urges the believer to cast all his care upon the Lord. Bring it all to him and leave it there. The refrain stresses that there is no friend like Jesus and no burden he cannot bear.

Joy was born November 16, 1871 in Canterbury, Kent, England. He died February 16, 1949, at his home in Carshalton, Surrey, England. He is buried at the Camberwell New Cemetery in Camberwell, Southwark, London, England. Edward Joy joined the Salvation Army movement in Canterbury at the age of 12, He played in the band, and became an officer in 1894 at age 23. He served widely in the Salvation Army, including England, Canada, South Africa, and India. He rose to the rank of colonel in the Salvation Army, retiring in 1938. After his retirement he was a ready writer for and about the Salvation Army.

1. Is there a heart o’er-bound by sorrow?
Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the Cross, each burden bearing,
All your anxiety— leave it there.

Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy-seat, leave it there;
Never a burden he cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.
 
2. No other friend so keen to help you;
No other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden;
No other One to hear your prayer.
 
(Refrain)

3. Come then, at once, delay no longer;
Heed his entreaty, kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment,
You shall find peace at the mercy-seat.

(Refrain)

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” Philippians 4:6.

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee…” Psalm 55:22a

In other words, ab initio to zenith

• ab initio, adverb. (Latin) From the beginning.
• android, noun. An automaton resembling a human being in form.
• anime, noun. An artistic style heavily used in, and associated with, Japanese animation, and that has also been adopted by a comparatively low number of animated works from other countries.
• anomaly, noun. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule; something that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify.
• anomie, noun. Social instability caused by erosion of standards and values.
• arete, noun. The aggregate of qualities, as valor and virtue, making up good character.
• aspiration, noun. A strong desire to achieve something high or great.
• arrabon event, phrase. Something that is a foretaste of that which is to come (from the Greek ἀρραβὼν, meaning earnest, guarantee, pledge).
• corollary, noun. A proposition that follows with little or no proof required from one already proven.
• dendroid, adjective. Resembling a tree in form; branching like a tree.
• go rogue, idiom. To stop being obedient or predictable; to behave in a way that is not allowed or expected.
• inculcate, verb. To implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly.
• inoculate, verb. To introduce a serum or antigenic substance into, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease; to infectious material into (either literally or figuratively).
• keelhaul, verb. To rebuke severely or harshly; (originally Nautical) to punish by dragging under the keel of a ship.
• litotes, noun. (Rhetoric) Understatement, especially when an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary; e.g., as in “not a little” used to mean “a lot.”
• noctambulist, noun. A person who walks while asleep; sleepwalker.
• poly-scriptura, noun. Many scriptures (from poly “many” + scriptura “scripture”). A recently coined phrase used by some to describe those Christians who find authority in many different translations of the scriptures.
• praetorship, noun. The office of a praetor (a type of office in the Roman Republic).
• preceptorship, noun. The position or office of a preceptor, that is, a teacher.
• prorogue, verb. To defer or postpone.
• raison d'être, noun. (French) Reason for existence.
• rogue, verb. To live or act as a scoundrel, vagabond, or scamp.
• zenith, noun. The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer; the upper region of the sky.

A few facts about John Alden

A few facts about John Alden, who came over to North America on the Mayflower:

• He was hired as the ship’s cooper, a job for maintaining and repairing the ship’s barrels. 
• He was initially a member of the ship’s crew rather than a settler.
• He was a signatory of The Mayflower Compact, signed while on the ship November 1620.
• He was at the time of his death the last surviving signer of The Mayflower Compact.
• Since The Mayflower Compact was not only a political covenant, but also a religious one, unto which the signers promised “all due Submission and Obedience” it seems that from that time Alden would have been considered a part of the group.
• After signing The Mayflower Compact, John Alden either did not throw away his 1611 translation (if he brought it with him initially beginning as a “non-Pilgrim”), or, as a Pilgrim he ordered a 1611 translation and had it shipped over to him (if he did not bring it with him). I do not find this to be a huge smoking gun for either side in the Bible versions debate. However, it does seem to take some of the edge off the claim that the separatists passionately hated the King James Bible.

