I was not surprised when the book started out in a very negative and sad thought process. I also was surprised when there were no verses. I understand that the original Bible did not have verses or chapters, but why go through and Edit the Bible? Alexis read the KJV the second time through and I followed through with the printed out, edited version. There was one part that talked about a nation invading his land. The nation was described as “Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.” The KJV said something along the lines of teeth of a lion and cheeks of a great lion. How much distortion does this translation have? I do not think that any one version of the Bible is perfectly translated but I do not know how true this one really is.
As for lines that “sound beautiful,” I do not really know how war can seem beautiful. The beginning is literally entitled “The Devastation of Locusts.” Devastation, I am not sure but I do not think that famine is beautiful. Nor do I think that watching all the crops that you have labored over for months get eaten up and ruined because of some bugs. That would be very disheartening, not “beautiful.” The second title, “Starvation and Drought,” gives me a really happy feeling and vibe as well. Droughts are not a good thing, without water we would all die. We can last a few days without food, but without water we will be dead in just a few days. So unless seeing thousands upon thousands of dead, dehydrated, and decaying corpses is beautiful, there is still nothing good and “beautiful.” Only until I read about “The land is like the garden of Eden before them” so I see anything truly “beautiful.” The only reason why I see the garden as truly beautiful is because man has not scared that area. God designed Eden and I feel as though it truly is the most beautiful on this planet. (When I say Eden, I mean any nature that has not been touched by man in any way, shape, or form.)
There is one more quote that I will leave you with that really ends it one a good note. “And its (AV) stench will arise and its foul smell will come up.” O what a “beautiful” sight.
It seems like you're just picking the negative lines out of the poem/book. Did you read the whole thing? What about the line that Jean wrote about (http://jeanlabranche.blogspot.com/2011/02/joel.html)?
ReplyDeleteAbout "going and editing the Bible": whoever put verse and chapter numbers in edited it and whoever takes them out unedits it. Numbers can be useful for locating things. But 1 they 2 really get 3 in 4 the 5 way of 6 reading, 7 if you know 8 what I mean 9.
Also, comparing one translation to another (such as the NASB to the KJV) does nothing to tell you which one is "distorted." If you want to know which one is more literal, you would have to compare them both to the original Hebrew--which you cannot do unless you happen to be an expert in both English and Hebrew. As it turns out, the KJV is actually not the most reliable literal translation--not by a long shot. That, of course, is understandable since it was translated 400 years ago without the level of scholarship, technology, and expertise that translators now have available to them. But, to many people, it sounds beautiful, which is a good enough reason to read it, though not to use for exegetical purposes. On the other hand, the NASB--the version that I have assigned--is generally considered by those who know to be one of the most readable and reliable translations available.
Finally, have you noticed that you seem to have a trend of being negative in your posts?