If you know me, then you know that I had been very pro-KJV for many years. In fact, I'd read the KJV almost exclusively since not too long after I got saved in 1995. I studied in the NKJV, NIV, Living Bible, God's Word translation, and several others through the years, but still found the KJV the truest to the "originals." My studies lead me to the conclusion that the true majority texts and Textus Receptus are the best manuscripts for the New Testament, and the Massoretic for the Old. Out of the above mentioned bible translations, only the KJV is true to those texts. The NKJV uses those texts, but also delves into texts that have been shown corrupted, such as the Septuagint, Vaticanus, and Sianaticus, etc. Those are some of the main texts that underlie most "modern" perversions of the Bible.

I have always been on the lookout for a Bible translation that is fairly literal (not a paraphrase or dynamic equivalent) and that is also translated from the superior texts I mentioned earlier. The KJV was the closest I could find, but it was not without its problems. Some of the translation choices the translators made leaned more towards using "church terms" for certain 'religious' things, rather than the literal term translated directly from the text. Also, there are a few places where it appears bias crept into the translation, however I see that a lot more in "modern" translations than I do in the KJV. In some places where the translators translated something not as literally as it could have been, they give the more literal translation in the margin (or center column in some of today's bibles.) This is why my primary KJV Bibles over the years usually were ones that not only had center column references, but more importantly, the translators' notes and alternate, more literal translations.

I've found myself more and more agreeing with the alternate, more literal translations in the margin, than with the direct KJV text, when I'd look at many of these passages in their Hebrew/Greek. I'd also come across occasional inconsistencies, where a word is translated one way in one passage, then translated a different way in another passage, de-linking the two passages, and sometimes creating what appears to be a contradiction.

Now, enter the Young's Literal Translation of the Bible, first translated in 1862, then revised later in the 1800s also by Mr. Robert Young. I've known about this translation for many years, and have often used it when I desired an even more literal translation than what the KJV could give me. The YLT is also translated from the superior texts. Both the YLT and the KJV use the the thee and thy type words, and some eth or est verb endings. Most Bible translations do not retain these.

In 1611 when the KJV Bible was translated, and in 1862 with the first edition of the YLT, people did not generally speak this way, so why did the translators of both translations desire to translate with these verb endings and strange words? Simply put, it's more accurate. In English, we have "you." When I say "you," am I talking to just one person, or more than one person? One can only derive from context, unless I say something like Ya'll to indicate more than one person.

In our Latin studies in our homeschool, we sometimes need to use "ya'll" in our translations, to differentiate between many you's versus one you. Many languages have different words or ways of indicating if someone is speaking/writing to just one person, or more than one. In English, we just have "you." This can be confusing. For example:

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" -John 3:7, ESV

Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus. In the above translation, a One Verse Nelly could jump on that, and state that the stipulation of needing to be born again in order to go to heaven was only for Nicodemus.

However, the KJV clears this up for us, and takes this One Verse Nelly deception away:

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7, KJV

The YLT is clear, as well:

"'Thou mayest not wonder that I said to thee, It behoveth you to be born from above;" John 3:7, YLT

With the thee or thou, and the ye or you, we see that Jesus was saying to Nicodemus that everyone must be born again/born from above.

Thy, thine, thee, and thou all are singular - one person.

Ye, you, and your were generally plural - more than one person.

As for the KJV and the YLT retaining the 'est and 'eth verb endings, those are helpful, as well. The 'est verb endings are in second person, and the 'eth verb endings are in third person.

Now that I've established enough about why I find the KJV and YLT superior, let's move into contrasting the KJV and the YLT with one another. I will also be including a modern version. I randomly chose the ESV for the modern version of this article.

Can Women be Ministers and Leaders?

"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well." -Romans 16:1-2 ESV

"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also." -Romans 16:1-2 KJV

"And I commend you to Phebe our sister -- being a ministrant of the assembly that [is] in Cenchrea -- that ye may receive her in the Lord, as doth become saints, and may assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you -- for she also became a leader of many, and of myself." -Romans 16:1-2 YLT

Was Phebe a servant or ministrant? The ESV has a note next to "servant." The note says "or deaconess." Why does it say that, and why does the YLT disagree with both the ESV and KJV, and say that Phebe was a ministrant (one who performs the service of a minister)? When I saw this, I knew I was going to have to delve into the Greek.

The Greek word underlying our word in question is diakonos, where we derive our English word minister. It means a minister or deacon, or one who serves in these capacities. Therefore, it's more literal to translate diakonos as deacon, or minister, and it is translated thus 23 times in the KJV, and it is translated servant only 8 times. Of the 23 times it's translated as deacon or minister, it's rendered minister 20 of those times.

Minister seems to be the most literal translation of diakonos, because a diakonos is one who has a ministry, and ministers to others. This is what a minister is and does. It can be serving in any capacity, such as the ministrants were in the below:

"His mother saith to the ministrants, `Whatever he may say to you -- do.'" -John 2:5 YLT

This was in regards to the people serving at a wedding. They were ministrants of that wedding. Then there are ministrants that are of the church. Phebe was a ministrant (diakonos) of a specific church. Romans 16:1-2 says she was the diakonos of the church in Cenchrea.

By some Bible versions, inlcuing the KJV, translating diakonos as "servent" here, where it is usually translated as "ministrant" or "deacon," it is a problem. This obscures the fact that there were and are female ministers in the church. Ancient Greek historical records record many female ministers. One in particular was given the title "The Second Phebe."

The other word I underlined in the three instances of Romans 16:1-2 above is patron/succourer/leader. Each of the three above Bible versions give a different word. A patron is 'One who countenances, supports and protects either a person or a work.' Since Phebe is a female, it may have been more accurate to call her a patroness, which means 'A female that favors, countenances or supports.'

A succourer is synonymous with a helper.

Meanwhile, the YLT says leader. We know what a leader is.

What is this word in Greek? It is "prostatis," which means "a woman set over others." In other words, the literal translation of prostatis is the YLT choice of "leader."

