First and foremost, I want to be extremely clear. I am in no way seeking to undermine your faith in God's Word. Indeed, my primary interest is to help "edify" - to educate and to build up; to help you understand His Word more clearly. I'd like to help you comprehend some of the most significant and important truths in all of Scripture. The Apostle Paul speaks often of the need to "edify" one another; to build one another up on the firm foundation of The Word of God. That's the goal of this website.
In order to do that please allow me to identify some of my own personal experience in relation to our faith. For over 66 years I’ve been taught that “The Bible” is The Word of God. I was raised in a Christian home. I was taught that The Bible was written by men who were inspired by God to put these things in writing as a historical record for the generations that were to follow. Many times I was told these words were “perfect”, “without error”, “infallible” etc. since they were the “inspired Word of God”. I believed that principle, and still do.
However, I have recently
discovered that the bible translations I have used virtually all my life contain
some very serious errors. In
fact, virtually every English “translation” of The Scriptures contains these
same errors. Please notice that I've said some errors. The nature of these errors are not of the kind that would destroy the foundational truths of Scripture. But neither are they insignificant.
These errors are not
due to a lack of inspiration on the part of God, or the men who originally
recorded these words. They are not due to any error on God’s part in any manner
at all. Thus, the solid truths of Scripture continue to be very solid indeed.
The errors I'm referring to are the
result of following the traditions of men. Numerous corruptions have been allowed to creep in
over the thousands of years since The Scriptures were first written down. Many of these
corruptions are very subtle. They have come about because of various political and
religious events and philosophies that impacted the persons who were
responsible for transmitting the information to future generations.
The Masoretes were
among those tasked with preserving the original texts. They were, generally speaking, very serious and very careful about their work. They did, however, make
certain “corrections” (sometimes called “glosses”) to the texts they were
supposed to preserve. They were called “emendations”. It’s a very well known historical fact that they made more than 150 of these alterations to the text.
However, even as they made
these alterations they were careful to make “footnotes” in the margins of the text, so the
original intent would not be lost. Unfortunately, as so often happens, these
“footnotes” did get “lost” in many cases, and we no longer have them in our bibles
to guide us to the correct understandings of the terms. They can be found, but
it takes some fairly serious research to do so.
Our English
“translations” of the bible are obviously not the same as the original
languages in which The Scriptures were written. In part, that’s why they’re called
“translations”. (See Definitions) Many people don't really understand this very basic principle. Martin
Luther and the Wittenberg Press are credited with the move to publish The
Scriptures in the language of the masses, but The Authorized Version, and The
King James Version were the first major translations into English. These did
not appear until approximately 1600 years after The Messiah came to earth. Thus, they were written long after the original manuscripts were established. As with many things, perceptions change and history gets altered over such a period of time.
As you’ll see when
you read the following excerpts, in almost every English translation we have
available to us today, the “translators” of our bibles have
chosen to
replace God’s personal name, YAHWEH, with words that differ from the original
text. (See The Personal Name of God) In most cases they
have used a title, such as "the LORD" or
"GOD" in all capital letters, instead of the personal name of God - YAHWEH.
This is called
substitution, not translation. This is "editing" of the text. And God's personal name has been edited out of your Bible! Perhaps we could call this a new
form of “Replacement Theology”. Whatever it is, it's a direct violation of the ethical and
moral principles of conveying, as nearly as possible, the original concepts,
words, etc., into another language so they can be honestly evaluated on the
basis that they have virtually the same meaning in both languages – the
original, and the one into which a “translation” has been made. This cannot be called "translation". It is, in fact, falsification of The Scriptures. I don't know what else to call it. It is a lie!
God's "name" is not "God"; it is not "The Lord"; it is not "Adonay"; it is not "G-d"; it is not "The Deity". And, it is not what you have been told by many other people who have used his titles in place of His "NAME". His name is YAHWEH. Yet you will not find this name in most of the English translations of The Scriptures available today. It has been removed! This is a most egregious error. It is unconscionable to remove the name, YAHWEH, from The Word of YAHWEH. Scripture is not merely "The Word of God", it is THE WORD OF YAHWEH - to His people. If we fail to identify it as such it becomes possible to miss an astounding wealth of meaning and purpose that is supposed to be found within these very Scriptures. We tend to lose sight of YAHWEH - literally. And the result is confusion and uncertainty. You cannot have faith when you have confusion and uncertainty. They are the very antithesis of each other.
