Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 191

Practical prayer Part 4

I'm losing count here but I would say hanging around those who are truly sold out and walking in the Spirit and observing those whose prayers seem to be answered frequently helps; with the caveat being that such a person who seems to have answers isn't deluding themselves with a self fulfilling prophecy or being fooled by the enemy getting what they want. Those in touch with God often can discern when prayers are being answered. That fits in also with making sure we don't forget things or thank God for things that happen weeks or months later or longer. From my experience God always answers certain prayers almost immediately and others take time. We shouldn't expect to know the difference; although when we pray the same things over and over it CAN represent perseverance especially when OTHERS are in mind. For ourselves; again my perspective it is needed to actually trust God when in the fire so to speak and constantly be on guard for the enemy to use the same tactics on us. I am sad to say I am not that good in that department; whether it comes to difficult people at work or my own temper and frustration. Dropping my lunch in the garage yesterday when trying to squeeze the garbage cans and car in during a windstorm didn't surprise me. The tsunami of stuff in the house has led me to much wasted time as well. I have said a bad word or two lately which I am not proud of when things like that have happened. Keep me in prayer.

It is encouraging when prayers for decades finally result in salvation of an individual; but we shouldn't hold out our hopes or expectations to be crushed if it doesn't happen. All the souls of God are His ( Ezekiel 18:4). God may be testing our faithfulness as well; we can't lose our faith using another's rejection as a valid reason.

The Lord's prayer is just an outline; fine to say but certainly not all. Jesus spent much time in prayer; and specifically for Peter.

I'll touch on that later.

Practical prayer suggestion #3

The power just went out and back on so attempt #2.

The next suggestion I just came up with in the interum; which I think is important and bears further investigation. That is learning when to share something with other believers and when not to; and of course that can involve our own situation or that of others. The obvious warning here is to avoid discussing ANY issue that is told in confidence OR someone has not made it CLEAR that they don't mind others praying about an issue. There are times of course when a person's life is in danger; but ordinarily there is enough anonymous sites such as this one where needs can be brought up and of course we can pray on our own.

Nonetheless the Lord is present when two or more gather in His Name. (See Matthew 18:19-20). I didn't even realize this related directly to prayer I should have. Insight is valuable from others again possibly to the person being prayed about; but different ways of thinking can be helpful as well.

Suggestion #4 Pray what the Spirit leads you to pray about. Someone ill may have a spiritual issue affecting them; someone who wants something may have other issues that need to be addressed. Again some of this stuff should be on our own time but we should expect that God will chastise everyone He loves. I don't have the guts to pray for God to chastize me but can guarantee 100 percent He will answer that. Maybe some here are up for the challenge..

Suggestion #5 Just realized this; we need to be open to criticism from others in the faith and suggestions. Some things of course are just plain wrong and can be delivered in a very insensitive way. We need if we are to help others to be able to accept correction ourselves.

SUggestion #6 I just thought of this as well but it seems true; don't discount prayers of a new believer. A child like faith often seems to be missing or hidden from those who are seasoned in the faith. BE SOLD OUT NOT OLD

Bennymkje,

This reply is a little late, but I just wanted to thank you for reading my post, and an extra thanks for reading it twice! I am trying to connect what I shared about a bird swooping down to snatch up a mouse by force with the passages you listed but I am unable to do so. Those passages are not what I described. My description was of a bird snatching up a living creature from the earth and carrying it away alive, not carnivorous birds coming down and eating dead bodies off the ground.

I'm sorry if what I posted led you to those passages. I was describing the rapture of the church, not Matthew 24:27-28 or Revelation 19:17-18.



Matthew 24:28 says that wheresoever the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered together. The coming of Christ and all these carcasses were prophesied in Ezekiel 39:17 and all of Chapter 34 of Isaiah. In Revelation 19:17-18, we have the vision of the Supper of God. This is a different kind of supper. It's not the Supper of the Lamb that we believers will partake of after we are raptured.