When viewed in a literal translation, we learn that Phebe, a woman, was a minister of the church in Cenchrea, and was also a leader, even of Paul the Apostle himself. Clearly, women can be ministers and leaders, as is clear when the Bible is translated literally.

The Qualifications for Ministers

"Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus." -1 Timothy 2:8-1 ESV

"Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." -1 Timothy 2:8-13 KJV

"Ministrants -- in like manner grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not given to filthy lucre, having the secret of the faith in a pure conscience, and let these also first be proved, then let them minister, being unblameable. Women -- in like manner grave, not false accusers, vigilant, faithful in all things. Ministrants -- let them be of one wife husbands; the children leading well, and their own houses, for those who did minister well a good step to themselves do acquire, and much boldness in faith that [is] in Christ Jesus." -1 Timothy 2:8-13 YLT

I underlined verse 11 in all the above, where both the ESV and the KJV say how the wife of a deacon is to behave. Notice the YLT doesn't at all mention how the wife is to behave. Instead, it has a note to female ministrants in verse 11. Why the difference? Well, the word translated as "wife" or "woman" in the above verses is the Greek word "gynē," which means 'a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.' Therefore, it can be translated as wife or woman here, depending on context, but literally, it's "woman." 'Wives' or 'women' both work here, but I believe the literal translation of "women" is more accurate, because 1) Where the KJV says "Even so must their wives be...," they added the words "must their." Those words are not in the Greek, and the passage actually makes more sense when read without those words, such as laid out in the ESV. 2) The other passage in the Scriptures that gives us the qualifications for a minister/deacon is Titus 1:5-9. That passage does not at all mention specifically how the wife of the deacon/minister is to behave. Also, the scriptures that describe how the overseer/bishop is to behave - 1 Timothy 3:1-7, do not mention how the wife is to behave, either.

One might then say what about the other part you underlined in the minister/deacon scriptures - "...be the husband of one wife?" That in and of itself does not preclude a woman from being a minister, and being the wife of one husband. For example, Jesus said:

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." -Matthew 5:27-28 KJV

Does the above mean that while it is clearly a sin that men should lust after women they are not married to, it's okay for women to lust after men they are not married to? After all, it doesn't continue on to say 'likewise, ye women..." Nope. It's a given. Just as the man is not to lust after a woman he is not married to, so a woman is not to lust after a man she is not married to. The same principle holds true to "...be the husband of one wife." While the minister is to be the husband of one wife, if the minister is a female, then it is understood that she is to be the wife of one husband. We know women can be ministers, because we saw in Romans 16:1-2 that Phebe was.

Did Samson Drink from the Jawbone of a Donkey, or from a Spring?

"And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day." -Judges 15:14-19 KJV

The above looks like God made a type of water fountain out of a jawbone from a donkey, which had to clearly be covered with human gore and blood. After Samson drank from this "jawbone," he called the name thereof Enhakkore. What's Enhakkore?

"He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands, and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand men. And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.' And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi; and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.' And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,' which [is] in Lehi unto this day." -Judges 15:14-19 YLT

Now we see it more clearly:

1) After using his God-given strength of being a one-man army, and taking out 1000 men who are the enemy, with nothing but a jawbone (this is a real superhero, BTW) he threw the donkey's jawbone away from him.

2) After he threw the jawbone, he called that area "Ramath-Lehi," which means 'the hill of the jawbone.' The area of Lehi wasn't known as "Lehi," until after this incident. Then it was named that. "Lehi" means 'jawbone.'

3) We see that God didn't make water spring from the jawbone. Samson threw the jawbone from him. He made water spring up from a hollow place in Lehi - a Spring. After Samson had his fill of water, that fountain was named "the fountain of him who is calling." This is what 'Enhakkore' means.

The ESV reads as a mix between the KJV and YLT in the above passage. It reads like the YLT, in that it was a fountain in Lehi, not from the jawbone, but like the KJV, it says "Enhakkore," instead of the explanatory "the fountain of him who is calling."

Did God Tell David to Sin?

"Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”" -2 Samuel 24:1 ESV

"And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah." -2 Samuel 24:1 KJV

I've always had a problem with the above passage, because both the ESV and KJV say that God told David to number the people. When David then told Joab, Joab knew it was not what God wanted, and tried to talk David out of it, but David was adamant.

Then, in verse 10 it says:

"And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly." 2 Samuel 24:10 KJV

If God told David to do it, then why did Joab seem to think this was not of God, and why did David, after he did it, repent of it, and call it an iniquity?

If you have a King James Version Bible that has the KJV translators' notes in the center column or margin, then you'll see the following note on "he" in "he moved David" from verse 1, which says:

"Satan.
See 1 Ch. 21.1."

If we follow the KJV Translators' suggestion, and go to 1 Chronicles 21:1, we see that chapter parallels and gives the same account that 2 Samuel 24 does. Verse one of 1 Chronicles 21:1 says:

"And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." - 1 Chronicles 21:1 KJV

So now we see that both 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 are both giving the same account, but 2 Samuel 24:1 says it was God that moved David to sin, while 1 Chronicles 21:1 says it was Satan that moved David to sin. This seems like a contradiction.

The American Standard Bible instead gives us a random pronoun, if "it:"

"Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, 'Go, number Israel and Judah.'" - 2 Samuel 24:1 ASV

Grammatically, the antecedent to "it" in the above passage is 'the anger of the Lord.' Does the anger of the Lord drive people to sin? No, else God wouldn't be God, and he'd be no better than the devil. The ESV and KJV translate this word as "he," referring to God, while the ASV translates it as "it," referring to the Lord's anger. Neither can be right, because neither mesh with 1 Chronicles 21:1, which says "Satan" in the KJV.

Looking at our Scripture in question - 2 Samuel 24:1, the Brenton Septuagint Translation says "Satan," below:

"And the Lord caused his anger to burn forth again in Israel, and Satan stirred up David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Juda." - 2 Samuel 24:1 BST

We see three different views from various translations of 2 Samuel 24:1. We see many saying God incited David to do this evil, or that God's anger incited David to do this evil, or that Satan incited David to do this evil. We know it couldn't have been the anger of God, or God Himself that incited David to sin because of the below:

"Let no one say, being tempted -- `From God I am tempted,' for God is not tempted of evil, and Himself doth tempt no one" -James 1:13 YLT

In fact, when a man of God is in temptation, not only is God not the originator of the temptation, but He helps to make a way out of it for them, so that they may escape the temptation:

"No temptation hath taken you -- except human; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but He will make, with the temptation, also the outlet, for your being able to bear [it]." -1 Corinthians 10:13 YLT

We also know that it wasn't God that incited David to sin, because the parallel account of the exact same event in the KJV Bible says Satan was the one who incited David. Not God.

As we see, most Bible translations, including the KJV, have a contradiction between 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1. The Young's Literal Translation does not have this contradiction, as you can see below:

"And the anger of Jehovah addeth to burn against Israel, and [an adversary] moveth David about them, saying, `Go, number Israel and Judah.'" -2 Samuel 24:1 YLT

This meshes just fine with 1 Chronicles 21:1, which says:

"And there standeth up an adversary against Israel, and persuadeth David to number Israel" -1 Chronicles 21:1 YLT

Why does the YLT translate "he" as "an adversary," in 2 Samuel 24:1, which most other translations just say "he?" This is because 'he' was added by the translators to try to make the text flow easier. The phrase "and he moved" is from just one Hebrew word, and that word is "cuwth," which means "persuade."

The Hebrew text was unclear on who persuaded David to number Israel, so the translators had the choice of just guessing a pronoun, such as "he," or "it," or they could have cross referenced this passage with the other passage in the Bible that gives the same account, and see what that says. Most translators unfortunately chose to guess a pronoun, rather than dig deeper to find the truth.

Let us now do the better option, which is to look in the Hebrew text for a parallel testimony of the same account. That parallel testimony is 1 Chronicles 21:1. In the Hebrew text there, we see the Hebrew word "cuwth" again, but this time we also see that it says who "cuwth," or persuaded David. It gives us the Hebrew word "satan."

Notice that while the Brenton Septuagint Translation said "Satan," the Young's Literal Translation instead says "an adversary." Why is that? If you do a word search in the YLT for the word "Satan," you'll come up with a big, fat ZERO. The word 'Satan' is not in the YLT. This is because the word "satan" is not a translation from the Hebrew or Greek. The Word "satan" in Hebrew is "satan." It is a word that the KJV, and most other Bible translators left untranslated. The Hebrew word "satan" translates into the English word "adversary." 'Satan' literally means 'Adversary.'

This is similar in the Greek. Where we have the word "satan" in most Bible translations in the New Testament, the Greek word underlying that is "satanas," which means "adversary."

As we see with the ESV, KJV, and most other Bible translations, they wrongly put in the the pronoun of "he," or "it" in 2 Samuel 24:1, which makes the text read that God lead David to sin. However, the YLT translated it correctly, where instead of saying "he," or "it," it says "adversary," which is a direct translation from the Hebrew word "satan," which is gathered from the sister scripture of 1 Chronicles 21:1.

A Burnt Human Offering?

"Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, "If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow." And she said to him, "My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites." So she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions." So he said, "Go." Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year." -Judges 11:29-40 ESV

That looks a lot like he indeed offered up his daughter as a burnt sacrifice, doesn't it? Let's see what the KJV says:

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year." -Judges 11:29-40 KJV

The KJV seems to agree with the ESV. This has never sat right with me. I always felt like I was missing something. See, the Bible does say in the Torah, that under the Old Covenant, oaths were very important,and that you'd better not break an oath you made to God, especially:

"If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." -Numbers 30:2 KJV

But it also says not to burn humans as sacrifices:

"'Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods." -Deuteronomy 12:31 YLT

"And have built the high places of Tophet, That [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come up on My heart." -Jeremiah 7:31 YLT

If Jephthah did indeed vow to burn in a sacrifice whatever came through the door, and it was his daughter and he killed her in as a "burnt offering," then by keeping his vow to God, he broke another law of God, as we see from the above two passages, which are just a sampling from many.

Yet, Jephthah is in the "Faith Hall of Fame" of Hebrews 11:

"And what shall I yet say? for the time will fail me recounting about Gideon, Barak also, and Samson, and Jephthah, David also, and Samuel, and the prophets" -Hebrews 11:32 YLT

See, this has never sat right with me. I've always thought I was missing something. Then God showed me Judges 11:29-40 in the Young's Literal Translation, and it all finally made sense...

"and the Spirit of Jehovah is on Jephthah, and he passeth over Gilead and Manasseh, and passeth over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he hath passed over to the Bene-Ammon. And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand -- then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering.' And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand, and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards -- a very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel. And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter. And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, 'Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back.' And she saith unto him, 'My father -- thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine enemies, on the Bene-Ammon.' And she saith unto her father, 'Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.' And he saith, 'Go;' and he sendeth her away two months, and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her virginity on the hills; and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel: from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year." -Judges 11:29-40 YLT

1) In his vow, Jephthah said "it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering." The word 'or' is translated as 'and' in the ESV and KJV. However, there is no 'or' or 'and' in the Hebrew, here. It's part of a word group that was translated from one Hebrew word. The Hebrew word in question is "`alah," which means 'to go up, ascend, climb." From what I can see, we have two phrases/sections here - A) It shall be the Lord's (it hath been to Jehovah,) and B) I will offer it up as a burnt offering (I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering). Between these two, do we put the word "or," or "and?" Contextually, we see the conjunction "or" is the more accurate choice, as we'll see as we continue on.

2) When Jephthah sees that the first thing that comes through the door is his daughter, the Scritpures then inform us that "save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter." She is his only child. Upon telling her about the oath, she doesn't seem too fearful, as if she was going to die, but instead requests two months to weep for her virginity. Why would her virginity matter if she was just going to die?

