SHARON GOSPEL CHAPEL OF EDMONTON

7540 - 106 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 4W2

Phone: (780) 439-5671 

Email: worship@sharongospelchapel.org

Website: www.sharongospelchapel.org

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The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Giving of Scripture

Scripture is not from men but from God since the original Scriptural words were directly from God: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim 3:16). Scripture describes the role the of the Holy Spirit in the giving of Scripture:

"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).

“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Cor 2:10-13).

Scripture confirms that this is how the Old Testament was formed:

“And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers” (Acts 28:25)

The New Testament is based upon the person and words of Jesus Christ, whom the Bible calls “the Word” (John 1:1):

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Heb 1:1-2).

Although Jesus’ words probably were not written down verbatim when He spoke, the role of the Holy Ghost, called the “Spirit of Truth” (John 16:13), brought back His exact words to those who wrote the New Testament:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

Paul says he received the gospel from Christ:

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:11-12) and the apostle Peter equates the writing of Paul with Scripture: “..even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)

The Holy Spirit was also the One who gave the words of God to the apostles:

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph 3:1-5).

What Jesus Says About Scripture

Jesus Christ the Lord had the highest regard for Scripture. In spite of what critics might think, Jesus Christ validated the fact that Moses wrote some of the Old Testament (John 5:46), that the story of Jonah is real (Matt 12:39-40) and that Scripture will exist as long as heaven and earth. If He is wrong about Scripture, He cannot be God and if He is not God then Scripture cannot be from God.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matt 5:17-18).

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matt 24:34 ).

“If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

Is There a Source Of Revelation Apart From Scripture?

According to the New Encyclopaedia Britannica (1985, Vol 9, page 995) one of the key concepts in the 16^th century reformation was that Scripture alone is authoritative (Sola scriptura – Latin ablative, "by scripture alone"). Our statement of faith thus says that Scriptures “are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.”

Not all, however, see things this way. Some believe that the individual cannot interpret the Bible on their own and some feel that new revelations take precedent over traditional Scripture.

1)         Do we need an infallible person, church body, elders, etc. to interpret the Scripture for us?

Many think that we need an ‘infallible’ source such as a body of church tradition, a line of descent which supposedly could go back to the apostles themselves, a church body such as ‘elders’, or a spiritual leader to obtain the correct interpretation and application of Scripture. Arguments for the validity of authoritative source beyond or even above Scripture include: 1) the suggestion that in the early church the apostles delivered God’s word directly to the people aside from the written word (1 Cor 11:2, 2 Thess 2:15, 3:6), 2) that the faith was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) and has been kept by tradition, and 3) that tradition retains some things beyond that which is recorded in Scripture: “there are also many other things which Jesus did” (John 21:25).

In contrast to such speculations, the Bible itself makes it clear that Scripture, and not tradition or others, is the final authority in all spiritual matters.

            a)         Since Christians are priests there is no need for a mediator other than Christ between them and God

The question as to whether ‘The Church’ or another body or individual is as authoritative, or even more authoritative than Scripture was answered in the Reformation. According to the New Encyclopaedia Britannica (1985, Vol 26, page 230) one of the key aspects of the reformation was “an emphasis that stressed not the privileges of a priestly caste but rather “the priesthood of all believers”.....If all believers were priests, then no single church could monopolize the mediation of grace... Almost unanimously, they saw final authority to reside in the Word of God, which tended in the minds of many to be simply equated with the Bible.” The Bible does, in fact, teach that all believers are priests to God:

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” 1 Peter 2:9

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever” (Rev 1:6)

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev 5:9-10).

Scripture also supports the concept that each person is responsible as an individual before God and that there is only one mediator with God – Jesus Christ.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5).

            b)        Scripture has very clear warnings against following tradition

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” (Isa 29:13-14)

“But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Matt 15:3)

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.” (Mark 7:6-8)

“Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” (Titus 1:14).

            c)         We are responsible for ourselves before God

The Bible teaches individual responsibility. If we cannot blame an ‘infallible’ human agency when we stand before God, it is not reasonable to rely upon that source as being an infallible guide concerning spiritual matters here on earth:

“Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezek 18:19-20)

“for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom 14:10)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10)

            d)        The Bible teaches that individuals can and should know what God is saying through Scripture

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26)

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim 3:14-17)

“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20)

“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” (1 John 2:27)

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32)

 2)        Are there new and later revelations aside from Scripture?

God has spoken before by prophets (Num 12:6; Judges 6:8; John 1:1; Acts 21:8-11; Eph 3:5). Also, the Holy Spirit reveals truth to men (Eph 3:5) and “He will shew you things to come” (John 16:13). In addition, it is clear that even in New Testament times, men had revelations:

“And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. 28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.” (Acts 11:27-28) “And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” (Acts 21:10-11)

“How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Cor 14:26)

This raises the legitimate question as to whether there will be new and later revelations from God aside from Scripture as we know it? Although some believe this and cults are formed on this basis, the fact is that Scripture as we know it is the last authoritative word from God and will remain so until Christ come again.. Some of the supporting arguments are given below.

            a)         Trustworthiness of Any New Revelation

A major concern about any new revelation must center on the trustworthiness of the one giving the revelation. Realistically we know that there is no one in this world that we can trust for such a revelation! Who do you know whose sayings should have equal authority as Scripture? In fact, any new revelation must be even more authoritative than Scripture since it seeks to replace Scripture or add to it.

Therefore if we are to allow someone the authority of developing ‘new’ Scripture there needs to be verification at the highest level . Obviously this verification must come from God since those who claim they are giving new Scripture are claiming to speak for Him. In fact, God did validate Jesus Christ and the apostles. As a result we know we can trust them and their words as recorded in Scripture as the very words of God: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22); “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43).

MacArthur (no longer available but obtained from http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/NEWREV.HTM; New Revelation. Copyright 1993 by John F. MacArthur, Jr. All rights reserved; accessed December 2008) makes the following point when asking people about revelation: “"How do you know it's from God?" Inevitably, they will say, "Well, we think it's from God," because they can't know. Why? Because it was very, very clear in the New Testament era who the prophets of God were; who the Apostles of Christ were, and the Word came through recognized authorities. Today, anybody and his brother might get a revelation from God, and on what basis are we to assume it's from God? Is it attendant with signs and wonders? Can they heal the sick? Can they raise the dead? Can they cast out demons at a word; authoritatively like Jesus and the Apostles did? Those were the signs of an Apostle. See, anyone who had the ability to give revelation had to be accredited, and the accreditation was, according to 2 Corinthians 12, the signs of an Apostle. It was known to all who these people were or the fact that they were Apostles or they were those who were associated with the Apostles.”

            b)        Scripture cautions against adding to Scripture

A main argument against revelation subsequent to the giving of Scripture is that Scripture itself says that Scripture shouldn’t be added to or taken away from.

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deut 4:2)

“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deut 12:32)

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov 30:5-6)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev 22:18-19)

Although this appears to clearly prohibit revelations subsequent to the giving of Scripture, some (e.g. Mormons) have made convincing arguments that these verses do not apply. The argument is that additional Scripture has been added after Moses made the statements in Deuteronomy and the claim in Revelation 22:18-19 only applies to the book of Revelation. Revelation probably was the last book in the Bible to be written; W.A. MacDonald (A. Farstad ed. 1995. Believer's Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville. p 2350) gives the time of writing of the book of Revelation as the latest in the New Testament and says “church fathers specifically indicate that the latter part of Domitian’s reign (about 96) as the time John was on Patmos receiving the Revelation”). Nevertheless, it cannot be proven that the verses in Deuteronomy and Revelation apply to all of Scripture.

However, even if an absolute case cannot be made concerning the warnings about adding to Scripture, it is clear that no new concepts can be added to, or taken away from, the gospel of Christ. The following verses, with the one in the epistle of Jude being one of the strongest, indicates that the revelation of God is complete as given in the New Testament.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3). (Note: Vine says the word ‘once’ means “"once for all," of what is of perpetual validity, not requiring repetition”).

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Cor 11:3-4)

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:6-9)

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:” (2 John 9-10)

            c)         Scripture warns about ‘deceivers’

If we believe that there can be revelations subsequent to the giving of the canon of Scripture we are opening ourselves up to deception – an almost sure consequence of believing in revelation subsequent to Scripture:

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matt 24:4-5)

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matt 24:11)

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt 24:24)

“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Rom 16:18)

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Eph 4:14)

“Let no man deceive you with vain words:” (Eph 5:6)

“Let no man deceive you by any means:” (2 Thess 2:3)

“Little children, let no man deceive you: (1 John 3:7)

Satan himself is the great deceiver:

“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14)

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor 11:3)

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev 12:9)

            d)        We are to test those who claim to speak for God

Many claim to speak for God and to know the way to Him. We are to test any such teaching or ‘revelation’ against the Word of God and against the outcome of the teaching or revelation. This holds true even for those that we would consider to be ‘inside’ the church. God uses such people to ‘prove’ us (Deut 13:3) and to accomplish His purpose (Jer 27:15). The consequences of following a wrong new revelation are just too great to take the risk.

“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deut 18:20-22)

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.” (Deut 13:1-5)

“Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not,” (Jer 14:14-15)

“Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.” Jer 23:31-32

“For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.” (Jer 27:15)

“They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. 9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. 10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:” (Ezek 13:6-10)

How Reliable Is Scripture?

Information is given below concerning the reliability of Scripture. More recently a major paper was prepared on the subject. It is available as a Word document by right clicking the following link: Accuracy of the Biblical text

Even if we believe that God originally inspired the Bible on a word-for-word basis, we need to ask how close is our current Scripture to which God originally gave?

Warren Henderson (The Bible: Myth or Divine Truth?. 2008. Published by Warren A. Henderson, Colfax, WI) has provided information about the trustworthiness of the Scriptures as cited below.

“For example, how much difference was determined between -the oldest known Old Testament Hebrew text (800 A.D.) prior to the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery and the actual Dead Sea Scrolls? Isaiah chapter 53 is perhaps the most astounding prophetic passage in the entire Old Testament in describing why Messiah must suffer, die and be raised up again. Examining the 166 words in Isaiah 53, we find only 17 letters in question. Ten of these are simply a matter of spelling variations; four pertain to minor stylistic changes, and the remaining three Hebrew letters compose one word, "light," apparently added in verse 11 to the Masoretic text - which does not affect the meaning of the passage at all.

Other prominent manuscripts include the Geniza Fragments (400 A.D.) and the Ben Asher Manuscripts (950 A.D.). As man continues to dig, the authenticity of the Bible becomes more apparent. For example, in 1979, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay found two small silver scrolls dating back to 600 B.C. in a Jerusalem tomb. The scrolls contained a benediction from the Book of Numbers which proved that the Old Testament had already been copied at a time when skeptics thought the text didn't yet exist.

What is the oldest New Testament manuscript in existence today? The John Rylands Fragment, dating to 117-138 A.D. is a papyrus piece written on both sides; it includes John 18:31-33, 37-38. The Magdalen Papyrus, dating back to 70 A.D. (i.e. about five years after the original) contains a portion of Matthew 26.

The entire New Testament was canonized by 165 A.D., except for 2 Peter. Over 5,600 Greek partial or complete New Testament manuscripts exist today which attest to the reliable and accurate transmission of Scripture. When you consider how few important Greek texts have survived 2000 years of history, one must recognize that the Bible is God's Word and that He preserved His Word. Norman Geisler notes how few copies of important Greek texts have survived two millennia:

•Only 643 manuscripts by which the Iliad is reconstructed.

•Nine or ten good ones for Caesar's Gallic Wars.

•Twenty manuscripts for Livy's History of Rome.

•Only two for Roman historian Tacitus.

Ron Rhodes reports, "In addition to this [the Greek manuscripts] there are 86,000 quotations of the New Testament by the early church fathers. Because of this, all but 11 verses could be accurately reconstructed even if we had no manuscript copies." In addition, over 10,000 copies of the Latin Vulgate and at least 9,300 copies of early versions of the Bible in various languages are in existence. In total, over 24,000 manuscripts attest to the accurate transmission of the New Testament. No other ancient book can boast the same level of authenticity as the Bible. It is distinct from all other books in message, unity, sophistication, and prophecy.”

Bible Translations

We must never forget that Satan is a it is “the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev 12:9) and that his first and greatest attack will be against the Bible. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness His defense was “It is written” (Matt 4:4). And, as pointed out above, how else are we going to learn about God aside from Scripture? Thus we can expect that Satan will attack the Bible – and he has been successful! So much so, that the Bible has lost its authoritative role in society and even Christians are looking elsewhere for guidance.

At least part of this problem has arisen because of problems in Bible translations. It is well known that cults have put their own interpretation in what is called their Bible. And there are many translations which have such substantial differences between them that they cannot all be God’s Word. So the key question really becomes – is the translation being considered really God’s Word or just man’s idea about what the Bible says?

With the above in mind, the following are principles which have been used at Sharon Gospel Chapel and which may help others in selecting a good Bible translation.

1.         Principle One: The translation must be as close as possible to what God inspired the prophets and apostles wrote

This is the over-riding, the all-important, principle. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible on a word-for-word basis, and not just in concepts and generalities. The Lord Jesus Christ confirmed this: Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law (Matt 5:18). He spoke the words, and had them written, in a way that He knew was best. Who is man to seek to improve upon what God has done? Thus the most important question to ask when thinking about a particular Bible translation is whether it is truly God’s Word. A translation may contain God’s Word, may generally give the idea of God’s Word, may be very close to God’s Word at least in some places, and may contain portions of God’s Word but it is not truly God’s Word unless it is as close to what was originally given as possible.

Not all agree with this principle. There are those who consider that the ‘readability’ of the translation to be much more important than the substance. In fact there are two differing concepts in Bible translation:

            ●          Formal Equivalence - this translation procedure attempts to render the text on a word-for-word basis.

            ●          Dynamic Equivalence - this translation procedure attempts to convey the thought expressed in the original language even it is necessary to make the translation less literal, change the word order, change the grammatical voice, etc. This translation approach results to a greater or lesser extent in ‘paraphrases’ of the original Scripture where the words have been restated with the objective of improving clarity.

The ‘Message’ is an extreme example of a paraphrased Bible whereas the King James, New King James and New American Standard are examples a more formal equivalence approach. The New International Version uses a combination of these approaches.

It must always be remembered that a paraphrased Bible will contain doctrinal and other biases of the translators thus it is extremely important who does the translation. Thus the further away the translation moves from a formal equivalent translation the more it should be considered as a commentary (i.e. as an explanation by man of the Bible) rather than the Bible itself.

Further, it must always be remembered that the Bible is not a book that is to be read casually or superficially without hard work (Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth; 2 Tim 2:15). Further, to try to reduce its complexity so that everyone can understand it, which is the goal of some translations, flies in the face of God’s Word: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).

2.         Principle Two: Translations must be based upon the Majority Greek Text

We must never forget that Scripture was given in Hebrew, Greek and other languages and not given in English. We might have wonderful translations of a particular Greek text but if this text in this original languages is wrong then our translation will be wrong as well.

The majority Greek text (also called ‘Traditional’, ‘Byzantine’, and ‘Received’ of which the ‘Textus Recptus’ is an example) on which the King James translation is based was accepted as the God-given text type of the New Testament until 1881. About 90% of the early manuscripts are of this text type. Now, however, most of the translations of the Bible are based upon a ‘minority’ of available early Greek manuscript; only about 1% of the available 5,366 known early manuscripts containing all or part of the Greek New Testament are used as the primary source for the modern Greek text (Riplinger, G.A. 1993. New Age Bible Versions. A.V Publications Corp., Ararat, VA). The primary documents for the minority text are Codex Vaticanus (or B) and Sinaiticus (Codex Aleph) which are referred to as the ‘oldest and most reliable manuscripts’. They are of the ‘Alexandrian’ text type and date from about the 4^th century AD. They differ substantially from each other as well as with the majority of Greek texts.

Aside from the supposed ‘age’ of the different original manuscripts, a main reason which resulted in the adopting of the minority text it that it is a shorter version than the majority text. The argument was made that the longer text resulted when two different ‘variants’ were found in the same verse and both were included in the majority text type (a process called coflation). More recently, however it has been realized the shorter Greek text of the minority manuscripts would be expected if the Bible was ‘edited’ to make it more acceptable to its readers. Classical or Attic Greek was spoken from about 480 to 323 BC. The language changed over time until in New Testament times Koine Greek was in use. This type of Greek is ‘longer’ because it has greater fullness and is more precise. There was enough of a return to Attic Greek in the 2^nd century AD that this time period became known as the ‘century of Atticism’. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (1985. Volume 22, p. 634) it became fashionable to publish manuals of ‘good usage’ in which the Attic equivalent of Koine innovations was recommended to students. Thus history itself tells us that the probable reason for the shorter Alexandrian/minority text type on which most modern translations are based is a change towards Attic Greek in order to make the Bible more acceptable to the Greek scholars of the 2^nd century. Of course if such changes occurred then there would be little reluctance in making other text changes as well.

The supporters of the minority text were able to convince the Christian world that the predominance of existing Greek manuscripts (approximately90:1, Majority vs Alexandrian text types) could be explained simply because more copies of the one text type were made. Thus they argued on the basis of text types that the relative proportion should be considered to be 1:1 and that the actual number of manuscripts in each text type was unimportant.

Many articles and books have been written on this subject so the subject can’t be covered in any more detail here. However the following considerations provide strong confirmation that the Majority Greek text is the true representative of Scriptures as originally given: 1) the number of available early manuscripts in each text type 2) corroboration from history of the probability of editing to form the minority text type , 3) inconsistencies and lack of reliability of the foundational documents of the minority text, especially in comparison with the Majority text documents, 4) generally greater respect for God’s Word for those supporting the Majority text, and 5) increasing evidence for the ‘earliness’ of the Majority text.

