Archives For Bible reading

How Can People Fear the Lord and Fear Other gods As Well?

April 4, 2020

Recently, God directed me to study a remarkable passage that testifies of people who feared the Lord and feared other gods as well.

Not Fearing the Lord

2 Kings 17:24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. 25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.

Learning to Fear the Lord

26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

Fearing the Lord and Fearing Other gods

29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. 30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: 36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. 39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. 41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

Discussion

This passage plainly attests to unbelievers who were practicing idolaters who feared other gods. Because they did not fear the Lord, He sent lions among them to slay some of them (2 Kings 17:25).

Somehow, however, after they had been taught to fear the Lord, they also feared other gods (2 Kings 17:33, 41). Remarkably, these people were both fearing other gods and fearing the Lord in a manner that was acceptable to God to enough of an extent that He no longer sent lions among them to slay some of them (implied by 2 Kings 17:28), as He had previously done because they did not fear Him (2 Kings 17:25).

How is it possible for unbelieving, practicing idolaters also to fear God in a manner that was acceptable to Him, at least to some extent? How can people fear the Lord and fear other gods as well?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Top Ten Bible Chapters by Number of Verses

February 20, 2020

Most believers know that Psalm 119 has more verses than any other chapter in the Bible. Many also know that Psalm 117 has the fewest.

The following tables show the top 10 chapters in the Bible by number of verses, both the chapters with the most verses and the chapters with the fewest. For chapters that have the same number of verses, the chapter with more words is ranked higher in the following table.

Most Verses Per Chapter
Chapter Verses Words Words/Verse
1 Ps 119 176 2445 13.89
2 Num 7 89 1939 21.79
3 1 Chr 6 81 1341 16.56
4 Lk 1 80 1583 19.79
5 Matt 26 75 1625 21.67
6 Neh 7 73 1176 16.11
7 Mk 14 72 1595 22.15
8 Ps 78 72 1228 17.06
9 Jn 6 71 1506 21.21
10 Lk 22 71 1396 19.66

 

In the following table, many chapters have the same number of verses. These chapters are ranked with the chapters having the fewest words being ranked higher than those with more words.

Fewest Verses Per Chapter
Chapter Verses Words Words/Verse
1 Ps 117 2 33 16.50
2 Ps 134 3 48 16.00
3 Ps 131 3 66 22.00
4 Ps 133 3 75 25.00
5 Est 10 3 93 31.00
6 Ps 123 4 98 24.50
7 Ps 100 5 90 18.00
8 Ps 93 5 92 18.40
9 Ps 15 5 103 20.60
10 Ps 125 5 112 22.40

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Why Using the NT to Interpret the OT is Essential

May 11, 2019

God provides much additional revelation in the NT about OT personages, events, and passages that the OT does not provide. Believers must, therefore, use the NT to interpret the OT in all such cases.

If they do not do so, Christians will lack information and understanding in their views that God intended for them to have.

Numerous Examples

Numerous examples show that the NT illumines our understanding of the OT with information not provided in the OT. The following 13 passages show just how important it is to use the NT to interpret the OT.

Examples in the Gospels

Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

The OT speaks of God’s feeding the birds (Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9), but the NT makes clear that it is the Father who does so.

John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Readers of only the OT did not know that this divine teaching ministry spoke of what the Father would do.

Examples in Acts

Acts 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them.

The OT does not provide any revelation about any god named Remphan or that the Israelites did these things at that time.

Acts 13:33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Acts 13:33 tells us that God fulfilled an ancient promise by raising Jesus, as it is written in Psalm 2.  Anyone reading just the statement about the Son in Psalm 2:7 would not have the ability to know that truth.

Examples in the Epistles

1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Any believer reading just the OT would never know that the Rock that followed them in the wilderness wanderings was Christ.

Hebrews 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The OT does not provide any information about Abraham’s seeking for such a city.

2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness.

Reading just the OT, a believer would never have known that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

2 Peter 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.

Anyone who just reads the OT would not have any confident basis to know that Lot was a just man.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.

Having only the OT, a believer would not have sufficient basis to know confidently that Cain was of the devil.