3) After the two months of weeping for her virginity with her friends, she returns to Jephthah so that he can fulfill his vow unto the Lord. It then immediatly informs us that "she knew not a man." Again, with the virginity thing. This must be important, because this passage emphasized three times her virginity.

4) After Jephthah kept the vow, we see that yearly, daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah. The YLT says "talk," but the KJV and ESV say "lament." The Hebrew word in question here is "tanah." Tanah means 'to recount, rehearse, tell again.' Tanah only appears in one other place in the Bible, and it is Judges 5:11:

"To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat (tanah) the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel." -Judges 5:11 ESV

"They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse (tanah) the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates." -Judges 5:11 KJV

"By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing water, There they give out (tanah) righteous acts of Jehovah, Righteous acts of His villages in Israel, Then ruled in the gates have the people of Jehovah." -Judges 5:11 YLT

5) Therefore, to clear up the contradiction of Jephthah keeping his vow (good) by burning his daughter as a burnt offering (bad), we can see via the Young's Literal Translation that:

A) Jephthah said in his vow that he'd dedicate what comes through the door to God, or offer it up as a burnt offering - "it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering."

B) If what came through the door were a goat, for example, then offering it up as burnt offering was valid. However what came through was a human being, and it is not valid to offer up a human being as a burnt offering. This is what the worshippers of Moloch, Baal, etc did, which greatly angered God in the Scriptures.

C) Therefore, Jephthah dedicated his daughter to the Lord, fulling his vow of - "it hath been to Jehovah." We see other Scriptural accounts of people dedicating thier offspring to the Lord, such as Samuel:

"and voweth a vow, and saith, `Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'" -1 Sameul 1:11 YLT
and
"for this youth I prayed, and Jehovah doth give to me my petition which I asked of Him and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived -- he is asked for Jehovah;' and he boweth himself there before Jehovah. ... And Samuel is ministering [in] the presence of Jehovah, a youth girt [with] an ephod of linen; and a small upper coat doth his mother make to him, and she hath brought it up to him from time to time, in her coming up with her husband to sacrifice the sacrifice of the time." -1 Samuel 1:27-28 and 2:18-19 YLT

Samuel's mother dedicated Samuel to the Lord, meaning he lived and served in the temple, full time.

We also see that women could do so themselves:

"And there was Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, she was much advanced in days, having lived with an husband seven years from her virginity, and she [is] a widow of about eighty-four years, who did depart not from the temple, with fasts and supplications serving, night and day" -Luke 2:36-37 YLT

Typically, when women were dedicated to the temple, it was of their own volition, as they were usually old and widowed, and wanted to spend the rest of their days serving in the temple of God.

D) In this case, Jephthah dedicated his young, virgin daughter to God, meaning she would serve in the temple of God night and day, and probably live there for her whole life. This is why she bewailed her virginity, and this is why it reminded us that she was Jephthah's only child. Jephthah would not now have a direct heir, nor would he have grandchildren as heirs. This is why he mourned, when he saw it was her who came through the door.

NOTE: This is not some nun, monastary, or monk thing. Serving in the temple was under the Old Covenant, just like tithing was. Tithing and temple serving were to help the Levitical priests, and help maintain the temple. The Levitical priests served full time in the temple, and therefore did not have the time or ability to grow crops or take care of cattle. Therefore, the tithes of 10% of crops and animals to the Levitical priests were so they could eat, etc. Under the New Covenant, we no longer have Levitical priests to support. The New Covenant Temple is the Christian them self. Offerings, however, can go to help support local buildings where some Christians may choose to meet at, if not at one another's homes. While women who served full time in the temple generally appeared to be unmarried or widowed, we see that men, such as Samson, did marry. Why didn't the women in the temple generally marry? I think it is because the woman is supposed to guide the house and take care of the family, and she cannot do that if she is serving full time in a temple.

The Bow

"and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:" -2 Samuel 1:18 ESV

What is "it" above? There is an untranslated Hebrew word in the above in the English Standard Version. "It," is supposed to be "bow," which is from the Hebrew word "qesheth," which means "bow," and is in the text, but skipped by the translators of the ESV.

"(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)" -2 Samuel 1:18 KJV

Notice the ESV ends with a colon for punctuation in the above verse, but the KJV ends in a period and parenthesis. The ESV is more accurate by using a colon, because the part that is written in the book of Jasher begins in the very next verse - verse 19 until the end of the chapter. How is "it," or "the use of the bow" to be taught to the children of Israel, as "written in the book of Jasher," and also written starting in verse 19? Thankfully, the Young's Literal Translation clears this up for us:

"and he saith to teach the sons of Judah `The Bow;' lo, it is written on the book of the Upright:" -2 Samuel 1:18 YLT

First of all, notice the YLT doesn't say "the book of Jasher." It instead says "the book of the Upright." This is because Jasher is directly brought in from the Hebrew yashar. It was basically left untranslated in the ESV and KJV. In the YLT, it gave us the literal translation of yashar, which is "upright." Thus we get "the book of the Upright." Of the 119 times yashar is in the Hebrew text, the KJV only left it untranslated as "Jasher" twice. It's more consistent to translate yashar as upright, rather than sometimes leaving it untranslated.

We also see in the above quoted Young's Literal Translation of 2 Samuel 1:18, that "The Bow" is the name of a song that was taught to the sons of Judah, and was also recorded in a non-canonical book named "The Book of the Upright," which may have been a type of song or hymn book. The confusion left by most modern versions, and also the KJV, is cleared up in reading the YLT. You don't need to try to find the non-canonical "Book of the Upright" in order to read the song "The Bow." It was also recorded in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 1:19-27.

When is the Rapture?

"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." -2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 ESV

Whoa, there are a lot of problems with the above passage in the ESV translation. Just to point out a few things...