Amazingly, the words
used to “translate” the name of God
are not even close to the original. They are not “transliterations” of the letters,
changing one sound into a similar sound in the new language, either. They are
nothing other than incorrect and improper replacements of the
original terms. They are a perversion of the text.
Below are quotations
from the prefaces and introductions of many of our English “translations” of
The Bible. Most of you will find The Bible you read each day within this list.
Numerous others could be included, but I believe these will be enough to give you the picture you need. Within these prefaces and introductions are
the explanations, the reasonings, of the “translators”, for removing YAHWEH’s
name from our English bibles. Their decisions are clear, though their reasons are difficult to truly comprehend, given their "professions of faithfulness to the original manuscripts." The perversity of all this is almost beyond belief.
I’ve added a bit of emphasis at certain points to draw your attention to the most important aspects of what they've done. You decide if what they've done is correct and/or proper in relation to The Word of YAHWEH.
American Standard
Version - Preface
"I. The change first proposed in the
Appendix --- that which substitutes "Jehovah" for
"LORD" and "GOD"
(printed in small capitals) --- is one which will be unwelcome by many,
because of the frequency and familiarity of the terms displaced. But the American Revisers, after a careful
consideration, were brought to the unanimous conviction that a Jewish
superstition, which regarded the Divine Name as too sacred to be uttered, ought
no longer to dominate in the English or any other version of the Old Testament,
as it fortunately does not in the numerous versions made by modern
missionaries.
This Memorial Name, explained in Ex.
iii. 14,15 and emphasized as such over and over in the original text of the Old
Testament, designates God as the Personal God, as the covenant God, the God
of Revelation, the Deliverer, the Friend of his people; --- not merely the
abstractly "Eternal One" of many French translations, but the ever
living Helper of those who are in trouble. This personal name, with its
wealth of sacred associations, is now restored to the place in the sacred text
to which it has an unquestionable
claim."
This may seem
like a “good thing” at first glance. Unfortunately, it is very well known that
“Jehovah” is a corruption of the name, YAHWEH. There has never been a “J” in
the Hebrew language. Further, there was no “J” in the English language until
the 1500’s. And the letter “J” was originally to be pronounced as a “y” sound
in the transliterations that were originally done into Greek and Latin. (See Letter
“J”, and Jehovah – Wrong
From The Start) Please note the
specifically intentional choices to incorrectly and improperly “translate” The personal name of God as it should appear, YAHWEH!
New American
Standard – Preface, 1963
The proper Name for God: To professing Christians,
whether of conservative or liberal persuasion, the name of God is most
significant and understandably so. It is inconceivable to think of spiritual
matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. Thus the most common name for deity is God, a
translation of the original Elohim. The
normal word for Master is Lord, a rendering of Adonai. There is yet another name which is particularly
assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH.
See Exodus 3 and Isaiah 42.8. This
name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great
sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it was consistently pronounced and
translates LORD. The only exception to this translation of YHWH is when it
occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case
it is regularly translated GOD in order to avoid confusion.
It is known that for many years YHWH has been
transliterated as Yahweh. No
complete certainty attaches to this pronunciation. However, it is felt by
many who are in touch with the laity of our churches that this name conveys
no religious or spiritual overtones. It is strange, uncommon, and without sufficient religious and
devotional background. No amount of scholarly debate can overcome this
deficiency. Hence, it was decided to avoid the use of this name in
the translation proper.
New English
Translation - NET Bible (on-line translation) – Preface
How is the Divine Name translated in
the Old Testament?
The translation of the Divine Name represents special problems for all
English Bibles. The most difficult issue is the handling of the so-called
tetragrammaton, the four consonants which represent the name of God in the Old
Testament. This was rendered traditionally as “Jehovah” in the King James
Version, but it is generally recognized that this represents a combination of
the consonants of the tetragrammaton, יהוה (YHWH), and the vowels from a
completely different Hebrew word, אֲדֹנָי (’adonai, “master”), which were
substituted by the Masoretes so that pronunciation of the Divine Name could be
avoided: Whenever יהוה (YHWH),
appeared in the text, the presence of the vowels from the word אֲדֹנָי (’adonai)
signaled to the reader that the word אֲדֹנָי (’adonai) was to be pronounced
instead.