Thanks again for reading and responding to my post. I do wish to apologize if I caused any misunderstanding. May the Lord continue to bless you and continue to give you a hunger and desire for His word. Blessings!

Practical daily prayers.

This is once again something I am looking for feedback to understand better. The normal or default regimen expected is to have personal requests; then requests for a list of others (usually not more than a half dozen unless devoting to a more lengthy time committment); then a final amen of sorts. Once again praising God and thanking Him is important along with reading scriptures.

I looked at the one in this site in Ecclesiastes about not hastening to anger; that was about all the time I had when some things came up from my dad's lawyer; etc.

This pattern; more or less fits in to group prayer meetings where more occasionally international issues and our nation are prayed for; and in the case of those who I formerly hung out with before moving home there was generous time for prayer for evangelism and people we were trying to reach; sometimes group prayer that lasted a couple hours. When Christians go out multiple times in a week to share their faith such events are needed although it certainly isn't happening enough these days.

I am struck with how often it seems prayers are EXPECTED to be for certain people and certain issues. What I am saying doesn't sound like it is worth discussing putting it that way; let me try to be more specific.

Suggestion #1 Try to give some cursory information in group prayer if there is some person being prayed for that others don't know. Time often doesn't allow that but one of the first things I ask is if the person is a believer.

Suggestion #2 Praying with Godly wisdom. Once we get familiar with a situation or person we have a better idea if there are underlying issues that need to be dealt with. Some things aren't good even if we discern problems that exist to share with others. There are many practical things we can do to help such as visiting other church members or family members in hospitals or delivering a meal; etc. to be the "hands and feet" of Christ.

To be continued.

Prayer: A couple specific examples.

I have 3 times; actually when I have prayed for someone to find a person to marry which was answered. The first time was a missionary that I knew in college who later met someone he married. The next is a person who was rather desperate for prayer on the matter and he met the lady who would be his wife within 2 DAYS of that event; the third is someone who was a wonderful young woman in a former church who dedicates her life to helping immigrants from Guatemala and other countries where she works as well as taking mission trips who found someone a couple years later after I left town and was married last summer.

That being said on that subject I have been wrong in advising who may have seemed to be a good potential person with my friends in the past at least things didn't happen. In the above cases these were prayer request from these individuals; although in the last case I asked if I could pray for the matter.

As my personal situation with my dad now being institutionalized I certainly have had to ask for wisdom. I am glad the one woman there is a Godly person and has accompanied me to see my dad. Today I didn't actually bother my dad in his activity; and since one of the volunteers I know has a phone I get updates (although his call tonight once again about wanting to come home and me taking all his money wasn't much fun). My own understanding is that I'd rather be around someone I know is walking the walk rather than talking the talk than 99 others who may be friendly enough but not potent enough to be a spiritual warrior. This woman I mentioned even though she is the head admission person referred herself as a sister to me and I can be a brother in the faith; and we both want to see our dads come to Christ. The believers there and in the former home health care agency have been answered prayers.

I am going to look at practical prayers for daily devotions in the next posting.

Thank you Steve421 for your well-studied and gracious response. I think this short discussion has helped us to focus a little more on what we often overlook or take for granted in the Word. But as we read God's Word, we ought to take great care in every word given to us, even as Isaiah reminds us in Isaiah 66:5: "Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word..". May we never read or even use God's Word in a light-hearted whimsical manner, but in all seriousness & alertness, listening out for the Spirit of God's Voice applying HIS Message to our hearts & lives. Every blessing brother - I look forward to reading more of what our LORD places on your heart to share.

What is repentance?

When God asks us to repend, He does not simply mean to feel sorry, regret, for something wrong that we have done.

Repentance means a total change in mentality, a total change of mindset, a total change in the way we are thinking. A total change in the way we evaluate things in our life. A total change in behavior.