3.         Principle 3: The translation should be as close to a word-for-word and letter-for-letter translation as possible

This principles obviously follows from principle 1 in that what we are really after in a Bible translation is for it to be the very words of God.

The value of using only one English word to translate a single word in the original languages whenever possible can be demonstrated by an example. The word ‘seed’ and its plural, ‘seeds’, demonstrate that even a single letter in a word is important and has been used by God to develop a major Biblical doctrine.

According to Vine, in the Old Testament the word ‘zera’ (Strong’s 2233) can mean seed; sowing, seedtime, harvest, offspring, descendent(s), posterity, man’s seed or semen, and groups and individuals marked by a common moral quality. In the New Testament the word ‘sperma’ (Strong’s 4690) means to sow and is used of plants, man’s seed or semen, offspring and posterity (natural offspring and spiritual). This raises the question as to whether only one English word should be used to translate the Hebrew/Greek word seed or whether, for purposes of clarity and ease of reading, a variety of English words should be used to try to express the actual meaning inherent in the original languages. Most newer translations have, in fact, substituted words such as offspring or descendants for ‘seed’ in some places. Such an approach may improve readability and surface understanding. But it obscures relationships between different parts of the Bible and can lead to misunderstandings of doctrine – even doctrines of fundamental importance.

Consider the following four translations: King James (KJV),The New King James (NKJV), New International Version (NIV) and the Updated New American Standard Bible (UNASB) A doctrine developed in the New Testament which is based upon how ‘seed’ and ‘seeds’ are used in the Old Testament is in given in Galatians 3:16 where all four translations use the word ‘seed’ and ‘seeds’. The King James version reads: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” So the New Testament interprets the word ‘seed’ as meaning the promises were made to Christ and not necessarily to Abraham’s physical descendants. A similar thought is in Gal 3:29 “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (KJV; both the NKJV and NIV use ‘seed’ whereas the UNASB uses the word ‘descendents’). A corresponding verse in the New Testament is Romans 9:7: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (KJV; note that the NKJV uses ‘seed’, whereas the NIV uses ‘descendants’ and ‘offspring’ and the UNASB uses ‘descendants’ to translate this verse).

This raises the question of what promises are under discussion? The most likely reference is the following: “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:17-18, KJV). There is no question that in Christ all the nations of the earth will be blessed. But does this promise in Christ also include the multiplication of those in faith within the body of Christ so they will be ‘as the stars in heaven’? And what about the other promises to Abraham? The purpose is not to answer such questions here but rather to point out how difficult it is to even to know there is a question when reading many modern translations.

The following quotations from the King James Version give all of the 23 places where the Hebrew word for seed (zera) is used in Genesis chapters 12 through 22. Shown behind each verse is the word used to translate the word ‘seed’ in the other three translations. Notice that the NKJV and the UNASB only uses the English word ‘seed’ three times in this section and this is because it is directly linked to either Galatians 3:16 or to Romans 9:7. The NIV does not use ‘seed’ once in this section.

Again, questions must be asked concerning how easy it will be to understand what God is saying when we move too far away from the original languages. Even in this section, where the doctrine in the Old Testament is clearly presented in the New Testament, inconsistencies in translations magnifies the problem of interpretation. There is little doubt that many, many doctrines and thoughts from God are obscured when translations do not follow God’s word as closely as possible!

Gen 12:7 Unto thy seed will I give this land (NKJV - descendants; NIV - offspring; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 13:15-16 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.(NKJV -descendants ; NIV - offspring; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. (NKJ V- offspring; NIV - children; UNASB - offspring)

Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.(NKJV - descendants; NIV - offspring; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;(NKJV - descendants; NIV - offspring; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: (NKJV - descendants ; NIV - descendants; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 16:10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude (NKJV - descendants ; NIV - descendants; UNASB - descendants).

Gen 17:7-12 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (NKJV - descendants; NIV - descendants, descendants, descendants, descendants, descendants, offspring ; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (NKJV - descendants; NIV - descendants; UNASB - descendants).

Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.(NKJV - lineage; NIV - family line; UNASB - our family)

Gen 19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father (NKJV - lineage; NIV - family line; UNASB - our family)

Gen 21:12-13 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. (NKJV - seed;. NIV - offsrping; UNASB - descendants)

Gen 22:17-18 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.(NKJV - descendants, descendants, seed ; NIV - descendants, descendants, offspring; UNASB - seed).

4.         Principal 4. The translation should not restrict usage with a copyright

Newer translations of the Bible are copyrighted. The purpose of such a copyright can be two-fold: 1) to stop unauthorized changes from being made, and 2) to restrict usage of the translation so profits can be made from the sale of the Bible. The first of these reasons may make copyrighting acceptable and even necessary. However the potential dangers of using copyrighting to restrict the usage of material from the Bible are enormous. Of greatest importance is the long-term survivability of Scripture. What happens if no uncopyrighted Bible versions are available for an extended period of time. Then suppose some individual or organization (eg. government, competing religion, etc.) buys or withholds copyrights. What becomes of God’s Word then?

Also, the possibility of making using copyrighting as a means of making a profit from a Bible translation must influence the translation that is made since the objective will be to make it more saleable. An example of this occurring at the present time is Today’s New International Version (TNIV). Their website http://www.biblica.com/bibles/tniv/genderaccurate.php June 2010) explains their movement towards a ‘gender-accurate’ translation and the difficulties involved.

“Some Difficulties

While the basic issue of gender-accurate translation is relatively straightforward, the actual process can be very difficult. This is because of the complex nature of language and the arduous task of Bible translation. The difficulties come primarily in two areas: first, in determining which contexts are inclusive (referring to both men and women) and which are not. While it is obvious that anthropos in Romans 3:28 means “person,” in other passages it is difficult to determine whether the author was referring to men and women. In such cases, careful study of the historical and literary context must be made to determine the best translation. Translation is a difficult process, and the meaning (and hence the translation) of each passage must be made on a case-by case basis.

The second major difficulty comes in determining whether English masculine generics like “man” and “he” sound inclusive to English ears. That is, are they“heard” to include women as well as men? This is an area where there is significant disagreement. After all, what sounds exclusive to a young person may sound perfectly inclusive to an older person. What sounds exclusive to a woman may sound inclusive to a man. Different readers hear terms differently. Advocates of inclusive language point out that gender accuracy solves this problem. Whereas the translation“man” in Romans 3:28 is ambiguous (it could mean“male” or “person”), the translation “person” is precise and clear. Inclusive language renders the meaning of the Greek more accurately for both kinds of readers.

Furthermore, empirical studies have demonstrated conclusively that the English language is changing, and that generic terms like “man” and “he” are increasingly viewed by readers as exclusive terms. If we want Bible translations that are as clear and unambiguous as possible, inclusive language should be utilized when the context is clearly generic. “

Notice from the above how important determining the meaning is in this translation “Translation is a difficult process, and the meaning...of each passage must be made on a case-by case basis.” Therein lies the problem – someone other than the reader is making interpretations concerning what God has said!. So this translation, rather than being a Bible, is really a commentary on the Bible with the objective of giving the meaning of what God has said. Also, notice the desire to have Scriptures in an ‘inclusive language’. Isn’t that the very danger that Christ-followers must flee from at whatever costs? Isn’t this what the world wants – to change God’s Word so that it is no longer offensive? God’s Word is to its very foundation exclusive. How can a generic, all-inclusive Bible be characterized by the following Scripture: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Heb 4:12).

Finally, by definition a copyrighted Bible must be different from anything else available. Can there be any doubt that many of the differences between the ‘good’ translations were made to satisfy copyright requirements rather than for the purpose of being true to God’s original words?

5.         Principal 5. The Bible Translation should be understood in the language commonly used by the people

Battle were fought and lives were lost (e.g. William Tyndale who started to cast the Scripture into English in1523) so that the Bible would be available to the average person. It is the reason that Bible translators have gone to foreign lands and have worked in obscure and dangerous places. To there can be no disagreement with this principal. However, this principal creates a problem if the objective is to stay true to the above considerations. For example, what word does a translator use to translate ‘snow’ if any person speaking the language have never seen snow? While this problem is certainly worthy of debate, the examples below indicate that it is both wise and possible to stay as close to the original languages as possible.

Lack of familiarity with the world around is no longer the problem it used to be in Biblical translation and will probably become less of a problem in the future. Consider the word snow which was introduced above. Although this word may have caused a problem in translation centuries ago it shouldn’t now. Modern communications and travel have meant that even some of the remotest people have concepts of things like snow, even though they have never experienced it. In addition, in the future it may even be more likely that they will understand what snow is. So when this happens do we change the Bible for them to what it should have been? What will this teach them about the ‘unchangeableness’ of God’s Word?