Today most Old Testament scholars agree that the
vocalization of the Divine Name would originally have been something like Yahweh, and this has become the generally
accepted rendering. The Executive
Steering Committee of the NET Bible spent considerable time discussing
whether or not to employ Yahweh
in the translation. Several Old Testament editors and translators favored
its use, reasoning that because of its use in the lyrics of contemporary
Christian songs and its appearance in Bible study materials, the name Yahweh had gained more general acceptance. In spite of
this, however, the Committee eventually decided to follow the usage of most
English translations and render the Divine Name as “Lord” in small caps. Thus the frequent combination אֶלֹהִים יְהוָה (Yahweh
’elohim) is rendered as Lord God.
Other
combinations like יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת
(Yahweh Tséva’ot), traditionally rendered “Lord of hosts,” have been translated
either as “the Lord who rules over all” or “the Lord who commands armies”
depending on the context. Such instances are typically indicated by a
translators’ note [tn].
New International
Version - Preface
"In regard to the divine name
YHWH, commonly referred to as the
Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English
versions of rendering that name as "LORD" in capital letters to
distinguish it from adonai, another Hebrew word rendered "Lord" for
which small letters are used.
New King James –
Preface
Complete
Equivalence in Translation
Where new translation
has been necessary in the New King James Version, the most complete
representation of the original has been rendered by considering the history of
usage and etymology of words in their contexts. This principle of complete
equivalence seeks to preserve all of the information in the text, while
presenting it in good literary form. Dynamic equivalence, a recent procedure in
Bible translation, commonly results in paraphrasing where a more literal
rendering is needed to reflect a specific and vital sense. For example,
complete equivalence truly renders the original text in expressions such as
"lifted her voice and wept" (Gen. 21:16); "I gave you cleanness
of teeth" (Amos 4:6); "Jesus met them, saying, 'Rejoice!" (Matt.
28:9); and "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?" (John
2:4). Complete equivalence translates fully, in order to provide an English
text that is both accurate and readable.
In keeping with the
principle of complete equivalence, it is the policy to translate interjections
which are commonly omitted in modern language renderings of the Bible. As an
example, the interjection behold,
in the older King James editions, continues to have a place in English usage,
especially in dramatically calling attention to a spectacular scene, or an
event of profound importance such as the Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.
Consequently, behold is retained
for these occasions in the present edition. However, the Hebrew and Greek
originals for this word can be translated variously, depending on the
circumstances in the passage. Therefore, in addition to behold, words such as indeed, look, see, and surely are also rendered to convey the appropriate sense suggested by the
context in each case.
In faithfulness to God and to our
readers, it was deemed appropriate that all participating scholars sign a
statement affirming their belief in the verbal and plenary inspiration of
Scripture, and in the inerrancy of the original autographs. (p. iii)
The
Format
The format of the New
King James Version is designed to enhance the vividness and devotional quality
of the Holy Scriptures:
· Subject headings assist the reader to identify topics
and transitions in the biblical content.
· Words or phrases in italics indicate expressions in the original language which
require clarification by additional English words, as also done throughout the
history of the King James Bible.
· Oblique type in the New Testament indicates a quotation from the Old Testament.
· Poetry is structured as contemporary verse to reflect
the poetic form and beauty of the passage in the original language.
· The covenant name of God was usually translated from the Hebrew as "Lord" or "GOD" (using capital letters as shown) in the King James Old Testament. This tradition is maintained. In the present edition the name is so capitalized whenever the covenant name is quoted in the New Testament from a passage in the Old Testament. (p. iv)
New King James Version - Word study on Exodus 3:15 as found in The New Open
Bible:
Exodus 3 records one of the greatest
revelations in the Old Testament: the personal name of God. (The words translated God in our Bible [El, Elohim, Eloah] are not names, but the standard vocabulary
for the Deity and even for false gods.
God told Moses His plan to use him in
delivering the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and Moses had asked whom He
should tell the people had sent him. God answered Moses: "I AM WHO I
AM." He told Moses to tell them the "I AM" had sent him,
"the LORD God." "I AM" and "LORD" are both
probably derived from the Hebrew verb to be (hayah) because God is the ever-present One,
"the Eternal" (Moffatt translation).
Many people are puzzled that in this
and many other (over six thousand!) passages some Bibles read LORD in all capitals (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NIV), some read
"Jehovah" (ASV, DARBY), and some read "Yahweh" (Jerusalem
Bible). Why such a radical difference? Do the manuscripts vary that much? No,
not at all.
Because the name of God is so important---Jews
devoutly refer to Him as "the Name" (ha Shem)---it is well worth exploring this revelation in
some detail. It is merely a question of a Jewish tradition and how various
Christian Scholars handle that tradition.