What seems to be weakness in the eyes of the world, it is power in God's eyes, and what seems to be retreat and loss in the eyes of the world, it is victory in God's eyes.

That is why we must change the way we are thinking. This is what repentance means, a change in mind, a change in the way that we face situations in our life. .

Judas didn't repent. He just felt sorry, he regreted, for what he had done.

Rev.19.17-18 "Fowls in the Mid-heaven"

In order to understand this call from 'the angel standing in the sun' we need follow a dry run that the Spirit has worked into the deliverance of Israel from the land of Egypt. The Spirit always leaves ample evidence to the intent and spiritual significance of what we call ill-advisedly as 'miracles'.

Firstly: seven plagues by the number Seven is to be understood as the Law of the Spirit has had a hand in it. The slain Lamb in the Will of God shall produce the Lamb of God in fulness of time. So the immediate purpose here is the death of the firstborn throughout the land of Egypt. Thus Moses is like a god before Pharaoh and Aaron his prophet."And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet."

The rod of Aaron is in the place of 'the finger of God' or the word of God. "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them."(Exod.7:1-5) To demonstrate 'the word of his power' in the test of wills between the two the rod is the proof. "and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent." The Egyptian magicians did in like manner with their enchantments." For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."(Exod.7.10-12) What was the purpose of this miracle? To glorify the Lord God. Here the angel is calling the fowls in midheaven to eat the flesh of the wicked. Flesh signifies the pride of their nations, everything that they relied upon."Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men."(Ps.9.20). The angel is like the four angel in charge of Euphrates , representing the tabernacle for the sun. (Rev.9.14;Ps.1-4)

I suppose these men should take heed, but, if you don't know God then why would they care. The LORD our God had said three times, not add to the word that I command you nor shall you diminish from it.

Deuteronomy 4:2 Proverbs 30:6 Revelation 22:18

So thank you all who have participated in this discussion. It has somewhat answered my original question of the use of parentheses in our KJV.

My conclusion thus far is that the parentheses were added into the translation to somewhat denote as a commentary by the translators that this section of scripture that was written by the original author is merely a thought added to the original thought.

And in another case; maybe that some of the original words were not Holy Spirit inspired such as in Romans 3:5.

I was so blessed to have chosen the KJV to read when I wanted to know the truth. It was after reading this Holy Scripture that I was completely convinced of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.

And in my study, so far, to compare the KJV and the modern bibles, it is apparent that so much, faithfully, spiritually, and hope and love is lost in the modern bibles. Today it is extremely difficult to find a church that uses the KJV.

We want to save Mormons, JW's and Muslims, I think we need to save modern bible users as well from their lack of understanding.

Again thank you all who participated in this discussion, as we worship in spirit and in truth.

Hi Chris,

I have read other comments of yours and you do have a lot to offer on most subjects, God bless you if the Father has revealed things to you.

On punctuation in our bibles:

As you probably know, there were no punctuation marks of any sort in the original sources, at least not in the majority text. And this subject began as a question of parentheses in the KJV and now italics and brackets have been added.

The King James translators were commissioned to translate the original sources into a word for word English text. Very difficult to translate any language into another. So, they had to adjust, but were completely transparent in doing so.

In my study, italics were first introduced in the original 1611 KJV and explained as words added to the text by the translators to be transparent to the reader that these words were not in the original sources.

In some more modern KJV's, italics were changed to the normal font used in the script and put in brackets [ ].

Parentheses are a completely different topic as far as punctuation. I believe parentheses were introduced into the 1769 KJV and was explained that this was to indicate a thought within a thought of the original author. A good example of this would be Apostle Paul saying (I speak as a man) in Romans 3:5. Would this be part of scripture that is not inspired?