Consider the word ‘baptize’ which was not originally an English word but was rather a transliteration of the Greek words ‘bapto’ and ‘baptizo’. The transliterated Greek word has become well accepted and understood in current English. The same concept may well apply for other words that are not in the current language.

So, the Bible should be in the language of the common people. But it will not be the Bible if it is written at a level that a pre-teen can completely understand. It will not be the Bible if there is not need to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God” (2 Tim 2:15).

6)        Which Translation do we generally use at Sharon Gospel Chapel?

Based upon the above five principles and other considerations, we use the King James Bible at Sharon Gospel Chapel, although there is limited use of other translations. There may be a better more up-to-date translation available but translations are difficult to evaluate and it would be unwise to select the wrong one. We recognize that there are many, many words which now have a different meaning when the were first incorporated into King James Version (see below). If the meaning of words is a major concern there are alternatives. For example the ‘DEFINED King James Bible’ (http://www.biblefortoday.org/dkjb_intro.htm) uses the King James text but includes ‘uncommon words or words which have changed their meaning since 1611’ in footnotes. It must not be forgotten that the King James Bible has been edited several times since 1611 so it may be time for an update.

A BIBLE WORD LIST

From the Trinitarian Bible Society

Tyndale House, Dorset Road, London S219 3NN, England

This list gives brief explanations of words in the Authorised Version describing unfamiliar objects, animals and plants, weights, measures and money, and words no longer in every-day use. or now used with a different meaning. If the English word is used in more than one sense, or stands for more than one Hebrew or Greek word, the list refers to passages where the word is used with each meaning. In most cases the list gives all the places where the word is found. An asterisk * means that the word is used in other passages with its normal meaning, or with one of the meanings given.

abjects the lowest, outcasts. Ps. 35.15

abroad away from the house, 1 Sa. 9.26; over a wide area, Mk. 1.28

adamant a sharp, hard stone, diamond. Ezek. 3.9; Zech. 7.12

admiration wonder, astonishment. Jude 16; Rev. 17.6

admire marvel at. 2 Thess. l.10

adventure venture, risk. Deu. 28,56, Judg.9.17; Ac. 19.31

adversary* opponent in law-suit. Mt. 5.25; Lu. 12.58

advertise tell, inform. Nu. 24.14; Ru. 4.4

advisement consideration, taking advice. 1 Chr. 12.19

affect cause pain. Lam. 3.51; embitter, Ac. 14.2; desire, seek, Ga. 4.17.18

affinity relationship by marriage. l Ki. 3.1; 2 Chr. 18.1; Ezr. 9.14

affrighted* frightened. Mk. 16.5

afore* before. Ro. 1.2

agone ago. 1 Sa. 30.13

algum almug, sandalwood. 2 Chr. 2.8; 9.10.11

alleging bringing evidence. Ac. 17.3

alleluia praise the LORD. Rev. 19.1.3.4,6

allow* approve of. Lu. 11.48; Ro. 7.15

all-to utterly. Judg. 9.53

almug algum, sandalwood. 1 Ki. 10.11.12

amazement terror. Ac. 3.10; 1 Pe. 3.6

amazed* terrified, fearful. Mk. 9.15; 14.33

ambassage ambassadors, a deputation. Lu. 14.32

amerce fine, impose a penalty. Deu. 22.19

amiable lovely. Ps. 84. 1

anathema under a curse. 1 Co. 16.22

ancients* elders. Isa. 3.14

anon immediately. Mt. I3.20; Mk. 1.30

apothecary* perfume and spice dealer. Ex. 30.25

apparently openly, manifestly. Nu. 12.8

apple of the eye pupil of the eye. Deu. 32.10; Ps. 17.8; Pro. 7.2; Lam. 2.18; Zech. 2.8

apprehend* lay hold. Phil. 3.12, 13

artillery weapon, equipment. 1 Sa. 20.40

assay* try, attempt. Deu.4.34; Ac. 9.26

assuage, asswage restrain. Ge, 8.1; Job 16.5,6

astonied* astonished. Isa. 52.14

attent attentive. 2 Chr. 6.40; 7.15

avoided departed, escaped. 1 Sa. 18.11

avouched declared. Deu. 26.17,18

away with endure, tolerate, Isa. 1.13; take away, L,u. 23.18; Jn. 19.15

axletrees bars connecting wheels. 1 Ki. 7.32,33

bakemeats cooked food. Ge. 40.17

baken* baked. Lev. 2.4

bank* mound for besieging a city. 2 Sa. 20.15; 2 Ki. 19.32; Isa. 37.33

barbarian* foreigner. 1 Co. 14.11

barbarous foreign. Ac. 28.2

base* lowly, humble. 1 Co. 1.28; 2 Co. 10.1

bath* about 8 gallons or 36 litres. Isa. 5.10

beeves* cattle, oxen, bulls, cows. Lev. 22.19

beggarly worthless. Ga. 4.9

behemoth large animal. Job. 40.15

bekah half-shekel, 7 grammes. Ex. 38.26

besom broom. Isa. 14.23

bestead beset with difficulties. Isa. 8.21 

betimes* early. Ge. 26.31

bewrayeth betrays, reveals. Prov: 27.16; 29.24; Isa. 16.3; Mt. 26.73

bishop* overseer. Phil, l.1; 1 Pe. 2.25

bishoprick oversight, office, charge. Ac. 1.20

blains boils. Ex. 9.9,10

bolled full of seed pods. Ex. 9.31

boss knob at centre of shield. Job. 15.26

botch ulcer or boil. Deu. 28.27,35

bottom* valley. Zech. l.8

bowels* affections, 2 Co. 6.12; tender mercies, Phil. 1.8; 2.1; heart, Philem. 12

bray* to pound in a mortar. Pro. 27.22

bridechamber bridal room; children of the bridechamber -wedding guests. Mt. 9.15; Mk. 2.19; Lu. 5.34

brigandine coat of mail, breastplate. Jer. 46.4; 51.3

brimstone* sulphur. Ge. 19.24

broided braided, plaited. 1 Tim. 2.9

broidered* embroidered. Ezek. 16. I0

bruit rumour, report. Jer. 10.22; Na. 3.19 .

buckler* small shield. 2 Sa. 22.31

bunches* humps. Isa. 30.6

butler* cup-bearer. Ge. 40.21

butlership office of cup-bearer. Ge. 40.21

by* with reference to, against. 1 Co. 4.4

cab nearly 4 pints or 2 litres. 2 Ki. 6.25

camphire henna, Egyptian privet. Song 1.14; 4.13

canker cancer, ulcerous disease. 2 Tim. 2.17

cankered eaten away with rust. Jas. 5.3

cankerworm* hopping locust. Joel 1.4

carefulness* anxiety. 1 Co. 7.32

careless* free from care, secure. Judg. 18.7

carriage(s) baggage, goods, burdens. Judg. 18.21; 1 Sa. 17.22; Isa. 10.28; 46.1; Ac. 21.15

cast about turn round, turn back. Jer. 41.14

castaway rejected. 1 Co. 9.27

caul* membrane over upper part of the liver, Ex. 29.13; membrane round the heart, Hos. 13.8

cauls hairnets. Isa. 3.18

causeway paved road. 1 Chr. 26.16,18

ceiled panelled, overlaid. 2 Chr. 3.5; Jer. 22. 14; Ezek. 41.16; Hag. 1.4

chaikstones pieces of chalk. Isa. 27.9

chambering sensual, wanton living. Ro. 13.13

chamberlain* manager of household. Ac. 12.20

champaign plain, flat countryside. Deu. 11.30

chancellor chief counsellor, governor. Ezr. 4.8,9,17

changeable that can be changed, changes of dress being a sign of wealth. Isa. 3.22

chapiter* capital of a column. 1 Ki. 7.16

chapmen merchants. 2 Chr. 9.14

chapt cracked. Jer. 14.4

charger* dish, large plate. Mt. 14.8

charity* love. 1 Cor. 13

check rebuke. Job 20.3

chesnut Chestnut, or plane tree. Ge; 30.31; E2ek. 3l.8

chimney window (as in EC. 12.3). Hos. 13.3

chode complained. Ge. 31.36; Nu. 20.3

choler anger. Dan. 8.7; 11.11

churl mean, miserly person. Isa. 32.5,7

churlish harsh, ill-tempered. 1 Sa. 25.3

clave* split, Ge. 22.3; clung, Ru. l.14

clift cleft, hollow. Ex. 33.22; Isa. 57.5

closet private room. Joel 2.16; Mt. 6.6; Lu. 12.3

clouted patched. Jos. 9.5

clouts rags. Jer. 38.11,12

coasts* borders, region, country. Ex. 10.14; Mt. 2.16

cockatrice adder, cobra. Isa. 11.8; 14.29; 59.5; Jer. 8.17

cockle weeds. Job31.40

coffer box. 1 Sa. 6.8, 11, 15

collops lumps. Job 15.27

comeliness* beauty. Isa. 53.2

companied accompanied. Ac. 1.21

compass (fetch a) go round, turn round. Ac. 28.13

compass* circumference, Ex. 38.4; make a circuit, surround, Jos. 6.3; Judg. 16.2

conceit* opinion, conception. Pro. 18.11

concision mutilation, (circumcision). Phil. 3.2

concluded* included: Ro. 11.32; Ga. 3.22

coney hyrax, rock-badger, like a rabbit. Lev. 11.5; Deu. 14.7; Ps. 104.18; Pro. 30.26