In the Ten Commandments, God forbids
taking His name "in vain". That is, we should not bear false witness
in oaths and probably should avoid using profanity, as well. In their great
fear of violating this command, devout Hebrews went beyond the law, and when
they read the Hebrew Scriptures aloud they would read the word Lord (Adonai)
whenever they saw the four letters (YHWH, or traditionally
JHVH in Latin pronunciation) that spelled out God's revealed covenant name. This
was the sacred name by which He had committed Himself to Israel as a nation.
The most ancient copies of the Hebrew
text were written in consonants only.
As the language became less and less
used, scholars (call Masoretes) added little dots and dashes called "vowel
points" to indicate how the text was to be pronounced. Oddly enough,
they put the vowels that go with the word Adonai together with the sacred four letter name (called
"tetragrammaton") to guide the readers to say Adonai aloud in synagogue services.
Jehovah
This is the origin of the name
"Jehovah." It is actually a hybrid name, combining the vowels of Adonai with the consonants of YHWH into JeHoVaH or YeHoWaH
(the "a" of Adonai is
changed for reasons of Hebrew pronunciation). The people who produced this
name were medieval Christian Hebrew Scholars; the Jews never acknowledged such a name. The defense of this Christian hybrid is the same as
the defense of the Jewish avoidance of pronouncing the name---tradition! There are many lovely hymns and paraphrases of the
Psalms that use this name, so it would be a loss to eliminate it from our
Christian vocabulary. The poetical
form of Jehovah is Jah
Yahweh
It is very likely that the name was
pronounced very much like "Yahweh." Comparisons with transliterations of the name into other alphabets from
very ancient times confirm this. The best argument for the spelling is that it
is probably the historically accurate.
However, the RSV's 1952 introduction
explained its reason for rejecting "Yahweh" in the translation. It said that it lacks devotional qualities for English-speaking Christians. It is true that
many names beginning with "Y" seem odd to our culture (all the names in English --- including Jesus---were pronounced with a Y sound, in the original, as in "hallelu-Yah").
LORD
Most recent major English Bibles, dissatisfied
with both Jehovah and Yahweh, have retained the KJV's LORD (the 1901 text read Jehovah.)
Revised English
Bible - Introduction to the Old Testament
The divine name (YHWH in Hebrew characters) was probably pronounced
'Yahweh', but the name was
regarded as ineffable, too sacred to be pronounced. The Massoretes,
therefore, wrote in the vowel signs of the alternative words adonai ('Lord') or elohim ('God') to warn readers to use one of these in
its place. Where the divine name occurs in the Hebrew text, this has
been signalled in The Revised English Bible by using capital letters for 'LORD'
or 'GOD', a widely accepted
practice.
Revised Standard
Version - Preface
"A major departure from the practice
of the American Standard Version is the rendering of the Divine Name, the
"Tetragrammaton." The American Standard Version used the term
"Jehovah"; the King James Version had employed this in four places,
but everywhere else, except in three cases where it was employed as part of a
proper name, used the English word LORD (or in certain cases GOD) printed in
capitals. The present revision returns to the procedure of the King James
Version, which follows the precedent of the ancient Greek and Latin translators
and the long established practice in the reading of the Hebrew scriptures in
the synagogue. While it is almost if not quite certain that the Name was
originally pronounced "Yahweh", this pronunciation was not indicated when the Masoretes added vowel
signs to the consonantal Hebrew text. To the four consonants YHWH of the Name,
which had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, they attached
vowel signs indicating that in its place should be read the Hebrew word Adonai meaning "Lord" (or Elohim meaning "God"). The ancient Greek
translators substituted the word Kyrios (Lord) for the Name. The Vulgate likewise used the Latin word Dominus. The form "Jehovah" is of late medieval
origin; it is a combination of the consonants of the Divine Name and the
vowels attached to it by the Masoretes but belonging to an entirely different
word. The sound of Y is represented by J and the sound of W by V, as in Latin.
For two reasons the Committee has returned to the more familiar usage of the
King James Version: (1) the word "Jehovah" does not accurately
present any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew; and (2) the use of any proper name for the one
and only God, as though there were other gods from whom He had to be
distinguished, was discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is entirely inappropriate for the universal faith of
the Christian Church."
Today's English
Version - Preface
Following an ancient tradition
begun by the first translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) and
followed by the vast majority of English translations, the distinctive
Hebrew name for God (usually transliterated Jehovah or Yahweh), is in this translation represented by
"LORD." When Adonai, normally translated "Lord," occurs
preposed to Yahweh, the
combination is rendered by the phrase "Sovereign LORD."
