Page 26 - Sojourner Newsletter- SUMMER 2022 -FINAL

26 THE SOJOURNER

NATIONAL CHAPLAIN’S MESSAGE

So, which is it??
“No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac Genesis 17:19
Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son, indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: Genesis 17:19
“Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. Genesis 17:19

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place
for you? John 14:2
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for
you. John 14:2
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John
14:2

Last month I conversed about translations and versions of the Bible. Above I have written three different translations
and versions of the same scriptures. But they do not seem to say the same thing! The first three are from the Torah. A
few weeks ago, when I was reading that passage I observed that I did not understand it, so I consulted a Jewish friend
and asked. He consulted his Rabbis and told me it all had to do with nuances. I had already looked it up in my Tanakh
and had come to the same conclusion.
The second selection is from Jesus’ reassurances to His disciples. It is also used in most funerals. I have also seen and
heard it preached both ways, depending on which translation you wished to use and the points you were trying to make.
The bottom line is to make the Scriptures relevant to us, the readers.
The Scriptures were originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. I do not speak any of those, but I do know a lot
of English. We all speak English, I assume. As noted, I have known people who are still speaking King James English.
The languages have also changed over time. There is a 12-volume dictionary of the Scriptures, that explains the nuances
that have occurred over time.
When I was in college I was a science/computer/math geek. One of the things we did with Fortran was to write word
generator programs. As I remember, we could vary the number of letters on each run, usually lasting 12 hours. We
would sit down and circle the recognizable words. Can you imagine if you put all the words from a single page, into
sentences and paragraphs? You would have gibberish.
A few days ago, I had a one-way heated conversation with a friend. He was the one who got heated. Something about
the louder and harsher the words, the weaker the argument. We were discussing a 45-word sentence, which was without
a whole lot of punctuation. Finally, in frustration, he finished with, “you are just reading it the way you want to!!” And
my reply was simply, “you are correct.” End of debate.
When I was in Command and General Staff College and then O-5 and O-6 grooming school it was emphatically
enforced upon us that sentences of 8-10 words should be enough to get the point across. No self-respecting paragraph
was longer than 3-5 sentences. Having worked and conversed with several generals, I would have gotten thrown out of a
bunch of offices for writing convoluted sentences and paragraphs. I also wrote a few Army-wide distributions that would
have had the same result. What you write must be understandable and make sense.
During that aforementioned conversation, the statement was also made you cannot change it, for it has been that way
for a hundred years - it is historical. Or is it hysterical? The Constitution is historical. It took 116 days to draft. It took
Thomas Jefferson 17 days to craft the Declaration of Independence, and two days to wordsmith it. There have now been
33 amendments to the U.S Constitution, but only 27 have been ratified by the states.
Why so many Scriptural translations and versions of the Bible? St. John, the Revealer says, “Thou shalt not change,
add or delete a word in this book! (the Bible)”. Holy Scripture is inerrant. It is the Inspired, if not spoken, Word of God.
It also has to make sense to the ordinary person. John Wycliff was burned at the stake for translating the Vulgate from
Latin into English for the everyday man. Vatican II changed the Catholic Mass to English or the language of the people.
The difference in the various Orthodox churches is simply that the Mass is in the language of the people.
What is the point? I am constantly being asked what version of the Bible is best. My answer? The one you can
understand. Go to a bookstore, either brick and mortar or virtual and look around. Most have samples, buy what you like.
eBooks are usually vastly cheaper.
Shalom and peace my brothers and sisters.

Bro. Thom Davies

National Chaplain