confectioneries ointment-makers. 1 Sa. 8.13

contemn* despise, scorn. Ps. 10.13

convenient* suitable. Pro; 30.8; Eph. 5.4

conversant dwelling with. Jos. 8.35; 1 Sa. 25.15

conversation* behaviour, Eph. 4.22; 2Pe. 2.7; citizenship, Phil. 1.27; 3.20

convince* convict (as in Jn. 8.9). Jn. 8.46

convocation* assembly. Nu. 28.18

coriander plant with small round white spicy seeds. Ex. 16.31; Nu. 11.7

couching place place to lie down. Ezek. 25.5

coulter blade, part of a plough. 1 Sa. 13.20

countervail counterbalance, compensate for. Es. 7.4

cousin kinsman, kinswoman. Lu. 1.36,58

covert* cover, shelter, hiding place. 1 Sam. 25.20

creature* created thing. Ro. 1.25; 1 Tim. 4.4

crookbackt hump-backed, hunch-backed. Lev. 21.20

cruse* small jar. 1 Ki. 14.3

cubit* cubit of a man, from elbow to fingertip, Deu. 3.11; large cubit - "cubit and a handbreadth", Ezek. 40.5

cuckow gull. Lev. 11.16; Deu. 14.15

cumbered distracted, worried. Lu. 10.40

cumbereth waste, make worthless. Lu. 13.7

cumbrance trouble, responsibility. Deu. 1.12

cummin a plant like fennel with hot seeds used as a spice. Isa. 28.25,27; Mt. 23.23

cunning* skill, art, skilful. 1 Sa. 16.16; 1 Ki. 7.14

curious* embroidered. Ex. 28.8

curious arts magic, sorcery. Ac. 19.19

custom* tribute, tax, toll. Mt. 9.9; Mk. 2.14; Lu. 5.27

dam mother-animal or bird. Ex. 22.30; Lev. 22:27; Deu. 22.6,7

damsel* young woman, girl, servant. Ge. 24.14; Mk. 5.59; Jn. 18.17

daysman mediator. Job 9.33

declare* explain. Ge. 41.24; Judg. 14.13

decline* turn aside. Ps. 119.157; Pro. 4.5

delicately* daintily. 1 Sa. 15.32; Lam. 4.5

delicates dainties. Jer. 51.34

deliciously luxuriously. Rev. 18.7,9

describe* divide, mark out. Jos. 18.4,6,8

descry spy out, make search. Judg. 1.23

desired* regretted, mourned. 2 Chr. 21.20

despite contempt. Ezek. 25.6; Heb. 10.29

devotions objects of worship. Ac. 17.23

diadem head-dress. Job 29.14; Isa. 28.5; 62.3; Ezek. 21.26

diet daily allowance. Jer. 52.34

discomfited* defeated, eonfused, routed. Judg. 4.15; Ps. 18.14

discover* uncover, disclose: Pro. 25.9; Lam. 4.22

discovered* come in view of. Ac. 21 3, 27:39

dispensation administration, stewardship, distribution. 1 Cor. 9.17; Eph.,1:10, 3.2; Col, 1:25

disposition ordinance, appointment. Ac. 7.53

distaff rod to hold wool for hand-spinning. Pro, 31.19

divers* diverse, various, different. Deu. 22.11; Mt. 4.24

divination* prediction by magic or supernatural-means. Nu. 22.7; Deu, 18,10

diviner* predictor using magic, etc. Deu: 18.14; Zech. 10.2

doctor teacher. Lu. 2.46; 5.17, Ac. 5.34

dragon* jackal, Job 30.29; Isa. 13.22; sea monster, crocodile, serpent. Ps. 74.13; 148.7; Rev. 20.2

drams* darics, drachmae, coins. Ezr. 2.69; 8.27

draught drain, sewer, 2 Ki. 10.27; Mt. 15.17; Mk. 7.19; net full offish, Lu. 5.4,9

drave* drove. Ac. 7.45; 18.16

duke* chief. Ex. 15.15; Jos. 13.21

dureth endures, goes on. Mt. 13.21

earing, eared ploughing, ploughed. Ge, 45,6; Ex. 34.21; Deu. 21.4

earnest* pledge, security, deposit. 2 Co. 1.22; 5.5; Eph. 1.14

Easter passover. Ac. 12.4

emerods* swellings, hemorrhoids. Deu, 28.27; 1 Sa. 5.6

endamage damage, cause or suffer loss. Ezr. 4.13

endue* endow. Gen. 30.20; Jas. 3.13

engines machines, 2 Chr. 26.15; battering rams, Ezek. 26.9

enlargement freedom, relief. Es. 4.14

ensue follow after. 1 Pe. 3.11

enterprise purpose. Job 5.12

entreated* treated. Ge. 12.16; Lu. 20.11

ephah* about 8 gallons or 36 litres. Ex. 16.36; Ezek. 45. 11

ephod* embroidered cape worn by priest. Ex. 39.2-5

eschew avoid, shun. Job 1.1,8; 2.3; 1 Pe. 3.11

espousals time of betrothal. Jer. 2.2; wedding, Song 3.11

espy see, perceive. Jos. 14.7; Jer. 48.19

estate(s)* chief estates - great men, Mk. 6.21; estate of the elders - holding office as elders. Ac. 22.5

evidently plainly, clearly. Ac. 10.3; Gal. 3.1

evilfavouredness ugliness, deformity. Deut. 17.1

exchanger money-changer or banker. Mt. 25.27

expecting* waiting. He. 10.13

experiment proving. 2 Co. 9.13

fain gladly. Job. 27.22; Lu. 15.16

familiars intimate friends. Jer. 20.10

fan* winnowing fan. Mt, 3.12; Lu. 3.17

farthing a small coin: Kodrantes = 2 Lepta (‘mites’ in Mk. 12.42), Mt. 5.26; Mk. 12.42; Assarion = 8 Lepta, Mt. 10.29; Lu. 12.6

felloes curved sections of wheel rim. 1 Ki. 7.33

fetters* shackles, metal bands. Ps. 105:18

fillets* ornamental band. Ex. 27.10

finer refiner. Prov, 25:4

fining refining. Pro. 17.3; 27.21

firkin about 9 gallons or 40 litres. Jn. 2.6

firstling* first offspring. Ge. 4.4; Ex. 13.12

fitches fennel, Isa. 28.25,27; a cereal lik-e wheat Ezek. 4.9

flags reeds, papyrus. Ex. 2.3,5; Job 8.11; Isa. 19.6

flakes folds. Job 41.23

flay* remove the skin. Lev. 1.6; Mi. 3.3

flux flow of blood. Ac. 28.8

forasmuch* as, since, because, seeing that. 1 Ki. 13.21; 14.7; Ezr. 7.14; Lu. 1.1; Ac. 15.24

foreship bow or front of a ship. Ac-27.30

forum marketplace. Ac. 28.15

frame(d)* manage, Judg. 12.6; form, Ps. 103. 14; make, Hos. 5.4; fitted together, Eph. 2.21; completed. He. 11.3

frankly freely. Lu. 7.42

fray frighten. Deu. 28.26; Jer. 7.33; Zech. 1.21

fret* grieve, be angry. Ps. 37.1,8

frontlets headbands. Ex. 13.16; Deu. 6.8; 11.18

froward* perverse, contrary, self-willed. Deu. 32.20; Ps. 18.26; 1 Pe. 2.18

fuller* bleacher or cleaner of cloth. Mal, 3.2; Mk. 9.3

furbish* polish, sharpen. Jer. 46.4

furniture* equipment, harness. Ge. 31.34

gainsay* contradict. Lu. 21.15

garner barn, grain store. Ps. 144.13; Joel 1.17; Ml. 3.12; Lu. 3.17

gat* got. Ps; 116.3

gazingstock something to stare at in wonder. Na. 3.6; He. 10.33

gender(eth) produce, Lev. 19.19; Job 38.29; 2 Tim. 2.23; bear young. Job21.10; Ga. 4.24

gerah* one twentieth of a shekel. Ex. 30.13

Ghost* (Holy Ghost) Holy Spirit. Jn. 14. 26; gave up the ghost - expired, died. Lu. 23.46; Ac. 5.5