As you can plainly see from
the notes of the editors and translators of our English bibles, great liberty
has been taken with the precious and holy personal name of God, YAHWEH. In most
cases, the name, YAHWEH, has been removed on
the basis of "the traditions of men". This is terrible “scholarship”! This is perverse
“translation”! This is pure dishonesty – a LIE! And we know very well who the originator of lies is,
don’t we?
The Masoretes were,
for the most part, very dedicated and faithful in their copying of the Hebrew
Scriptures. They're the ones responsible for adding the vowel signs, called
pointings among the Jewish scholars, to the text so the pronunciation of the
language, and its meaning, would thereby be preserved. Sadly, however, when
they came to the name, YAHWEH, they altered the text by inserting
improper vowel pointings so a reader would not “speak” the
name, YAHWEH, but would say "adonai" (lord) instead.
There were reasons
for this; historically verifiable reasons. Laws existed that called for the death of anyone correctly
pronouncing the name, YAHWEH. Part of this was the result of the religious
persecution of the Jews (Yahudim) by the Greeks. Jewish religious practices were often forbidden or severely restricted. Speaking the proper personal name of YAHWEH did have serious consequences during some periods of history, in some cases leading to death by stoning in fact. But the ultimate reasons for removing the name, YAHWEH, ends
up being the traditions of men.
Through the ages, one could say there's been a major "conspiracy" to hide, and/or eliminate, the name
YAHWEH from the text. And this is in direct contrast to what YAHWEH says in His Word. There, within His Word, we
are called to praise, honor, exalt, bless, remember, and proclaim His name – not
His titles, but His personal name.
You’ll have a very
difficult time doing that if you do not know what His personal name is.
The excuse many use for not keeping YAHWEH in the
text is that tradition "requires" its deletion. That’s pure garbage – dung! It's a very poor excuse. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at
what YAHWEH says in His Word about such things. (You'll note that I've replaced the substitutions with the proper translation of the text.)
Gen.
26:25 He built an altar there, and called on the name of YAHWEH,
Ex. 23:13 And in all
things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention
of the name of other gods, neither let
it be heard out of your mouth.
Ex. 33:19
He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the
name of YAHWEH before you.
Ex. 34:5 YAHWEH
descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of
YAHWEH. (6) YAHWEH passed by before him, and proclaimed, “YAHWEH! YAHWEH, a
merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, (7) keeping loving
kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin;
Lev. 18:21 “‘You
shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall
you profane the name of your God: I am YAHWEH.
Lev. 19:12 “‘You
shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am
YAHWEH.
Lev. 24:16 He
who blasphemes the name of YAHWEH, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly
stone him: the foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the
Name, shall be put to death.
(Look up the meaning of
blaspheme in Hebrew and in English.)
Deut. 18:5 For YAHWEH,
your God, has chosen him
out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of YAHWEH, him and his sons for ever.
Deut. 28:9 YAHWEH
will establish you for a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to you. If you shall
keep the commandments of YAHWEH, your God, and walk in His ways, (10) all the
peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of YAHWEH, and they shall be afraid of you.
Deut. 32:3 For I
will proclaim the name of YAHWEH: ascribe greatness to our God.
Josh. 9:8 They
said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and
from where have you come?” (9) They said to him, “From a very far country your
servants have come because of the name of YAHWEH, your God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in
Egypt.”
1Kings 5:5
Behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of YAHWEH, my God, as YAHWEH
spoke to David my father,
saying, Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your room, he shall build the
house for My name.
1Kings 10:1 When
the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of
YAHWEH, she came to
prove him with hard questions.
1Chr. 16:2 When
David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he
blessed the people in the name of YAHWEH.
Ps. 7:17 I
will give thanks to YAHWEH according to His righteousness, and will sing praise
to the name of YAHWEH Most High.
Ps. 20:7 Some
trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of
YAHWEH, our God.
Ps. 102:15 So
the nations will fear the name of YAHWEH; all the kings of the earth your glory.
Ps. 113:1 Praise
Yah! Praise, you servants of YAHWEH, Praise the name of YAHWEH. (2) Blessed be
the name of YAHWEH from this time forth and forevermore.
Note: I
could list many more verses from the Psalms that focus on praise and
thanksgiving to, in, and upon the name, YAHWEH. These should provide enough
evidence from “the songbook of The Temple” to give you the idea.
Is 42:8 I am
YAHWEH, that is My name; and My
glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.