Howbeit, this is a good conversation even to my study to show the perverseness and corruption of the modern bibles, and there are many. The modern bibles do not use italics or brackets but do use the parentheses that are found on the KJV. Interesting, how these men of modern bibles can use the KJV as the standard, (although they will tell you that, either they are just updating the English language or using the older critical text,) but to use parentheses in all the same places shows they are using the KJV as the standard and then change, remove or add their own words. Very dangerous indeed.

'In the same manner'

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." ( Acts 1.9-11)

The testimony of two is true. "two men stood by them in white apparel;/Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." This cloud we see in an earlier vision of Daniel." behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."(Dan.7.10) The same is elaborated by Jude to say it is judgment time. "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,/ To execute judgment upon all" To execute judgment upon all. So Christ comes not by himself but with clouds of witnesses (with so great a cloud of witnesses,-Heb.12.1) (Jude v.15)

" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory."(Mt.25.31) He is not seated on the right hand of the Most High but the throne of his glory.Note here it is not the day of salvation but that of the day of regeneration..

This day is part of the day decreed for the Son (Ps.2.6) Now is the day of salvation is with regards to the divine Will of God who says, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool./The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." (Ps.110-1-2) What we read in Rev.19 is the culmination of it. This rod is to smash the nations to smithereens. It is also called day of the Lord. (Rev.19.14-15)

"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."The army of saints are the clouds, chariots of God.Ps.104.3. This shall be followed by the day of regeneration. Before this there shall be a big clean-up Rev.19.16-17

The Word: Subject Matters

Basic Gospel: They say the Gospel of John is best; certainly it encapsulates well known passages such as John 3:16 and has much to say about Christ's closest Disciple; as well as themes related to Predestination. They say to start with the Gospels and then read Acts and other New Testament writings such as Paul's Epistles when starting off in the faith in particular.

The Law: Probably emphasized more in Reformed Circles; it certainly is a good start to understand God's basic principles such as with the 10 Commandments (check out Deuteronomy and Exodus).

Psalms and Proverbs: These give wisdom and practical examples from David's life along with his failures and God's promises of deliverance. Passages describe ways to be wise about money; and show how God is ever faithful in the lives of His saints.

Prophecy: Probably the last thing common to devotionals although something I started off with heavily.

It is hard to divide scriptures by books; for instance when Psalm 119 talks about the law; Psalm 22 is focused on prophecy; etc. How do we stick with just one subject matter or reading from one chapter of a given book without cross referencing?

I am looking for answers here; I will say that we all should "preach to ourselves" when not actively sharing to remind ourselves of the basic elements of forgiveness and salvation if anything to keep ourselves humble and have grateful hearts for what He has done for us.

Prayer: Basic types

We can look at examples of David as to types of prayers in scripture and of course Christ and the prophets.

Prayer to get us out of dire straits by David; Psalms shows us how we should always praise God and have a heart of thanksgiving when approaching His throne.

How do we handle "impreccatory" prayers today as a Christian related to God judging the wicked? Open for suggestions.

Prayers for others. I usually try to pray what I feel the Lord leads me.

Daily devotionals: How; what and when to read

This is more of a Q and A as it is an area I am (along with a lot of other things) quite weak in. I will start off saying that the Bible is by far the method I use for daily devotionals; rather than something such as the Daily Bread (of which I still have some copies from the early 1980s when I first came to Christ). The Utmost for the Highest or something to that affect by Oswald Chambers was somethng I got to read on an overnight stay at a failed interview years ago and it was what I considered the most convicting study of that sort. i am used to KJV so that is usually what I read; and often on the cell phone right before work as my Bibles have either gotten lost under all the paperwork in my house or I have left them at church or given them away the last few years.

Small print makes it harder for me these days to read as well.

If you ask what I read in the last day or two it was Proverbs where the verse of the day has been; and I went on to the end of the book to chapter 31; then spent a bit of time in the next book Ecclesiastes today. I do everything wrong reading very fast and not spending much time although I am never very energetic in the morning. It would be better I think to spend more in depth study during the evening; which I usually reserve more for weekends. Recently not having to care for my parents which took up much of my free time until last month I have much more time especially ditching the TV.