1) See where I bolded the word "Lord?" In the Greek, the word there is "Christos," which is the Greek name for Christ. It's supposed to say "the day of Christ," NOT "the day of the of the Lord." If it were 'the day of the Lord,' then the Greek for "Lord" would have been used, which is "kyrios." This means the ESV, and any other Bible version that says "day of the Lord" in this passage is spreading a doctrinal error, or outright lie. Why is this important? Because the Scriptures define the Day of the Lord as Christ's second coming at Armageddon, and the Day of Christ as Rapture. By the ESV chaging Christos (Christ) into Lord, they changed a very important doctrinal phrase!

2) Now look where I bolded the word "rebellion." That is a poor "translation," again changing the actual doctrine. The Greek word underlying that is not 'rebellion,' it's APOSTASY. See, the ESV translation is good for classic Baptist doctrines of pre-trib rapture. This is because to translate Christos into Lord instead of Christ in the above passage covers up the fact that it shows rapture is not pre-trib. Further, Baptist and some other churches teach there is no apostasy, but there is, and it's in this very passage. The Greek word is "apostasia," which literally means apostacy, or falling away.

Thankfully, the KJV is more honest in translating Christos to Christ and Apostasia to falling away:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." -2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 KJV

The rapture is when Christ comes in the clouds and the Christians gather unto Him. In the ratpture His feet do not touch the earth. Instead, Christians are instantly raised to the clouds to Him. The second coming, on the other hand, is when His feet do touch the earth, and he has the raptured Christians coming back with him, to the battle of Armageddon. We are already with Christ at His second coming at the end of the tribulation, but we aren't with Him until we are first gathered together unto Him, via the rapture. The above tells us when the rapture is. Do you see the things that have to happen, first? Before we get into a bit more detail on this, let's see if the YLT agrees more with the ESV or KJV, or if perhaps being more literal, it ends up making more sense...

"And we ask you, brethren, in regard to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him, that ye be not quickly shaken in mind, nor be troubled, neither through spirit, neither through word, neither through letters as through us, as that the day of Christ hath arrived; let not any one deceive you in any manner, because -- if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction, who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God -- [the day doth not come]." -2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 YLT

Here, our literal translation makes it even more clear than the KJV, however the KJV is fairly clear on this, too. Some new Bible translations are translating Christos wrongly as Lord, instead of Christ, and not translating apostasia as falling away or as apostacy, because to translate these words honestly destroys the pre-trib rapture myth.

Let's see what the above is saying. Let's break it down and see the obvious jump right out:

1) This section of Scripture is "in regard to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ." Presence here connotates a future presence, as we see from the next phrase - "of our gathering together unto him." This second phrase also tells us which presence of Christ it is contextually refering to - the rapture. At the rapture, the Christians are gathered together unto Christ. At the day of the Lord - His second coming, the already raptured Christians come back with Christ.

2) Paul is saying that in regards to the rapture, people should not be "quickly shaken in mind," or "troubled," even if they think they received a word from a spirit, or someone tells them, or they receive a letter stating that the rapture is imminent or happened already, that it actually is not imminent, nor did it already happen - "that ye be not quickly shaken in mind, nor be troubled ... as that the day of Christ hath arrived." The day of Christ is synominous with our gathering together unto Christ. It is a biblical term specifically referring to the rapture. This is saying that the rapture is not imminent, so don't be troubled, thinking it is. Some Christians were no longer working to earn wages, or taking care of their crops and cattle, because they thought there was no point because rapture was going to happen at any moment. Other Christians were troubled and concerned about their usaved loved ones, in that they feared they didn't have enough time to get the Gospel to all of them before the rapture.

3) The passage then goes on to tell us "let not any one deceive you in any manner," because people were claiming that they got a word of knowledge, or heard from a spirit, or that they received an apostolic letter, claiming the rapture was imminent. This passage says to not be deceived, because the rapture will not be imminment until some very specific occurances happen first. "let not any one deceive you in any manner, because..."

4) And then it goes on to list the specific occurances that must happen before rapture can be immanent: "If the falling away may not come first" First there must be apostacy - Apostasia - a falling away. And then "the man of sin be revealed." It then goes on to describe the revelaing of this man of sin. He commits what Jesus and Daniel call "the Abomination of Desolation." This Abomination of Desolation is described in Revelation and Daniel where antichrist sits in the temple of God, proclaiming himself God. That is an Abomination. When he goes in to do that, Jerusalem is desolated, as his armies take control. Mark 13 and Matthew 24 calls those in Judea to quickly flee and get out, when this starts happening. "...The son of the destruction, who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God..."

Very few question when during the tribulation the Abomination of Desolation occurs. The timeline is laid out very clearly in both Daniel and Revelation, and it shows that the Abomination of Desolation occurs about in the middle of the 7 year peace deal. This is why some deceptive Bible translations wrongly translate Christos into Lord, instead of Christ, and also why some Bible translations translate Apostasia as rebellion. They are hiding the keys to when the rapture happens, possibly to protect the wrong doctrine of pre-trib rapture.

Looking at the TRUTH, we see that the rapture cannot be imminent until 1) A great apostacy occurs, and then 2) Antichrist is revealed, via the Abomination of Desolation, which occurs about in the middle of the seven years. "let not any one deceive you in any manner, because -- if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction, who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God -- [the day doth not come]" -YLT "for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition..." -KJV

Antichrist will be revealed as Antichrist to the true Christians shortly before the rapture, because we will see him trying to put himself in the place of Christ - anti meaning "in the place of." As soon as we see the apostacy and the Abomination of Desolation, then we'll know that rapture is imminent.