Is. 45:20
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the
nations: they have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and
pray to a god that can’t save. (21) Declare and bring it forth; indeed, let them take counsel
together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t
I, YAHWEH? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior. There is no one besides Me. (22) Look to Me, and be saved, all the
ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is not one other. (23) By Myself have I sworn, the word is
gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Only in YAHWEH, it is said of Me, is righteousness and
strength; even to Him
shall men come; and all those who were incensed against Him shall be
disappointed. (25) In YAHWEH shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and
shall glory.
Rom. 14:11 For
it is written, “‘As I live,’ says YAHWEH, ‘to me every knee will bow; every
tongue will confess to God.’”
Malachi 2:2 If you
will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My
name," Says YAHWEH of
Assemblies, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your
blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.
Ps 105:1 Oh, give
thanks to YAHWEH! Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Ps 116:17- I will
offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of
YAHWEH.
Is 12:4 and in
that day you will say: "Praise YAHWEH, call upon His name; Declare His
deeds among the peoples; make mention that His name is exalted.
Zechariah 13:9 And I
will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is
refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and
I will hear them. I will say, “It
[is] my people.” And they shall say, “Yahweh is my Elohim (God).”
Jer 10:25 Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, who do not know You, and
on the families who do not call on Your name;
Joel 2:32 And it
shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of the YAHWEH
shall be delivered.
Mark 7:9 He said to
them, "All too well you
reject the commandment of YAHWEH, that you may keep your tradition.
Malachi 1:11 For from
the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among
the Gentiles.
1Kings 18:24 And you call
on the name of your god (elohim), and I will call on the name of YAHWEH: and the god (elohim) that answers by fire, let Him
be God (Elohim). And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
Be sure to read the rest
of this story in 1 Kings 18.. You’ll discover, if you’ve forgotten, that the
other ‘god” involved in this controversy was Baal. For your information, Baal,
in Hebrew, means “LORD”! Here’s a little more information related to the story in 1 Kings 18:
From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance:
1168. lAo;Ab Ba{al, bah´-al;
the same as 1167; Baal, a Phoenician deity: —Baal, (plural) Baalim.
1167. lAo;Ab ba{al, bah´-al; from 1166; a master; hence, a
husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter
sense): —+ archer, + babbler, + bird, captain, chief man, + confederate, + have
to do, + dreamer, those to whom it is due, + furious, those that are given to
it, great, + hairy, he that hath it, have, + horseman, husband, lord,
man, + married, master, person, + sworn, they of.
1166. lAo;Db ba{al, baw-al´; a primitive root; to be master;
hence, (as denominative from 1167) to marry: —have dominion (over), be husband, marry(-ried, x wife).
From
the Brown's, Driver, Briggs Lexicon:
01168 Ba`al {bah'-al} the same as 01167;
TWOT - 262a AV - Baal 62, Baalim 18; 80
Baal = "lord"
n pr m
1)
supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites
2) a Reubenite
3) the
son of Jehiel and grandfather of Saul
n pr loc
4) a town of Simeon, probably identical to Baalath-beer
Dare I propose the
unthinkable question? Have the translators of our bibles replaced the name,
YAHWEH, with the name, Baal? Is such
a thing even conceivable? In case you think it’s not, please go back and read
everything you can find about Baal worship in the Old Testament. You'll
discover YAHWEH has much to say about Baal worship. Be sure to look up Baalim
and Baali as well. You really need to know what’s said in relation to these
terms and the role the played in The Temple of YAHWEH.
Now, did you recognize the difference in your perception of the meaning of these verses when you read them with the proper personal name of God, YAHWEH, inserted where it belongs? The Word of YAHWEH has a different "feel" to it. It "feels" right - because it is right. No longer is it merely The Word of "God", it is The Word of YAHWEH, as it was always intended to be.
There are countless
Scriptures that could be quoted here to demonstrate beyond any doubt that the
name of God, YAHWEH, is to be known by his people. Then, with that knowledge,
they have the ability to praise and bless His name. They can worship in His
name, baptize in His name, consecrate in His name, heal in His name, love in
His name, forgive in His name, sing in His name – do all things in His name.
And when this is done, YAHWEH is indeed honored and glorified as His Word declares and
demands. He, alone, is worthy! There is no other “god”. He, alone, is God above
all. He is not honored when we treat His name with disrespect by removing it from our Scriptures.
May all the praise and glory be to the name, YAHWEH - the name above all names!