Treasures in God's Word!

With the Saints leading the Bucs on Sunday Night Football by a score of 7 to 3 in the second quarter, Saints punt returner Rashid Shaheed is going for the goal line when he is shoved out of bounds by the Bucs. In the words of the ESPN announcer, "Camarda is able to knock him out of bounds -- the punter." In other words, it was the punter, of all persons, who prevented Shadeed from scoring a touchdown during a punt return. How ironic! 

Paul, in Hebrews, does something similar, not once but twice. Here's what the Greek literally says in these passages:

• Heb 2:9: "But we see the one who has been made a little lower than the angels -- Jesus!"
• Heb. 7:4: "to whom Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils -- the patriarch!" 

This emphasis is completely lost when we read translations like the NIV:

• "But we do see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while."
• "Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder."

Nice try guys, but no cigar. It's like the the ESPN announcer saying, "Camarda the punter is able to knock him out of bounds." Gone is the punch of the original quote!

How I love the Bible! Not only what it says, but how it says it, is inspired by the Spirit of God. How eminently blessed I am to be the recipient of such a revelation from God himself! My main desire in writing and teaching is to pass this baton to others so that they, too, will learn to find such precious treasures in God's word! 

(Read more in my essay Literary Artistry in the Epistle to the Hebrews.)