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

The OT speaks of God’s burying Moses (Deut. 34:6), but only the NT reveals this battle between Michael and the devil over the body of Moses.

Jude 1:14 Enoch  . . . prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all.

From the OT alone, a reader would not know that Enoch was a prophet who proclaimed a glorious Messianic prophecy!

Examples in Revelation

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

Anyone reading just the OT would not know that the devil controlled and directed the serpent who deceived Eve.

Application

These thirteen examples show that it is essential to use the NT to interpret the OT whenever the NT provides information that the OT does not. Only then will we understand properly what God wants us to know about those personages, events, passages, etc.

Furthermore, these examples show how vital it is to read the whole Bible and not just certain parts of it. Only by reading the whole Bible will we have the fullness of understanding that God wants us to have!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Seven Uses of “Se” in the Spanish Bible

April 6, 2019

One of the most challenging aspects of Spanish grammar is understanding the many different uses of the pronoun se. Using several grammar books and the search capabilities of BibleWorks 10, I have compiled several examples of seven different uses of se in the Bible.

Reflexive Se

R60 Numbers 30:3 Mas la mujer, cuando hiciere voto a Jehová, y se ligare con obligación

KJV Numbers 30:3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond

R60 Luke 16:19 Había un hombre rico, que se vestía de púrpura y de lino fino

KJV Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen

R60 Revelation 18:7 Cuanto ella se ha glorificado

KJV Revelation 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself

 

Process Se1

R60 Matthew 25:5 Y tardándose el esposo, cabecearon todas y se durmieron.

KJV Matthew 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

R60 Acts 11:21 Y la mano del Señor estaba con ellos, y gran número creyó y se convirtió al Señor.

KJV Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

R60 1 Peter 1:24 La hierba se seca, y la flor se cae;

KJV 1 Peter 1:24 The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

 

Impersonal Se

R60 Ecclesiastes 6:10 Respecto de lo que es, ya ha mucho que tiene nombre, y se sabe que es hombre.

KJV Ecclesiastes 6:10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man:

R60 Isaiah 45:24 Y se dirá de mí: Ciertamente en Jehová está la justicia y la fuerza;

KJV Isaiah 45:24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength:

 

Passive Se

R60 Ecclesiastes 7:21 Tampoco apliques tu corazón a todas las cosas que se hablan

KJV Ecclesiastes 7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken;

R60 Matthew 10:29 ¿No se venden dos pajarillos por un cuarto?

KJV Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

 

Indirect Object Pronoun Se

R60 Genesis 38:18 Entonces Judá dijo: ¿Qué prenda te daré? Ella respondió: Tu sello, tu cordón, y tu báculo que tienes en tu mano. Y él se [‘to her’] los [‘them’] dio.

KJV Genesis 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her.

R60 2 Kings 10:7 Cuando las cartas llegaron a ellos, tomaron a los hijos del rey, y degollaron a los setenta varones, y pusieron sus cabezas en canastas, y se [‘to him’] las [‘them’ = the heads] enviaron a Jezreel.

KJV 2 Kings 10:7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. 

R60 Mark 9:19 Y respondiendo él, les dijo: ¡Oh generación incrédula! ¿Hasta cuándo he de estar con vosotros? ¿Hasta cuándo os he de soportar? Traédmelo. 20 Y se [‘to him’] lo [‘him’] trajeron;

KJV Mark 9:19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him:

R60 John 2:8 Entonces les dijo: Sacad ahora, y llevadlo al maestresala. Y se [‘to him’] lo [‘it’ = the wine] llevaron.

KJV John 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

R60 Acts 7:4 Entonces salió de la tierra de los caldeos y habitó en Harán; y de allí, muerto su padre, Dios le trasladó a esta tierra, en la cual vosotros habitáis ahora. 5 Y no le dio herencia en ella, ni aun para asentar un pie; pero le prometió que se [‘to him’] la [‘it’ = the land] daría en posesión

KJV Acts 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. 5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession

 

Reciprocal Se

R60 2 Kings 14:11 Pero Amasías no escuchó; por lo cual subió Joás rey de Israel, y se [‘each other’] vieron las caras él y Amasías rey de Judá, en Bet-semes, que es de Judá.