Miracles in the Book of Acts

APPENDIX G – MIRACLES IN ACTS

Miracles and wonders in the book of Acts:

Miracle                                                            Where Wrought                      Reference

Jesus ascends to heaven                                  Bethany/Mount of Olives       1:9

Gift of tongues                                                Jerusalem                                2:3

Apostles perform signs and wonders             Jerusalem                                2:43

Peter heals a lame man                                   Jerusalem                                3:7-11

Earthquake answers prayer                             Jerusalem                                4:31

Ananias and Sapphira struck dead                 Jerusalem                                5:1-10

Apostles perform signs and wonders              Jerusalem                                5:12

Healing in Peter’s shadow                              Jerusalem                                5:15-16

Prison doors opened                                       Jerusalem                                5:19

Stephen’s wonders and miracles                    Jerusalem                                6:8

Philip’s healing and exorcism                        Samaria                                   8:6-13

Apostles communicate the Holy Ghost          Samaria                                   8:14-17

Saul’s conversion, appearance of Jesus          Road, near Damascus             9:3-9

Saul’s eyes healed                                          Damascus                                9:17-18

Peter heals Aeneas of a palsy                         Lydda                                      9:32-35

Peter raises Tabitha, or Dorcas, to life           Joppa                                       9:36-42

Vision, angelic appearances                           Joppa                                       10:3, 7, 10, 19

Gift of tongues                                                Cæsarea                                  10:45-46

Peter delivered out of prison by an angel       Jerusalem                                12:7-17

God smites Herod, to die                                Cæsarea                                  12:21-23

Blinding of a sorcerer Elymas                        Paphos                                    13:6-12

Paul’s signs and wonders                               Iconium                                   14:3-4

Paul heals a cripple                                         Lystra                                      14:8-18

Miracles and wonders                                     Among the Gentiles               15:12

Paul casts out a spirit of divination                Philippi                                   16:16-18

God opens prison doors with earthquake       Philippi                                   16:25-31

Gift of tongues, Holy Ghost                           Ephesus                                   19:1-6

Special miracles by Paul                                Ephesus                                   19:11-12

Paul restores Eutychus to life                         Troas                                       20:8-12

Healing of Paul’s snake-bitten hand               Malta                                       28:3-6

Paul heals the father of Publius and others    Malta                                       28:7-8

Other healings at Malta                                  Malta                                      28:9

Miracles and wonders were wrought primarily by the apostles. However, they were not limited to the apostles. See, for example, Acts 6:8 (Stephen), Acts 8:6-7 (Philip), and Acts 15:2 (Barnabas). God effected some directly without using a human intermediary (e.g. Acts 2:3; 12:23). In church history in the book of Acts, the out-of-the-ordinary spiritual manifestations are most prominent in the early pages of the book, and ebb in the latter pages.

“There is a noteworthy correspondence, or parallelism, between the miracles wrought through Peter and those wrought through Paul.”[1]

Peter                                                                            Paul

Lame man in temple, 3:2-8                            14:8-10, Healed a cripple

Healed in cities, shadow 5:12, 15-16             19:11-12, Miracles in Ephesus, handkerchief

Let out of prison 5:17-21; 12:1-10                 16:22-27, Let out of prison

Dorcas raised 9:36-42                                     20:9-12, Eutychus raised

Received visions, 10:3ff.                                16:9ff., Received visions

9:32-35 Æneas sick of the palsy, Peter

13:11-12 Blinded Elymas, Paul

16:18 cast out devil, Paul

 

Acts, Darrell Bock, page 157 – 14 miracles in Acts and 10 summary notices of miracles

4 – healing

2 – raising dead

4 – liberation or freeing

3 – judgment

1 – preservation

Summaries: (2:43; 5:12, 15, 16; 6:8; 8:6-7, 13; 14:3; 19:11-12; 28:9)

2:43                 Signs and wonders                  14:4

5:1-11             Rebuke | Judgment                 13:8-12

12:7                 Prison chains fall off              16:26

9:33-35           Paralytic | Fever                      28:7-9

Bock: “God’s power through Jesus is the point of these accounts…”

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[1] Companion Bible, Bullinger, p. 1575.