God, Bless America!

God, Bless America!
denniswretlind.blogspot.com 

Recently I published the previous blog on my Facebook page (Sound the Alarm!) decrying America’s designation that the month of June 2023 is now the “Pride Month” celebrating what God declares in the Bible to be sinful, abominable and worthy of His judgment. This follow up article focuses on the national and cultural aspects of this designation from Proverbs 14:34. This Proverb is both familiar and unfamiliar, and both will be evident in this posting.

Proverbs 14:34 in most English translations show a two-line poetic verse illustrating the poetic device of “double entendre” (amphibologia). This is a figure of speech wherein one word has two meanings and where both used in a passage (Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, 804). If, however, this figurative expression is not recognized, the proverb only has a negative application since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).                

Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people. (NASB)

 

Actually, this verse is a three-line proverb, and a positive and exciting application is drawn from line 3 which is “invisible” unless amphibologia is seen and interpreted poetically.

The words translated sin (חַטָּאת ) and reproach (חֶסֶד) each has primary and secondary meanings (whether these meanings are based on the same or different Hebrew roots which is immaterial since the spellings and pronunciations are the same). The first word means both (a) sin, the primary meaning, and (b) sin-offering, the secondary meaning. The second word denotes both (a) lovingkindness/faithfulness/goodness/graciousness, the primary meanings, and (b) shame/disgrace/reproach, the secondary meanings. Given these lexical facts the verse can be translated in four different ways, beginning with the primary denotations then the secondary followed by two alternate readings (The lexica and translations use different words which are simplified in the following translations leaving off line 1 since it does not vary.)

1 Primary meanings — but sin is lovingkindness for people.
2 Secondary meanings — but the sin-offering is a shame for people.
3 Alternating meanings — but sin is a shame for people.
4 Alternating meanings — but the sin-offering is lovingkindness for people.

 

Of these four possible readings, only 3 and 4 make sense.

 

The problem with this verse is that the reader of the English Bible does not know that the words have these different denotations and complete interpretation depends upon these word variations. One familiar with the Hebrew vocabulary or can use the Hebrew language aids and see the Hebrew text, can see the “invisible.” Initially one reads the verse as seen in translation (1) using the primary denotations. Then, when this produces nonsense he may try translation (2) using the secondary significances with the same result. Finally, varying the primary and secondary meanings, he uncovers the translation seen in most English versions (3), the primary followed by the secondary meaning, and (4), the secondary meaning followed by the primary meaning, both of which make sense. However, since translation (3) makes the verse a negative proverb—America and its citizens sin and only experience varying degrees of shame. But when one retranslates the passage as seen in (4) a startling truth becomes visible. Although America and its citizens are sinful, God has provided the possibility of the sin-offering, whereby the nation and its people can establish or renew a right relationship with God and experience the righteousness highlighted in the first line of the verse!

The full three-line proverb reads:

Righteousness exalts a nation,
and sin is a disgrace to any people,
but the sin-offering is lovingkindness for people.

What a marvelous Old Testament proverb with its “invisible” 3rd line application! The grace of God showed forth His lovingkindness by providing the sin-offering, Jesus Christ, so that people might be rightly related to Him, and this should issue forth in praise and joy. The Old Testament’s system of atonement prefigured the New Testament’s exhibition of the grace of God centered in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice as God’s Sin-Offering (Romans 8:3-4) making it possible for America and Christians to become rightly related to God and possess the indescribable blessings of eternal life!