{"id":3554,"date":"2019-05-23T20:44:40","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T20:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/?p=3554"},"modified":"2019-05-23T20:44:40","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T20:44:40","slug":"why-certain-words-are-left-out-of-our-english-bibles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2019\/05\/why-certain-words-are-left-out-of-our-english-bibles\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Certain Words Are Left Out Of Our English Bibles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The more I study the Bible, the more concerned I am with how translators have altered the texts to serve their own agendas.<\/p>\n

Most Christians are unaware of the fact that this has gone on for centuries, and that some of these intentional mistranslations are intended to prevent people from knowing what the Scriptures actually teach on certain topics.<\/p>\n

For example: For several hundred years Bible translators obscured the true identity of Junia in the New Testament because Paul called Junia \u201coutstanding among the Apostles\u201d and they weren\u2019t happy with the fact that Junia was a female. So, to hide this from the masses, the Scriptures were used to give Junia a sex change and turn her into a male.<\/p>\n

Another example is in 1 Timothy 3:11 where Paul [or Pseudo-Paul] is giving guidelines for Overseers and Deacons in the Church. Most English translations render the sentence like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cE<\/span>ven so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Written this way, the passage appears to be providing a guideline for how the wife<\/em> of the Deacon should behave. However, the word here is not the usual word for \u201cwife\u201d in the Greek. It\u2019s actually the word for \u201cwomen<\/em>\u201d which means the passage is more accurately translated as:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the same way, the women\u00a0are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers\u00a0but temperate\u00a0and trustworthy in everything.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Meaning, the women, or female, deacons should be evaluated \u201cin the same way\u201d as the male deacons.<\/p>\n

How do we know this is more accurate? Because all throughout the New Testament we see female deacons like Lydia, Phoebe, Dorcas, and others who are called \u201cdeacons\u201d (or \u201cdiakonus\u201d) which simply means \u201cservant\u201d in the Greek.<\/p>\n

Another example of how certain words were either left out of our Bibles or changed to serve an agenda, is found in 1 Cor. 14:34-35 where Paul appears to say that \u201cwomen should be silent in the church\u201d and that \u201cwomen should not be allowed to speak as the Law says\u201d and worse yet, that \u201cit is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem with this is that it totally contradicts everything that Paul has already said in this very same letter about how women should prophesy and how everyone should participate together in the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Paul appears to appeal to the Law for instruction \u2013 something he spends a lot of time arguing against in his other letters \u2013 and even more concerning is the fact that the Law NEVER says that \u201cwomen should not be allowed to speak\u201d.<\/p>\n

Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, by his own admission. How could he have made such a drastic mistake about what the Law said about women being silent?<\/p>\n

Answer: He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

How do we know this? Because there is a word missing in most English translations in the very next verse after this section. The word is an exclamation which simply says: \u201cWhat?!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

And following that exclamation, Paul follows up with this:<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord\u2019s command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So, what is actually going on here is that Paul is quoting something the Corinthians had written to him in a previous letter (which Paul alludes to in this same epistle), and is responding negatively to their statements \u2013 not expressing his own views.<\/p>\n

Another way we know that Paul is not silencing women in this passage is that, as we said, the Law never taught that women should not be allowed to speak. But, the Talmud did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe silencing of women was a Jewish ordinance. Women were not permitted to speak in the assembly or even to ask questions. The rabbis taught that a woman should know nothing but the use of her distaff.\u201d [See \u201cWhat\u2019s With Paul And Women?\u201d by Jon Zens]\n<\/p>

Josephus, a Jewish historian, asserted that \u201cthe woman, says the law, is in all things inferior to a man. Let her accordingly be submissive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Talmud clearly affirms the silence of females:<\/p>\n

\u201cA woman\u2019s voice is prohibited because it is sexually provocative\u201d<\/em> (Talmud, Berachot 24a).<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen are sexually seductive, mentally inferior, socially embarrassing, and spiritually separated from the law of Moses; therefore, let them be silent\u201d<\/em> (summary of Talmudic sayings).<\/p>\n

The Talmud Called the Voice of a Woman \u201cShameful\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a shame for a woman to let her voice be heard among men\u201d<\/em> (Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voice of a woman is filthy nakedness\u201d<\/em> (Talmud, Berachot Kiddushin)<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s the Talmud, not Paul, who tries to silence women. Paul\u2019s own writings were quite egalitarian when left alone and not altered by translators who had an axe to grind against women.<\/p>\n

Want to know another place where a word was left out of our English translations of Scripture in order to advance an agenda?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at Philippians 2:10-11:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0that<\/i>\u00a0every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, many of us are well-acquainted with this verse of scripture. But what most of us don\u2019t know \u2013 because our English translations leave something out \u2013 is that the word \u201cgladly\u201d is omitted from the passage.<\/p>\n

Why is that significant? Because without the word \u201cgladly\u201d in this sentence, it\u2019s very easy to teach that unrepentant sinners will one day bow their knees under compulsion and confess that Christ is Lord under protest, just before they get tossed into the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

However, if you include the missing word it reads like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cthat at the name of Jesus every knee should bow\u2026.and every tongue should GLADLY confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..\u201d<\/p>\n

The word for confess used here in the Greek is:\u00a0exomologe\u014d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This word is translated as: \u201cto acknowledge openly and joyfully<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

But, if you leave off the \u201cjoyful\u201d and \u201copen\u201d part of the statement, you make it easier to suggest that God will eventually burn some of His children in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Otherwise, you have to wrestle with the fact that this verse says that one day EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue will JOYFULLY confess that Jesus Christ is Lord\u201d and when paired with Paul\u2019s other statement in Romans 10:9 that all who confess Jesus as Lord will be saved, you have quite a problem on your hands if you hope to drive home your doctrine of Eternal Suffering.<\/p>\n

This is not an exhaustive list of verses in our English Bibles that have left words out on purpose to advance an agenda. We\u2019ve not even started to scratch the surface.<\/p>\n

But the point I want to make is that we cannot simply open our English Bibles and point to a verse and say \u201cThe Bible clearly says\u2026\u201d because our Bibles are not as honest or as accurate as we might want them to be.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious about this topic, I\u2019d suggest reading my latest book \u201cJesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n

If nothing else, be careful what you believe if it\u2019s based on what your English translation says. There\u2019s a good chance the Bible really doesn\u2019t say what you think it says.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Keith Giles was formerly a licensed and ordained minister who walked away from organized church 11 years ago, to start a home fellowship that gave away 100% of the offering to the poor in the community.\u00a0<\/em>Today, He and his wife live in Meridian, Idaho, awaiting their next adventure.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
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His\u00a0new book\u00a0\u201cJesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible<\/strong><\/a>\u201d,\u00a0is\u00a0available now on Amazon and features a Foreword by author Brian Zahnd.<\/em><\/p>\n

He is also the author of the Amazon best-seller,\u00a0\u201cJesus\u00a0Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb<\/strong><\/a>\u201d with a Foreword by Greg Boyd.<\/em><\/p>\n

Keith also co-hosts the\u00a0Heretic Happy Hour Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes and Podbean.\u00a0<\/em>BONUS<\/em><\/strong>: Want to unlock exclusive content including blog articles, short stories, music, podcasts, videos and more? Visit my\u00a0Patreon page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Join me this summer at one of these upcoming events:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

*Costa Mesa, CA \u2013 June 22\u00a0\u201cUnited We Stand\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

*Hot Springs, NC \u2013 July 11-14\u00a0\u201cWild Goose Festival\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Want Keith to come speak at your church or in your home town?<\/strong>\u00a0Learn more\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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