The rapture occurs at the seventh trumpet, which lines up at about the middle of the tribulation:

"lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we -- we shall be changed:" -1 Corinthians 15:51-52 YLT

"but in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he may be about to sound, and the secret of God may be finished, as He did declare to His own servants, to the prophets." -Revelation 10:7 YLT

"and he planteth the tents of his palace between the seas and the holy desirable mountain, and hath come unto his end, and there is no helper to him. `And at that time stand up doth Michael, the great head, who is standing up for the sons of thy people, and there hath been a time of distress, such as hath not been since there hath been a nation till that time, and at that time do thy people escape, every one who is found written in the book. `And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake, some to life age-during, and some to reproaches -- to abhorrence age-during. -Daniel 11:45-12:2 YLT

"And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, `The kingdoms of the world did become [those] of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!' and the twenty and four elders, who before God are sitting upon their thrones, did fall upon their faces, and did bow before God, saying, `We give thanks to Thee, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art coming, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and didst reign; and the nations were angry, and Thine anger did come, and the time of the dead, to be judged, and to give the reward to Thy servants, to the prophets, and to the saints, and to those fearing Thy name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the land.'" -Revelation 11:15-18 YLT

For more, very detailed information on the rapture, tribulation, and the end days, please see my video series, where I go through the whole book of Revelation, verse by verse.

Hellenists, or Grecians?

"Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution." -Acts 6:1 ESV

"And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." -Acts 6:1 KJV

Which is it? Were they Hellenists, or Greeks? Hellenists were Greek-speaking Jews, while Greeks were gentiles. These are two different people groups. The Greek word underlying this is "Hellēnistēs," which is Greek for Hellenists.

Here's the YLT:

"And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration" -Acts 6:1 YLT

Judaizers and Torah Observant Christians

Torah Observant Christians are Scripturally called Judaizers.

"But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”" -Galatians 2:14 ESV

"But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" -Galatians 2:14 KJV

"But when I saw that they are not walking uprightly to the truth of the good news, I said to Peter before all, `If thou, being a Jew, in the manner of the nations dost live, and not in the manner of the Jews, how the nations dost thou compel to Judaize?" -Galatians 2:14 YLT

The phrase "to live as do the Jews" comes from one Greek word, and that word is "ioudaïzō," wich translates in English to "Judaize." I personally prefer how the YLT says "Judaize," rather than the phrase "to live as do the Jews," because that gives us a Scriptural term for today's "Torah Observant," who thinks or often rather teaches, that Christians should keep Torah, and live as do the Jews.

An Epistle Written to a Woman?

"The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth" -2 John 1:1 ESV

"The elder unto the elect

lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth" -2 John 1:1 KJV

Who is this "lady?" Is she symbolic of the Christian church, with her children symbolizing the new congregants of the church? No. This lady is a specific woman, with literal, physical children. Her name, for whatever reason, is not given in many Bible translations, including the above two.

Now let's see what the above passage really, literally says:

"The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth" -2 John 1:1 YLT

Just as John addressed his third Epistle to a specific person, he uses the same type of greeting to a woman named Kyria, in 2 John 1:1

"The Elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth!" -3 John 1:1 YLT

"The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth..." -2 John 1:1a YLT

Clearly, the third epistle of John was addressed to Gaius, and the second epistle of John was addressed to Kyria and her children.

When John wrote this epistle to Kyria, he was actually staying at her sister's house:

"Many things having to write to you, I did not intend through paper and ink, but I hope to come unto you, and speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be full; salute thee do the children of thy choice sister. Amen." -2 John 1:12-13

It's not unusual for a man of God in those times to be given room and board in other people's homes as they traveled from place to place, spreading the Gospel message. We see in 2 Kings 4 where the Shunammite woman gives a room to stay in unto the Prophet Elisha.

It looks like both Kyria and her sister were Christian women in who's homes John the apostle could stay at, when he was preaching in those areas. The Epistle of 2 John doesn't inform us if Kyria or her sister were widows or not, but clearly they had husbands at least at one point, because it mentions both of them having children. The Shunammite woman was not widowed when she had Elisha over to eat, or over to stay in the room she prepared for him. At that time, her husband was alive and well, and often out working in the fields. Elisha's dealings were with her, and not with her husband, because she was the one ministering to him, not her husband.

Thank you to the Young's Literal Translation, we can now clearly see that like the third epistle of John, the second epistle was also written to a specific person - Kyria:

"The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth" -2 John 1:1 YLT

"and now I beseech thee, Kyria, not as writing to thee a new command, but which we had from the beginning, that we may love one another" -2 John 1:5 YLT

In both Testaments, people's names often had meanings. For example, the name John means "Jehovah is a gracious giver." When we say/read the name "John" in the Bible, we see/say "John," not the meaning - "Jehovah is a gracious giver." Kyria also has a meaning. It means "Lord," in the feminine sense, of which in English we might say 'Lady.' Kyria was a very common Greek name.

Here we have another instance where the YLT Bible comes out on top, as being honest and accurate in its translation. There is indeed an epistle written by an apostle to a woman in the canonical Bible.

Is it a Sin to Offend Someone?

Offended by Jesus?

"And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Matthew 11:6 ESV

Offended in Jesus?

"And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Matthew 11:6 KJV

No, it's neither. It's not offended. It's stumbled:

"and happy is he who may not be stumbled in me.'" Matthew 11:6 YLT

The Greek word underlying the above "offended/stumbled" is "skandalizō," which literally means stumble. Skandalizō means 'to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall... to entice to sin."

Matthew 11:6 isn't saying anything about being offended by Jesus, or offended in Jesus, it's saying don't stumble in your Christian walk with Christ.

Were the Pharisees offended?

"Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”" -Matthew 15:12 ESV

"Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?" -Matthew 15:12 KJV

No, they were stumbled:

"Then his disciples having come near, said to him, `Hast thou known that the Pharisees, having heard the word, were stumbled?'" -Matthew 15:12 YLT

The words Jesus spoke to the Pharisees caused them to stumble or get tripped up in their false doctrines.

If you are offended by your right eye, should you pluck it out of your head?

"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." -Matthew 5:29 KJV

No, it's not if you are offended by your right eye, it's if you can't control yourself, and your right eye causes you to stumble in your Christian walk:

"`But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna." -Matthew 5:29 YLT

If you offend someone, are you going to hell?

"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." -Matthew 13:40-42 KJV

No, stumbling blocks are cast into hell:

"`As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age, the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness, and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth." -Matthew 13:40-42 YLT

If eating meat sacrificed to an idol offends a weaker Christian, should you not eat the meat?

"Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." -1 Corinthians 8:13 KJV
and
"It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." -Romans 14:21 KJV

No. A stronger Christian shouldn't eat meat scarified to idols in front of weaker Christians, because it could cause them to stumble in their new Christian walk:

"wherefore, if victuals cause my brother to stumble, I may eat no flesh -- to the age -- that my brother I may not cause to stumble." -1 Corinthians 8:13 YLT
and
"Right [it is] not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to [do anything] in which thy brother doth stumble, or is made to fall, or is weak." -Romans 14:21 YLT

There is not one place in the Bible that says Christians should tiptoe around, and be careful not to offend others. Not one place. In fact, the Bible says this:

"I do fully testify, then, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge living and dead at his manifestation and his reign -- preach the word; be earnest in season, out of season, convict, rebuke, exhort, in all long-suffering and teaching, for there shall be a season when the sound teaching they will not suffer, but according to their own desires to themselves they shall heap up teachers -- itching in the hearing, and indeed, from the truth the hearing they shall turn away, and to the fables they shall be turned aside." -2 Timothy 4:1-4 YLT

The Compartments of Hell

"and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side." -Luke 16:23 ESV

"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." -Luke 16:23 KJV

"and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" -Luke 16:23 YLT

The Scriptures teach three compartments of hell, just as it teaches of the three heavens. Hades is the second compartment - it's also called "outer darkness," or "the pit." It is the torment compartment that all who die without Christ go to, to await the White Throne Judgement.

"The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried" -Luke 16:22 ESV

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried" -Luke 16:22 KJV

"`And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the messengers to the bosom of Abraham -- and the rich man also died, and was buried;" -Luke 16:22 YLT

The first compartment of hell is not a torment compartment, but is known in the Scriptures as "the bosom of Abraham," or "Abraham's bosom." It is also refered to elsewhere in the Scriptures as Paradise, such as in Luke 23:43. This is where those who were godly and followed the ways of God went, before Christ the Messiah came. The paradise compartment is now emptied, as we read in the Scriptures that Christ brought them all to the third heaven.

"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" -Matthew 23:33 ESV

"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" -Matthew 23:33 KJV

"`Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?" -Matthew 23:33 YLT

Gehenna is the third compartment of hell, and is currently empty. This is also referred to in the Bible as "the Lake of Fire." This is where first the beast and false prophet will be cast, and then after the Great White Throne Judgement those who are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will join the false prophet and the beast in Gehenna - the Lake of Fire.

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;" -2 Peter 2:4 ESV

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" -2 Peter 2:4 KJV

"For if God messengers who sinned did not spare, but with chains of thick gloom, having cast [them] down to Tartarus, did deliver [them] to judgment, having been reserved" -2 Peter 2:4 YLT

Tartarus is a holding cell inside the Hades compartment of hell, and is where the fallen angels that took and mated with the human women (see Genesis 6:1-4) are being held, until judgement, when they will then be cast into the Gehenna compartment of hell.

As you can see, the ESV mostly says "hell," while the KJV always says "hell," but the YLT stays with their literal names, which helps us differentiate which compartment certain passages are referring to.

The NKJV does this sometiemes, but is not consistent, just like it is not consistent in always having translated from non-currupted texts. As stated at the begining of this article, the KJV and YLT were both translated from superior texts.

What Type of Rest?

"For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." -Hebrews 4:8-9 KJV

First off, the above is referring to Joshua, not Jesus, as the ESV correctly says:

"For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" -Hebrews 4:8-9 ESV

Notice the KJV says 'there remaineth a rest,' while the ESV says 'there remaineth a Sabbath rest.' 'Sabbath rest' is more accurate, as seen if you read before and after these verses in this chapter; It describes the seventh day rest, etc. The Greek word in question here is "sabbatismos," which means "a keeping sabbath." Therefore, we see that the ESV's "Sabbath rest" is more accurate than just saying "rest."

Once again, the Young's Literal Translation is more accurate:

"for if Joshua had given them rest, He would not concerning another day have spoken after these things; there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God" -Hebrews 4:8-9 YLT

The 'sabbatic rest' here is referring to how under the New Covenant, we enter into God's rest via faith in Christ. A Christian who is in Christ is keeping the Sabbath every day, in Christ, Who takes our burdens when we give them to Him.

Killed for Cursing God and the King?

"And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died." -1 Kings 21:9-13 KJV

"And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones." 1 Kings 21:9-13 ESV

Jezebel did this in order to get Naboth killed so that her husband Ahab could have Naboth's vineyard, because Ahab wanted it, but Naboth wouldn't sell it or trade it. Jezebel hired TWO men of worthlessness/belial to be false witnesses against Naboth, because the Law states that in accusing someone of something, there had to be two or more witnesses:

"`One witness doth not rise against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin which he sinneth; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, is a thing established." -Deuteronomy 19:15

Since Jezebel was trying to have it look like Naboth would be lawfully put to death, he would have to been found guilty of a crime that carried a death penalty. Blaspheming or cursing God and king is an interesting accusation, and it doesn't quite sit right. Perhaps you've noticed this too. This is not what the Scriptures actually say. The word the KJV translates as "blaspheme," and the ESV translates as "cursed" is the Hebrew word "barak," which means "to bless, kneel." Since we see it should literally say "blessed God and king," and not cursed or blasphemed, it brings up another mystery. However, that mystery is solved when we look at the other words in Hebrew. The word both the KJV and ESV translated as King is "Melek," which is the Hebrew word for the false god Melech/Moloch. This mistake is understandable, as Melek means king, just as Baal means lord. Therefore, translators must determine when Melek is referring to a king, or when it is referring to the false god Moloch/Melech. This is determined via the surrounding words and context.