Prayer is rather infrequent compared to what I'd like; I should find some way to overcome lack of requests on the subject and tend to pray when I feel the Spirit lead except for small group (which I was too late for obsessing on getting my taxes done tonight). I manage to get a thanks to God before every meal; but I'm not where I should be.

So maybe this study is more for me. I am going to dissect scripture readings into broad catagories and attempt that with prayer also.

I've been following this discussion Steve421, and though I have nothing substantial to offer, my own understanding as I read my KJB is: when a word is given in Italics, that word is not in the original manuscripts, but added by the translators to give the sentence/verse meaning in English. One can still assume a meaning without the italicized words, but the translators probably wanted to ensure that the reader was understanding the verse as they themselves did, and not applying our own meaning.

Where a verse (or part thereof) is in parenthesis, again, I don't believe that was ever used in the original language. Therefore, I simply understand their use as given by the translators (in whichever KJB edition that was done), to indicate their belief that the verse in question was deemed as being complementary to the subject matter being dealt with. We see this in John 1:14, John 4:2, Romans 3:8, Ephesians 4:9.10, and others. So, the "thought within a thought" understanding could be seen in these examples, where the parenthesized portions are clearly in the original, but brackets later applied by the translators to give us understanding of what they themselves were reading & working through. So whether brackets are applied or not, it should not make one iota of a difference to the accuracy of the texts, as all of it forms the Word of God. Only the italicized words are the 'extras' that could be read with some care, if one chooses to do so for textual examination purposes.

(1 Timothy Part 5):

1 Timothy 1:13 - Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Who was before a blasphemer. Paul blasphemed God. He was a persecutor. He used to chase down Christians and have them put to death or put in prison. And he says I was injurious: which literally comes from the Greek word that means insulting to the people of God. He says but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Very interesting where Paul says that if a person is a non-believer, they don't know that they have no purpose and are going directly against Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He said on the cross to the Father, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing." Well, they knew that they were having Him crucified. They wanted Him dead. They wanted Him gone.



But what is interesting, in Peter's first message after Pentecost, in Acts Chapter 2, Peter said this Jesus in whom you crucified. He's talking to the very people that had Christ crucified. And he said had you have known who He was, you probably wouldn't have crucified Him. That's why Jesus said Father, they don't really know what they're doing.

They knew what they were doing as far as the activity. But they didn't know that they were taking Messiah and killing Him or killing God's Son. Paul says I was all these things. I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor. I was insulting to God's people. But God had mercy on me because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:14 - And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, and according to the Greek text, it says this grace that was abundant, it produced faith, with faith and love, AGAPE love, and in the Greek, it literally says "This love which is in Christ Jesus." That is to say the AGAPE love is in Christ. It's His love that overflowed onto Paul.

(1 Timothy Part 4):

1 Timothy 1:12 - And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

He says I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me. Literally the Greek word is a participle that means empowering me. The Lord is continuously empowering Paul, enabling him to do whatever it is the Lord wants him to do. It's not his own human effort.

For that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

In 1 Corinthians Chapter 4, Paul says there's one thing that a person must be in order to be in any form of ministry, and that's faithfulness, to people, and to Christ. He says that he counted me faithful, putting me into ministry.

(1 Timothy Part 3):

1 Timothy 1:5 - Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

The word charity is the word AGAPE love. The fulfillment of God's commandment brings you to maturity in God's love. It's not a human love. That is out of a pure heart. That's number one. Out of a good conscience, number two. And thirdly, out of faith unfeigned:

The word feigned means to act. Unfeigned of course means to not act. It's the word hypocrite with the negative in front of it. Hypocrite is actually a word from the Greek social system that named the actors that acted in theater. They're hypocrites. HUPOCRISIS (the word for hypocrite) means to answer according to the script.

