What You See is Not What You Have

While studying, meditating on and writing the article, Unseen Hope, I came across a disturbing fact that I thought was worth addressing separately. I’d attempted to include it or make it a part of the Unseen Hope article, but it was difficult to do without changing the original intent of the article, which was to write about biblical hope, and why it’s not a material, perishable or tangible thing. But rather immaterial, spiritual and eternal.

That is, just as the Romans 8:24-25 passage says, “…hope that is seen is not hope.” In essence, biblical hope is spiritual and unseen. Not something we perceive with our natural senses.

So, this is why I decided to write this article — separately. Just in case you didn’t read Unseen Hope yet, or wondering what Romans 8:24-25 is about, the passage says:

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (NKJV)

The disturbing thing I discovered was the rendering of the word see or seen in Romans 8:24-25, in some so-called Bible translations. I discovered that some versions actually replaced the word see or seen with the word has or have. Bibles like the New International Version (NIV), New Living Translation (NLT), Contemporary English Version (CEV), New Century Version (NCV), etc.

For instance, the NIV and the NLT rendered Romans 8:24-25 as follows:

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. — (NIV)

Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently. — (NLT)

But there’s a problem with these ‘translations!’ In fact, this is one of the dangers of using some of these so-called modern day versions of the Bible. In the original Greek the word used was see not have. Therefore, using the word have, instead of see, changes completely the meaning of the passage. Besides, the words see and have are not the same in Greek; or in English for that matter! Not even in the contextual sense of the passage can one interchange see for have. The two words just don’t mean the same!

By the way, the word see in Greek is blepo. It means ‘to see,’ ‘discern,’ ‘to perceive,’ etc. While the word have in Greek is echo. It means ‘to have, i.e. to hold,’ ‘to own,’ ‘to possess’ etc. So, see is see and have is have!

What you see is what you see, and what you have is what you have. But what you see is not what you have! Likewise, what you have is not what you see. Just because you see something doesn’t mean that you have it. And just because you don’t see something doesn’t mean that you don’t have it. Just because I see a Mercedes Benz doesn’t mean that I have a Mercedes Benz. Likewise, just because I don’t see my brain doesn’t mean that I don’t have one (I know some of you would like to argue that)! Even in the spiritual realm, just because I don’t see God or Jesus doesn’t mean that I don’t have a relationship with them!

So, to transpose the word have for the word see is not only careless but misleading. Why am I dwelling on this? It’s to show you how one word can change entirely the meaning of a passage. It is also to show why it’s important that we do due diligence in studying the Word, especially those of us who write, teach or preach the Word! And I can’t say that that’s always the case, even with me.

In fact, in the original final draft of the Unseen Hope article, I didn’t read or study Romans 8:24-25 in several translations or versions. And as a result didn’t notice this anomaly until while working on the pre-release draft, when I decided to read and study the passage in other versions.

So, for those of you who use other versions of the Bible, apart from the standard versions like the King James Version (KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), Revised Standard Version (RSV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), you may want to check your Bible to see how this passage reads. If it has the word have instead of see, that may not be a Bible you want to trust. Why? Because if it’s off once, you never know where else it may be off again.

Should you get a new Bible? Maybe. It’s your call. However, if you like the way your version reads, and would like to keep it, I’d suggest that you at least get another version of the Bible like the KJV, NKJV, RSV, NASB, etc. to be able to compare passages you want to study. Or even cheaper, you can use online resources like Bible Gateway or Cross Walk. To check out passages in different versions.

Now, are the recommended Bible versions flawless, in terms of being word-for-word translations? Of course not! But they are better translations, in that they are more word-for-word translations than the NIV, the NLT, the CEV or the NCV.

Having said that, let me say that the Bible itself is the inerrant (without error) Word of God. The few flaws are manmade, whether consciously or unconsciously. One of the problems with the NIV, the NLT, the CEV and the NCV is that they are more thought-for-thought translations, than they are word-for-word. Even though, the NIV and the NLT attempted to balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought. They still lean more toward thought-for-thought, than they do word-for-word. And the problem with thought-for-thought translations is that they often express the translators’ interpretation rather than the actual word translation. As referenced in the examples above.

Let me also say that the NIV and the NLT may be easier to read than the other standard versions. But what is more important to you? Correctness or readability? Would you rather sacrifice correctness at the altar of readability?

Eventually, the choice is yours.

Regardless, of you what you decide to do, just keep in mind that what you see is not what you have. And what you have is not what you see!

For questions, comments or concerns, send an email to Godsgem@hotmail.com

For more articles by the author, go to: http://www.lordsquill.com

Author: Bode Adeboyejo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Humorous photo captions

Originally posted 2010-02-25 00:02:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter