The New American Standard Bible (NASB) relies primarily on word-for-word translation from the surviving source documents. The New King James Version (NKJV) keeps the elegant literary style of the King James Version (KJV), but it replaces archaic language with modern terms for clarity. It is a new translation, not just an updated KJV, that is primarily word-for-word. The New International Version (NIV) is a combination of word-for-word and idea-for-idea translation. The New Living Translation (NLT) is a translation, not a paraphrase, but it relies more heavily on idea-for-idea translation. The NLT, and the more recent editions of the NIV, have deviated from the surviving source documents by rendering some passages gender neutral.
When you read this you may wonder what I am doing and why I am doing it. As usual, there is more than one reason. I am trying to show that it is helpful to read a particular passage in more than one translation. It aids our understanding of difficult passages, and it may keep us from being unduly influenced by a particular point of view. In all, we should always pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to correctly interpret God’s Word.
The other reason is more personal. A physical illness or disability can be hard
to cope with. It may be serious and life
threatening, or it may be something that only adversely affects the quality of
our lives. In my case it is the latter …
just too many birthdays.
When we seek medical attention, we can be told that there
is no remedy, or that the available therapies will not improve things
much. We pray, asking God to heal
us. God can and does heal, but He can
also tell us to live with it and to lean on Him for strength. Don’t lose heart. The following passages explain why:
(Please note that I have used italics to show direct
quotes and different fonts to differentiate between the various translations.)
I will come to visions and revelations of the
Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I
do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was
caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body
or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into
Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except
in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a
fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me
above what he sees me to be or hears from me.
And lest I should
be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the
flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be
exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord
three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in
distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NKJV) *
… I will go on to visions and revelations
of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the
body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was
caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the
body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into
Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to
speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will
not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish
to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I
refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than
he sees in me or hears from me.
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NASB) *
… I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NIV) *
I will reluctantly tell about visions
and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven
fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t
know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or
outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they
cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ( 2Corinthians 12:1-10 NLT) *
Although
he is speaking indirectly, most scholars agree that Paul was speaking of
himself when he wrote this passage. I am
not a trained theologian, but that is what I think, also. Most believe Paul’s thorn was some sort of
physical ailment, perhaps his eyesight, although it is also possible that he
was the victim of demonic torment (not possession).
God
has answered my prayers over and over. He has done it in ways that made it plain the
answer came from Him. I do not deserve
it, but He has blessed me, sometimes changing the course of my life. Certainly, I have no right to whine. When I am weak, it lets His strength show
through.
The
Word says:
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV) *
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell
God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will
experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace
will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians
4:6-7 NIV) *
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