gjer eagle vulture. Lev. 11.18; Deu. 14.17

gin* snare, trap. Job 18.9; Isa. 8.14

give place* make room for, Lu. 14.9; give way, yield, Ga. 2.5; Eph. 4.27

glede kite, vulture. Deu. 14.13

glistering shining. 1 Chr. 29.2; Lu. 9.29

goeth about, going about* endeavour(ing), try(ing). Jn. 7.20; Ro. 10.3

good* property. 1 Chr. 29.3

goodman* master of the house. Pro. 7.19; Mt. 20.11n

goto* come now! Ge. 11.3; Judg. 7.3

gotten* got, obtained. Ge. 4.1; Isa. 15.7

graff, grafted graft, grafted. Ro. 11.17-24

graving* engraving. Ex. 32.4; Zech. 3.9

greaves armour for the legs. 1 Sa. 17.6

Grecians* Greek-speaking Jews. Ac. 6.1; 9.29; 11.20

gristed grey. Ge. 31.10,12; Zech. 6.3.6

guilty of* worthy of. Mt. 26.66

gutter* channel, shaft, tunnel. 2 Sa. 5.8

habergeon* linen undergarment, Ex. 28.32; 39.23; coat of mail, 2 Chr. 26.14; Job 41.26

haft handle. Judg. 3.22

hale haul, drag. Lu. 12.58; Ac. 8.3

halt* lame, crippled. Mt. 18.8; Mk. 9.45

hap (her hap was) it happened that she... Ru. 2.3

haply* perhaps, lest it should happen. Mk. 11.13; Lu. 14.29

hardly* with difficulty. Mt. 19.23; Mk. 10.23

hart* deer. Deu. 12.15; Ps. 42.1

heady headstrong. 2 Tim. 3.4 

helve axe-handle. Deu. 19.5

heretick heretic, one who chooses a wrong belief. Titus 3.10

heretofore* before, previously. Ex. 5.7; 2 Co. 13.2

highminded puffed up with pride. Ro. 11.20; 1 Tim, 6.17; 2 Tim. 3.4

bin* about 1 1/2 gallons or 7 litres. Ex. 30.24

hither* here, to this place. Jos. 3.9; Jn. 4.15

hitherto* until now, before. Jn. 5.17; 1 Co. 3.2

hoised hoisted. Ac. 27.40

hold to* cleave to, cling to. Mt. 6.24; Lu. 16.13

holden* held. Ps. 18.35; Lu. 24.16

holpen* helped. Ps. 86. 17; Lu. 1.54

homer* 10 ephahs or baths, about 80 gallons or 360 litres. Lev. 27.16; Isa. 5.10; Ezek. 45.11

honest* honourable, good. Ro. 12.17; 2 Co. 13.7

horn* symbol of strength and power. ISa. 2.1; Ps. 18.2

hosanna* "save, we pray", a shout of praise. Mt. 21.9; Mk. 11.10; Jn, 12.13

hosen trousers, stockings. Dan. 3.21

hough cut the hamstring or hock. Jos. 11.6,9; 2 Sam. 8.4; 1 Chr. 18.4

hungred (an)* hungry. Mt. 12.1; Mk, 2.25

husbandman* one who works on the land. Ge. 9.20; Jas, 5.7

imagery painted or carved images. Ezek. 8.12

implead accuse, plead against. Ac. 19.38

impotent without strength, invalid. Jn. 5.3,7; Ac. 4:9; 14.8

inclose* enclose, surround,.set. Ex. 39.6; Judg. 20.43; Ps. 17.10

incontinent uncontrolled, unrestrained, 2 Tim. 3,3; incontinency, lack of self control. TCo. 7.5

inditing overflowing. Ps. 45.1

infolding flashing here and there. Ezek. 1.4

inkhorn inkpot. Ezek, 9.2,3,11

inquisition search, investigation. Deu. 19. 18; Es. 2.23; Ps. 9.12

instant* urgent, importunate, Lu. 23.23; Ro. 12.12; instantly - earnestly, Lu. 7.4; Ac. 26.7

jangling foolish talking. 1 Tim. 1.6

jeoparded risked. Judg. 5.18

Jewry Judaea. Dan. 5.13.; Lu. 23.5; Jn. 7.1

jot jod, the smallest Hebrew letter. Mt. 5.18

jubile jubilee* year of release, begun with the sound of the trumpet or horn. Lev. 25.9

kerchief cloth, veil, head-scarf. Ezek. 13.18,21

kine* cows. Gen. 41.2

knop* knob, model of flower bud. Ex. 25.33

laded laden* loaded, burdened. Ge. 42.26; Mt. 11.28

latchet* thong, lace. Mk. 1.7; Lu. 3.16; Jn. 1.27

laud praise. Ro. 15.11

laver* basin, bath. Ex. 38.8; 1 Ki. 7.38

lay at strike at. Job 41.26

leasing lying, falsehood. Ps. 4.2; 5.6

leaven* yeast, fermented dough. Ex. 12.15; Ga. 5.9

lees dregs, sediment (separated or refined by pouring from bottle to bottle). lsa.. 25.6; Jer.48.11; Zeph. 1.12

let* hinder, prevent. Ro. 1.13; 2Th. 2.7

leviathan* river or sea monster. Job 41.1; Ps. 104.26

lewd* . vicious, ignorant. Ezek. 16.27; Ac. 17.5

libertines freed slaves. Ac. 6.9

lien lain. Ge. 26,10; Ps. 68.13; Jer. 3.2

lieutenants provincial rulers. Ezr. 8.36; Es. 3.12; 8.9; 9.3

lign-aloes aromatic wood. Nu. 24.6

ligure a precious stone. Ex. 28.19; 39.12

liking good liking - good condition, Job 39.4; worse liking - worse condition, Dan. 1.10

listeth chooses, pleases; listed, chose, pleased. Mt. 17:12; Mk. 9.13; Jn. 3.8; Jas. 3.4