The above quoted Scriptures make much more sense if barak is properly translated as blessed, and Melek is left untranslated as Melek, or is translated to Moloch/Melech. Yet again, the Young's Literal Translation did an excellent job:

"and she writeth in the letters, saying, `Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit at the head of the people, and cause two men -- sons of worthlessness -- to sit over-against him, and they testify of him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and Melech; and they have brought him out, and stoned him, and he dieth.' And the men of his city, the elders and the freemen who are dwelling in his city, do as Jezebel hath sent unto them, as written in the letters that she sent unto them, they have proclaimed a fast, and caused Naboth to sit at the head of the people, and two men -- sons of worthlessness -- come in, and sit over-against him, and the men of worthlessness testify of him, even Naboth, before the people, saying, `Naboth blessed God and Melech;' and they take him out to the outside of the city, and stone him with stones, and he dieth" -1 Kings 21:9-13 YLT

A person who follows the one, true God, but who then whores after the false gods of the land was to get the death penalty under the Torah law:

"When there is found in thy midst, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, a man or a woman who doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah thy God by transgressing His covenant, and he doth go and serve other gods, and doth bow himself to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the host of the heavens, which I have not commanded -- and it hath been declared to thee, and thou hast heard, and hast searched diligently, and lo, truth; the thing is established; this abomination hath been done in Israel -- `Then thou hast brought out that man, or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates -- the man or the woman -- and thou hast stoned them with stones, and they have died." -Deuteronomy 17:2-5 YLT

The death penalty for this isn't carried over under the New Covenant, but Christians are still not to partake of the false gods of the land. This is why Bible believing Christians should clearly understand that they are not supposed to partake in such things as Christmas and Easter.

"`Thou hast no other gods in My presence." Deuteronomy 5:7 YLT

"`And now, fear ye Jehovah, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah; and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which [are] beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.'" -Joshua 24:14-15 YLT

"Ye are not able the cup of the Lord to drink, and the cup of demons; ye are not able of the table of the Lord to partake, and of the table of demons; do we arouse the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than He?" -1 Corinthians 10:21-22 YLT

A Few of Shem's Sons

"Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me." -2 Kings 16:5-7 KJV

Then doth Rezin king of Aram go up, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle, and they lay siege to Ahaz, and they have not been able to fight. At that time hath Rezin king of Aram brought back Elath to Aram, and casteth out the Jews from Elath, and the Aramaeans have come in to Elath, and dwell there unto this day. And Ahaz sendeth messengers unto Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur, saying, `Thy servant and thy son [am] I; come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.'" -2 Kings 16:5-7 YLT

Notice the KJV says "Syria," while the YLT says "Aram." The KJV says "Syrians," while the YLT says "Arameans." The KJV says "Assyria," while the YLT says "Asshur."

Aram was the ancient name for Syria. It was named after Aram, son of Seth. The people of Aram, or the Arameans, generally worshiped the false god Hadad. Thus such king names as Ben-Hadad. - Son of Hadad.

Asshur was the ancient name of Assyria. Asshur was another son of Seth. The land Asshur was named after him, and the peoples of Asshur eventually deemed Asshur a god. Some Asshur names combined the name Asshur, such as Asshurbanipal.

By the YLT keeping with the ancient names of Aram and Asshur, we can more easily see the semetic/shemetic connection of the Syrians and Assyrians with the Israelites.

Anointed or Messiah?

"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying"  -Psalm 2:2  KJV

"Station themselves do kings of the earth, And princes have been united together, Against Jehovah, and against His Messiah:"  -Psalm 2:2 YLT

 A complete reading through all of the second Psalm shows us that this is a prophetic Messianic Psalm, referring to Jesus' second coming at Armageddon.  The YLT does a good job of literally translating the Hebrew mashiyach as Messiah here.

The KJV's translating mashiyach as anointed doesn't tell us that this is talking about the Messiah, but we know it is, as the Messiah in Psalm chapter two is also referred to as the Chosen One (YLT), and Son of God (YLT and KJV).   

Further, we see the word "anointed" in the YLT in verse 6, where the KJV just says "set."  The Hebrew word here, is  nacak, which means 'to pour out, to annoint.'

While one can certainly derive the fact that Psalm 2 is telling us about the second coming of Christ in the KJV, it's blatantly obvious in the YLT.

Age or World?

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  -Romans 12:2 KJV

"And be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for your proving what [is] the will of God -- the good, and acceptable, and perfect."  -Romans 12:2 YLT

The Hebrew word that the KJV translators translated as "world," and that Young translated as "age," is
aiōn, which is where we get our English word eon.  Aiōn doesn't mean world, it means age, and we see how that makes more sense than world in the above Scripture passage. 

Conclusion

In concluding, I still think the KJV is an excellent translation, and I'm glad I've read it so many times over the years. However, the deeper and deeper I move into the Scriptures, the more I want to delve into even more detail. Unfortunately, some of that detail is lacking in the KJV translation, such as the above section about hell, for example. Further, as I've been reading the YLT, certain problem passages suddenly made sense. We now see Samson did not drink from the bloody jawbone of a donkey, and Jephthah did not kill his daughter in a burnt offering. With my KJV background, I am really ejoying delving into the YLT.

To me, my dream Bible would be a parallel of the YLT and the KJV side by side. I've never seen one in print, but have seen them (and use some) online. I've seen a New Testament parallel like this, but none of the whole Bible. I do hope someone will eventaully come out with one. For the time being, I either read my YLT paralleled with KJV online at BibleGateway, or I just read my YLT text bible, and crack open my KJV whenever I want to see what it says in comparison.

As to which Bible I suggest - I suggest the YLT, but if you struggle with it, then paralell it with the KJV until you get used to it. The YLT has a sometimes Yoda-like word order, which is actually more true to the originals. It also (espcially in the Old Testament) tells of past events in the present tense. This is because that's literally how it is in the originals. When the Hebrews would tell or write a past account, they'd say or write it in the present tense, and the reader/listener was expected to picture it happening as it was happening. This made the truth of the story seem more real to the reader/listener.

While this may at first be confusing, the mind picks up on this rather quickly, and then it's easy to follow along with.

If you are looking for a physical, printed YLT Bible, I personally like this one very much, and it is under 20 dollars, the last I checked.