KJV 2 Kings 14:11 But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 

R60 Psalm 85:10 La misericordia y la verdad se encontraron; La justicia y la paz se [‘each other’] besaron.

KJV Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

 

Unplanned or Unexpected Occurrence/ “No-Fault” Se2

R60 Deuteronomy 22:3 Así harás con su asno, así harás también con su vestido, y lo mismo harás con toda cosa de tu hermano que se le perdiere y tú la hallares;

KJV Deuteronomy 22:3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother’s, which he hath lost, and thou hast found

R60 Isaiah 5:27 No habrá entre ellos cansado, ni quien tropiece; ninguno se dormirá, ni le tomará sueño; a ninguno se le desatará el cinto de los lomos, ni se le romperá la correa de sus sandalias.

KJV Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

R60 Acts 12:7 Y las cadenas se le cayeron de las manos.

KJV Acts 12:7 And his chains fell off from his hands.

1 “The Process Se” (Pasajes Lengua Quinta Edición, 241).

2 “No-Fault” Se Constructions The passive se construction is also used with a group of Spanish verbs to indicate unplanned or unexpected occurrences” (Pasajes Lengua Quinta Edición, 270).

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Top 30 Bible Chapters by Words Per Verse

March 22, 2019

I recently analyzed every chapter of the Bible in the KJV for how many words there were per verse in the chapter. Based on that analysis, I compiled the top 30 Bible chapters by words per verse in two categories: (1) Most Words per Verse; and (2) Fewest Words per Verse.

The charts below show the top 10 chapters in both categories. My chart, Top 30 Bible Chapters by Words Per Verse, presents the data for all 30 top chapters in each category.

Most Words per Verse

Most Words Per Verse
Chapter Words Verses Words/Verse
1 Jer 40 681 16 42.56
2 Ezr 3 547 13 42.08
3 2 Ki 7 824 20 41.20
4 1 Chr 28 864 21 41.14
5 Ezr 9 617 15 41.13
6 Jer 44 1228 30 40.93
7 Lam 2 883 22 40.14
8 2 Ki 23 1477 37 39.92
9 Jos 22 1321 34 38.85
10 1 Sam 29 421 11 38.27

 

Fewest Words per Verse

Fewest Words Per Verse
Chapter Words Verses Words/Verse
1 1 Chr 8 491 40 12.28
2 1 Chr 1 683 54 12.65
3 Ps 120 92 7 13.14
4 Ps 114 106 8 13.25
5 Lam 3 876 66 13.27
6 Lam 5 296 22 13.45
7 Ps 136 353 26 13.58
8 Ps 119 2445 176 13.89
9 Ps 105 632 45 14.04
10 Prov 2 309 22 14.05

 

Discussion

Unsurprisingly, the top 30 chapters in the Bible with the most words per verse are all in the OT. In fact, the top 158 chapters with the most words per verse are all in the OT. These findings confirm the general perception that the OT is harder to read than the NT because of more words per verse in the chapters of the OT.

I was surprised to find, however, that all but one of the top 30 chapters in the Bible with the fewest words per verse were also in the OT. Moreover, only two NT chapters rank in the top 100 Bible chapters with the fewest words per verse.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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The Ten* Longest Verses in the Bible

March 16, 2019

Using some advanced capabilities of BibleWorks 10 and Excel, I discovered today that the ten* longest verses (by the number of words) in the Bible† are all in the Old Testament.‡

Book Words
1 Esther 8:9 90
2 Jeremiah 21:7 83
3 Ezekiel 46:9 81
4 Joshua 8:33 80
2 Chronicles 2:14 80
Jeremiah 44:12 80
Ezekiel 48:21 80
5 2 Kings 16:15 79
6 Daniel 5:23 78
7 Jeremiah 33:11 77
Daniel 4:23 77
8 1 Samuel 29:4 75
2 Kings 1:6 75
Ezra 3:8 75
Esther 3:12 75
Ezekiel 45:7 75
9 Esther 4:11 74
Ezekiel 43:11 74
10 Deuteronomy 13:5 73
1 Kings 2:5 73
2 Kings 6:32 73
1 Chronicles 29:2 73

*Because many verses have equal numbers of words, this list actually has 22 verses.