litters covered wagons. Isa. 66.20

lively living. Ac. 7.38; 1 Pe. 1.3

loft upper storey. 1 Ki. 17.19; Ac. 20.9

log about one pint or half-litre. Lev. 14.10-24

look to* look upon. 1 Sa. 16.12

lowring gloomy. Mt. 16.3

lusty vigorous, strong. Judg. 3.29

magnifical magnificent. 1 Chr. 22.5

mallows salt-wort, an inedible plant. Job 30.4

mammon riches, money personified. Mt. 6.24; Lu. 16.9,11,13

mandrakes plants with narcotic roots. Ge. 30.14-16; Song. 7.13

manner* kind, sort, Rev. 18.12; custom, habit, Jn. 19.40

mansions resting places, abiding places. Jn, 14.2

maran atha our Lord is come (Aramaic). 1 Co. 16.22

marishes marshes, swamps. Ezek. 47.11

mart market place. Isa. 23.3

maschil* instruction. Ps. 32 title

matter* timber, forest, fuel. Jas. 3.5

mattock* pick-axe. 1 Sa. 13.20; 2 Chr. 34,6

maul hammer, mallet. Pro. 25.18

maw animal's stomach. Deu. 18.3

mean men* obscure, low, inferior men. Pro. 22.29; Isa. 2.9

meat* food of any kind. Ge. 1.29,30; Jn. 4.34

meet* suitable, fit. Mt. 3.8; Col. 1.12

mess dish of food. Ge. 43.34; 2 Sa. 11.8

Messiah, Messias the Anointed One, Dan. 9.25,26; Jn. 1.4!. 4.25

mete* to measure. Mt. 7.2; Mk. 4,24

meteyard measuring rod. Lev. 19.35

milch giving milk. Ge. 32.15; 1 Sa. 6.7,10

mincing with little steps. Isa. 3.16

mite half of a "farthing" (Greek, lepton). Mk. 12.42; Lu. 12,59; 21.2

mitre* head-dress, turban. Ex. 28.4; Zech. 3.5

morrow* morning. Jos. 5.11

mote speck of dust. Mt. 7.3-5; Lu. 6.41,42

motions impulses. Ro. 7.5

mount mound, bank of earth: Jer. 6.6; Ezek. 4.2

muffler scarf covering the lower part of the face: Isa. 3.19

munition fortress, stronghold. Isa, 29.7; 33.16; Na. 2.1

murrain cattle plague. Ex. 9.3

napkin cloth, handkerchief. Lu. 19.20; Jn. 11.44; 20.7

naught, naughty worthless, bad. 2 Ki. 2.19; Pro. 6.12; 17.4; 20.14; Jer. 24.2

naughtiness* badness, wickedness. Pro. 11.6; Jas. 1.21

naves hubs. 1 Ki. 7.33

neesings sneezing. Job 41.18

nephew grandson. Judg. 12.14; Job 18:i9; Isa. 14.22; 1 Tim. 5.4

nether* lower, beneath. Ex. 19.17

nethermost lowest. 1 Ki. 6.6

nitre carbonate of soda. Pro. 25.20; Jer. 2.22

noised abroad * widely reported. Lu. 1.65; Ac. 2.6

noisome hurtful, deadly. Ps. 91.3; Ezek. 14.15,21; Rev. 16.2

occupy* trade, do business. Lu, 19.13

occurrent happening, taking place. 1 Ki. 5.4

offend* cause to stumble or sin, Mt. 18.6,8,9

omer one tenth of an ephah, about 6 1/2 pints, or 3 1/2 litres. Ex. i6.16-36

onycha shell used in perfume. Ex. 30.34

ossifrage vulture which breaks the bones of its prey. Lev. 11.13; .Deu. 14.12

ouches sockets, settings. Ex. 28.11-25; 39.6-18

outgoings* limits or boundaries. Jos. 17.9; Ps. 65.8

outlandish foreign. Ne. 13.26

overcharged* overburdened. Lu. 21.34

overlive outlive, survive. Jos. 24.31

paddle small spade or trowel. Deu. 23.13

painful laborious, difficult. Ps. 73.16

painfulness toil, labour. 2 Co. 11.27

palmenvorm destructive locust. Joel 1.4; 2.25; Am. 4.9

palsy* paralysis. Mt. 4.24

paper (reed) papyrus. Isa. 19.7; 2Jn. 12

paps* breasts. Lu. 11.27

parcel* piece, portion. Ge. 33.19; Jn. 4.5

parlour upper room, Judg. 3.20-25; room 1 Sa. 9.22; 1 Chr. 28.11

passage* mountain pass, 1 Sa. 13.23; Isa. 10.29; ford, Judg. 12.6; Jer. 51.32

pate head. Ps. 7.16

peculiar* one's own property. Ex; 19.5; Deu. 14.2

peep chirp, as a bird. Isa. 8.19; 10.14

penny, pence* denarion, a day's wage, (16 of the "farthings" assaria in Mt. 10.29). Mt. 20.2; Lu. 10,35; 20.24

pentecost fiftieth day after passover. Ac. 2.1; 20.16; 1 Co. 16.8

peradventure* perhaps. 1 Ki. 18.27; Ro. 5.7

phylacteries strips of parchment inscribed with texts in a small leather case bound on the forehead or left arm. Mt. 23.5

pictures images carved in relief. Nu. 33.52; Pro. 25.11; Isa. 2.16

pilled peeled, stripped off bark. Ge. 30.37,38

plat plot of ground. 2 Ki. 9.20

platter dish. Mt. 23.25, 26; Lu. 11.39

play* fence, fight with swords. 2 Sa. 2.14

polled cut hair. 2 Sa. 14.26

polls* heads. I Chr. 23.3

pommels bawl-shaped ornament on a pillar, 2 Ch. 4.12,13 (the ""golden bowl" in EC. 12.6)

port gate. Ne. 2.13

post* messenger carrying letters. Job 9.25; 2 Chr. 30.6

potsherd* piece of broken pottery. Ps. 22.15; Isa. 45.9

pottage* soup, stew. Ge. 25.29; 2 Ki. 4.3S

pound* mina (100 of the "pennies" in Mt. 20.2). Lu. 19.13-25

pourtray draw, carve. Ezek. 4.1; 8.10; 23.14

prating chattering, babbling. Pro. 10.8.10; 3 Jn. 10

presently* immediately. Pro. 12.16; Mt. 26.S3

press* crowd. Mk. 2,4; 5.27; Lu:. 8.19; 19.3

pressfat vat of a winepress. Hag. 2.16

prevent* go before, anticipate. Am. 9.10; 1 Th. 4.15

prey* booty, spoil. Nu. 31.12, 26

pricks goads for driving cattle. Nu. 33.55; Ac, 9.5; 26.14

printed inscribed. Job 19.23

prised priced, value. Zech. 11.13

privily* secretly. Judg. 9.31; Mt. 1.19

privy* secret, private, Ezek. 21.14; knowing a secret, Ac. 5.2

profane* common, unholy, Ezek. 42.20; to dishonour, Mal. 2. 11

prognosticators forecasters. Isa. 47.13

proper personal, I Chr. 29.3; one's own, Ac. 1.19; I Co: 7.7 handsome, beautiful, Heb. 11.23