†Verse ranks and word totals are for the KJV.

‡The longest verse in the NT is Revelation 20:4, which has 68 words and ranks as the 42nd longest verse in the Bible.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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The Importance of Reading the Bible All the Days of Our Lives

January 1, 2019

One of my favorite passages about reading the Bible profoundly highlights the importance of reading the Word of God all the days of our lives:

Deuteronomy 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Even as God would have done with any of the kings who would have obeyed this divine revelation, so God would use the faithful reading of the Bible on all the days of our lives to teach us to fear Him aright and to keep our hearts from being lifted up above our brethren.

One tragic reason for so much of the division and strife among God’s own people is the lack of immersion in His Word on all the days of the lives of many of God’s people. A verse a day, although better than nothing, cannot give the Word of God the rich dwelling that God desires it would have in all of our lives.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Leer la Biblia

June 25, 2018

Leer la Biblia es una disciplina esencial en la vida de cada creyente. Muchos creyentes no leen sus Biblias suficientemente. Estas personas deben arrepentirse y comenzar a leer sus biblias cada día.

Dios quiere que todos los cristianos lean la Biblia fielmente. Me gusta mucho más leer mi Biblia. He leído la Biblia entera por lo menos una vez en cada año de mi vida cristiana.

Leer la Biblia es más importante que leer cualquier otro libro. Es necesario que te resuelvas leer tu Biblia todos los días de tu vida.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Through the Bible Twice in Three Languages!

December 27, 2017

After I was saved in 1990, I had an intense desire to read the Bible. Praise God, He has sustained that desire in me to this day in spite of my many struggles over the years.

So far, I have completed reading the Bible twice in three languages, English, biblical Greek, and Spanish. This post relates some highlights of my Bible reading in these languages.

Bible Reading in English

In my first year as a believer, I read the Bible through three times in English. Since then, I have read (or read and listened) to the entire Bible in English every year except for one year when I read the Bible through in Spanish.

In 2016, God led me to read the Bible through in 59 days, which was both very challenging and extremely profitable! This year, He directed me to do the same thing in 87 days. I am grateful to have been able to read the Bible twice each of these past two years.

Bible Reading in Biblical Greek

Over a period of a number of years, I read the entire Septaugint (canonical books only) and the Greek New Testament. After having done that, I was greatly blessed to read the entire Septuagint (canonical books only) and the Greek New Testament in 2011.

Reading the Bible in biblical Greek in one year was an immense privilege that I hope to have again in the future. The insights that God gave me into His Word through reading the Septuagint through in one year have proven to be extremely beneficial for my understanding of a number of key passages in the New Testament.

Bible Reading in Spanish

In 2014, God directed me to read the entire Reina Valera 1960 version of the Bible in Spanish. What began as incredibly hard task became much more manageable as the year progressed, praise God!

From 2014 to 2017, I have been reading the Bible in Spanish in both the Reina Valera and the La Biblia De Las Américas versions. I recently finished reading the whole Bible in the LBLA version so God has now enabled me to read the entire Bible at least twice in three different languages!

How I praise God for the glory of His Word and the matchless privilege of knowing Him through His inspired, inerrant, and infallible perfect revelation of Himself in His Word!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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Through the Bible in 87 Days in 2017!

December 26, 2017

When 2017 began, I had no intention of trying to read through the Bible more than once in English. After finishing the Bible in English for the first time this year on July 10, my plan was to try to finish reading through the Bible in Spanish, which I had begun in 2016.

In September, however, it was arranged that I would teach (through an interpreter) a 15-week Bible class in a Spanish Bible college in Spring 2018. To prepare for that class on what the Bible teaches about acceptable music for corporate worship, I decided that I needed to read through the Bible again in the last three months of this year.

I began that second reading on October 1. I praise God that He empowered me to finish that second reading today—87 days after I had started!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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