proselyte a convert to Judaism. Mt. 23.15; Ac. 2.10; 6.5; 13.43

prove* test, try. Ex. 16.4; 1 Tim. 3.10

provide* consider beforehand, take thought for. Ro. 12.17

providence forethought. Ac. 24.2

psaltery* stringed instrument. Ps. 33.2; Neh. 12.27

publican* tax collector.. Mt. 5.46; Lu. 5.27

pulse vegetables, beans. 2 Sa. 17.28; Dan. 1.12,16

purchase* obtain. I Tim. 3.13

purtenance internal organs, inward parts. Ex. 12.9

put to* apply, use. Ezr. 6.12; Ecc. 10.10

pygarg antelope. Deu. 14.5

quarternions guard-parties of four men. Ac. 12.4

quick* alive, living. Nu. 16.30; 1 Pe. 4.5

quickened* brought to life. Eph, 2.1; Col. 2.13

quit behave, 1 Sa. 4.9; 1 Co. 16,13; acquitted, free-, Ex. 21.19,28; Jos. 2.20

rail* insult, blaspheme. 1 Sa. 25.14; Mk. 15.29

railer abusive person. 1 Co, 5.11

railing* abusive; reviling.'1 Pe. 3.9; 2 Pe. 2.11

ranges pot-racks, Lev. ll.35; ranks of soldiers, 2 Ki. 11.8, 15; 2 Chr. 23.14

ranging roving. Pro.:28.15

rase demolish. Ps: 137.7

ravening* plundering, Lu. 11.39; tearing in pieces, Ezek. 22.25

ravin tear in pieces, seize prey. Ge. 49.27; Na. 2.12

receipt of custom tax office, place of toll. .Mt. 9.9; Mk. 2.14; Lu. 5.27

rehearse* report, declare. Ex, 17.14; Ac. 14.27

reins* mind, inmost being (literally - kidneys) Ps. 7.9; Rev. 2.23

reprobate* refuse, disapproved, unfit. Jer. 6,30; 2 Co. 13.5; Titus 1.16

rereward* rear ward, rearguard. Jos. 6.9; Isa. 52.12

require* ask. 2 Sa. 12.20

rid* clear away, remove. Lev. 26.6

rie rye, spelt, a cereal like wheat. Ex. 9.32; Isa. 28.25

rifled plundered. Zech. 14.2

ringstraked streaked, striped. Gen. 30.35-40; 31.8-12

riot* dissolute behaviour. Titus 1.6

riotous* dissolute. Lu. 15.13

road raid. 1 Sa. 27.10

room* space, Ps. 31.8; place at table, Mt. 23.6; Lu. 14.7

rude inexpert, untrained. 2 Co. 11.6

rue a garden herb. Lu. 11.42

sackbut pipe or tyre of elderwood. Dan, 3.5-15

sardine a red stone from Sardius. Rev. 4 3

sardius a red stone, carnelian. Ex. 28.17; 39.10; Ezek. 28.13; Rev. 21.20

satyr male goat. Isa. 13.21; 34.14

save* excepting. John 6.22,46

savour* taste, Ex. 5.2i; Mt. 5.13; think,'Understand, Mt. 16.23; Mk. 8.33

scall skin disease, sore. Lev. 13.30-37; 14.54

scant skimped, meagre. Mi. 6.10

scrip* bag. 1 Sa. 17.40; Mt. lO.10

seared scorched (literally - cauterised). 1 Ti. 4.2

seat-ward toward the mercy seat. Ex. 37.9

secure, securely* free from anxiety. Judg. 8.11; Pro. 3.29; Mi. 2.8; Mt. 28.14

seethe* boil. Ex. 23.19; Zech. 14.21

see to* look upon. Jos. 22.10

serjeant officer carrying a staff as symbol of office. Ac. 16.35,38

servitor serving man, attendant. 2 Ki. 4.43

set forward* oversee. 1 Chr. 23.4; 2 Chr. 34.12

set on* attack. Ac. 18.10

settle* base, pedestal, ledge. Ezek. 43.14; 45.19

set to his seal* affixed his seal. Jn. 3.33

severally separately, individually. 1 Co. 12.11

shambles meat-market. 1 Co, 10.25

shamefacedness a sense of shame. 1 Tim. 2.9

sheepcote pasturage, sheep pens. 1 Sa. 24;3; 2Sa. 7.8; 1 Chr. 17.7

shekel* about !/2 ounce or 14 grammes, Ex. 38.24, 25

sherd fragment. Isa. 30.14; Ezek. 23.34

shipping took shipping, they got into the boats. Jn. 6.24

shittim, shittah* thorny acacia tree. Ex. 25.5; Isa. 41.19

shroud cover, shelter. Ezek. 31.3

silly simple, foolish. Hos. 7.11; 2 Tim. 3.6

silverlings silver coins. Isa. 7.23

simple* ignorant, without guile, innocent, Pro. 9.4; Ro. 16.19

sincere* pure. 1 Pe. 2.2

sith since. Ezek. 35.6

sixscore 120. 1 Ki. 9.14; Jon. 4.11

skill (verb) to know how, to be skilled. 1 Ki. 5.6; 2 Chr. 2.8

sleight deceitfulness, slyness. Eph. 4.14

slime mud, biturtien, Ge. 11..1; 14.10; Ex. 2.3

snuff dishes* pans for wick-trimmings. Ex. 25.38

sod boiled, Ge. 25.29; 2 Chr. 35.13; sodden*, boiled, Ex. 12.9

sodering soldering. Isa. 41.7

sojourn* dwell for a time. Ge. 12.10

sometime(s)* formerly, at one time, once. Col. 1.21; 1 Pe. 3.20

sort* manner. 2 Cor. 7.11; 3 Jn. 6

sottish foolish. Jer. 4.22

spoken for asked in marriage. Song. 8.8

spring* dawn. Judg. 19.25; 1 Sa. 9.26

stacte aromatic gum from a tree. Ex. 30.34

stand upon* attack. 2 Sa. 1.9.10

stay* support, Ps. 18.18; Isa. 3.1; stop, hold back, Lev. 13.5; 2 Sa. 24.16

stead* place. Ge. 30.2; 2 Co. 5.20

stomacher beautiful dress. Isa. 3.24

stout(ness)* hard(ness), bold(ness). Isa. 9.9; 10.12

strait* narrow, Mt. 7.13; Lu. 13.24; strict, Ac. 26.5

straitened* limited, restricted. Job 18.7; 2 Co. 6.12

straitly* strictly, closely. Ge. 43.?; Mk. 1.43

straitness* distress. Deu. 28.53

strake sail lowered sail. Ac. 27.17

strakes streaks. Ge. 30.37; Lev. 14.37

strawed* strewed, scattered. Ex, 32.20; Mt. 21.8

stricken in age (years)* aged. Ge. 18. 11; Lu. 1.7

strike hands clasp hands concluding an agreement. Job 17.3; Pro. 17.I8; 22.26

subtil, subtilty* cunning, Ge. 3.1; Mt. 26.4; insight, perception, Pro. 1.4

suppliant one praying or pleading. Zeph. 3.10

surfeiting sickness from over-eating or drinking. Luk 21.34

sycamine mulberry. Lu. 17.6

tabering beating, as on a tabor or drum. Na. 2.7

tabernacle* tent, dwelling. Ex. 39.32; Mt. 17.4

table* writing-tablet. Lu. 1.63; 2 Co. 3.3

tablet necklace ornament. Ex. 35.22; Nu. 31.50; Isa. 3.20

taches* clasps, fastenings. Ex. 26'.6 

take* trap, catch. Pro. 6.2.25

take up* obtain on credit. Neh. 5.2

tale* number. Ex. 5.8; 1 Sa. 18.27

talent* Old Testament: 3,000 shekels, (94 lbs. or 43 kg); Ex. 38.24,25; New Testament; 60 of the "pounds" in Lu. 19. 13). Mt. 18.24; 25.15

tares weeds, darnel. Mt. 13.25-40

target* shield. 1 Ki. 10.16

taxation compulsory payment. 2 Ki. 23.35

taxing registration, census. Lu. 2.2; Ac. 5.37

teil tree oak tree (as in Ge. 35.4). Isa 6.13

tell* count. Ge. 15.5; Ps. 22.17

tempt* try, test. Ge. 22.1; Mt. 4.7

teraphim* images. Judg. 17.5; Hos. 3.4

tetrarch* ruler over a fourth part of a country; Mt. 14.1; Lu. 3.1

Thee-ward toward Thee- 1 Sa. 19.4

thought* anxiety. Mt. 6.25

thyine sweet-smelling wood. Rev. 18.12

tire* head-dress. Isa. 3.18

tithe* give a tenth. Deu. 14.22; Lu. 11.42

tittle small projection of some Hebrew letters, hence anything very small. Mt. 5.18; Lu. 16.17

told* counted, 2 Ki. 12.10

tormentor torturer Mt. 18.34

traffick* trade. Ge. 42.34; 1 Ki. 10.15

translate transfer, take up to heaven. 2Sa.3.10; Col, 1.13; He. 11.5

travail* labour. Ge. 38.27; Isa. 53.11

trespass* sin, transgress. Ge. 50.17; Mt. 18.15

trim* arrange carefully. Jer. 2.33

trow think, suppose. Lu. 17.9

trump trumpet. 1 Co. 15.52; ITh. 4,16

turtle* turtle-dove. Lev. 12.8; Song. 2.12; Jer. 8.7

tutor guardian. Ga. 4.2

twain* two. Isa. 6,2; Mt, 5.41; Eph. 2.15

(at)unawares* unexpectedly. Jos. 20.9; Ps. 35.8

uncomely unbecoming, unpresentable. 1 Co. 7.36; 12.23

undergirding passing ropes under a ship to strengthen it. Ac. 27.17

undertake be surety for. Isa. 38.14

unicorn* wild bull. Nu. 23.22; Job 39.10

unperfect imperfect, unformed. Ps. 139.16

upbraid reproach. Judg. 8.15; Mt. 11.20; Mk. 16.14;Jas. 1.5

usury* interest on money lent. Ex. 22.25

usward toward us. Ps. 40.5; Eph. 1.19; 2 Pe. 3.9

utmost* outermost. Nu. 22.36,41

utter* outer, Ezek. 42. 1

uttermost* outermost, Ex. 26,4; last, Mt. 5.26

vagabond* fugitive, wandering. Ge. 4.12; Ac. 19.13

vail, veil* curtain. Ex. 26.31; Mt. 27.51

vanities (lying)* falsehoods. Ps. 31.6

vaunt boast. Judg. 7.2; 1 Co. 13.4

venture (at a)* at random. 1 Ki; 22.34; 2 Chr 18.33

verily* surely, indeed, truly. Mt. 5.18; Ac. 19.4

vestments garments, robes. 2 Ki. 10.22

vestry store-room for robes. 2 Ki. 10.22

vex* trouble, Lev. 19.33; crush, Isa. 7.6; harm, Ac. 12.1

vexation* trouble, distress, affliction. Deu. 28.20; Eccl. 4.6

vial* flask, 1 Sa. 10. 1; shallow bowl or dish, Rev. 5.8; 16.2

victuals* food. Josh. 1.11; Mt. 14.15; Lu. 9.12

vile* wicked, Ro. 1.26; lowly, Phil. 3.21; filthy, Jas. 2.2

viol* lyre, stringed instrument, Isa. 5.12; Am. 6.5

virtue* power, Mk. 5.30; Lu. 6.19; goodness, Phil. 4.8; 2 Pe. 1.5

volume roll, scroll. Ps. 40.7; Heb. 10.7

ward(in)* under guard, Ge. 40.3; on guard, on watch, Isa. 21.8

ware* merchandise, Ne. 10.31; aware, Ac. 14.6; wore, Lu. 8.27

watch* first - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (not mentioned); second - 9 p.m. to midnight, Lu, 12.38; third-midnight to 3 a.m., Lu. 12.38; fourth -3a.m. to 6a.m., Mt. 14.25; middle -10 p.m. to2 a.m., Judg. 7.19; morning - 2a.m. to 6a.m., Ex. 14.24. (In pre-Roman times the Jews had three "watches" of four hours).

waymarks guideposts. Jer. 31.21

what* why. Lu. 22.71

whelp* young lion, Ge. 49.9; bear cub. Pro. 17.12

when as* when. Mt. 1.18

whether* which of two. Mt. 21.31

which* who. Mt. 6.9; Lu. 11.2; Ro. 3.30

whit* every whit - everything, I1 Sam. 3.18; completely, Jn. 7.23; not a whit - not in anything. 2 Co. 11.5

whither, no whither* where, nowhere. 2 Ki. 5.25

will* wish, desire. Mt. 11.27; Titus 3.8

wimples shawls, cloaks. Isa. 3.22

winefat wine-vat, wine press. Isa. 63.2; Mk. 12.1

winked at* overlooked. Ac. 17.30

wist* knew. Ex. 16.15; Mk. 9.6; Lu. 2.49

to wit* to know, Ge. 24.21; Ex. 2.4; that is to say, Ro. 8.23; I do you to wit, I am letting you know, 2 Co. 8.1

withal* also, with. Ac. 25.27; Job 2.8

without* outside. Mt. 12.46; Mk. 11.4

withs cords. Judg. 16.7,8,9

witty clever, skilful. Pro. 8.12

woe worth the day alas for the day. Ezek. 30.2

wont* accustomed. Ex. 21.29; Mt. 27.15; Ac. 16.13

worship (have worship)* have respect, honour. Lu. 14.10

wot, wotteth* know, knoweth. Ex. 32.1; Ge. 39.8; Ac. 3.17; Ro. 11.2

would (to) God* oh that...! Nu. 11.29; 2 Ki. 5.3; Ac. 26.29

wreathen* twisted, like cord. Ex. 28.14

wrest* twist, distort. Ps. 56.5; 2 Pe. 3.16

wringed wrung. Judg. 6.38

wroth* angry. Mt. 18.34

yesternight last night. Ge. 19.34; 31.29,42

you-ward toward you. 2 Co. 1.12; 13.3; Eph. 3.2