Paul says the character of sound doctrine is going to produce maturity in love, it's going to come out of a pure heart, out of a good conscience towards God, and out of a faith that's not an act. It's the real thing!

1 Timothy 1:6 - From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

This phrase "vain jangling" is one Greek word that means empty talk. They've swerved aside from sound doctrine, and they're just into empty babblings that don't mean anything.

1 Timothy 1:10 - For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Whoremongers is the word PORNEA for pornography, meaning a prostitute. For them that defile themselves with mankind, one Greek word that means homosexuality. For menstealers, people who would steal others and sell them as slaves. For liars, for perjured persons, that is those who give false testimony.

And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; The word sound in the Greek is where we get our word hygiene from. It means healthy, whole doctrine, spiritually healthy for a person. It's not laws, and religion, and systems and practices.

(1 Timothy Part 2):

1 Tmothy 1:2 - Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Unto Timothy, and he calls him my own son. Literally in the Greek text it's just my son, my genuine son. That's how he writes it. But he's not a son in the human sense, but he's a son in the faith:

1 Timothy 1:3 - As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

He says as I besought thee, and the word besought is literally the word to encourage. And this tips us off as we study the language of this book that he had to encourage Timothy and sometimes command him to go. It's not that he wasn't willing.

He says according as I encouraged, or besought thee to abide still in Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, in order that you might charge, or command some, that they teach no other doctrine.

Now the phrase "no other doctrine" is all one word in Greek, HETEROSDIDASKALOS. HETEROS means different. ALOS means different of the same kind, and HETEROS means different of a different kind. And so, what Paul is saying is very interesting. It is Paul's way of command and setting up his authority as we see when we go through this.

1 Timothy 1:4 - Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Neither give heed to fables, and that's the Greek word Myths, MUTHOS.

Biblical Greek Perspectives:

(1 Timothy Part 1): Pastoral Instruction. Written to Timothy who was pastoring in Ephesus. Paul presents principles and instructions that should prevail in a local church.

1 Timothy 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

It starts out saying Paul, an apostle. Now here he is, he's known Timothy for 15 to 20 years, and he puts his apostolic title on the book, like he has to show Timothy his authority, which he doesn't have to do. But Paul puts his title so that when Timothy ministers in the church and puts the church in order and someone challenges him, he can say this is not from me, but this is from God to the apostle Paul to us.

And he can prove that the apostle Paul gave him the instructions to do what he's doing. I think that's very important to understand.

But please notice what it says:

By the commandment of God our Saviour. More than in any other places of scripture, Paul, in talking to Timothy about proper doctrine, always calls Jesus God. God is our Savior! Then he says and Lord Jesus Christ, who is our hope;

The bible says in Romans 8 that God has created all things to be without hope. Things are constantly changing, constantly unstable, and people can't find satisfaction, and people can't find happiness. Well, God planned it that way so that you can only find hope in Jesus Christ!

The Greek word hope, ELPIDZO, doesn't mean hope like a wish. It is a hope of certainty, certain expectation. So, our hope is in Christ. We know for certain He's coming back. But if I die first, I'm going to go into His presence. And that's a hope the world does not have.

Hello GiGi,

Thank you so much for your kind and edifying message!

Hi T-rex,

It appears that the brackets are used later revision rather than using the translators Italics of 1611.

So, it would be one or the other throughout the whole book that we each have, not a mixture of both.

Here is an example of whole verses in parentheses:

From the Textus Receptus (Stephanus 1550)

(As you can see, I could not post the Greek text)

2 Corinthians 6:2

Then I had to translate with Google translate, because I don't read Greek.

6:2 For he says, "In a time of acceptance I have heard you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

As you can see this is the verse from Greek into English, however the wording is slightly different from the KJV.

Why would this verse and many such verses be in parentheses?

Confidence in God's word is important to me and it would benefit many people to know what is the truth in our translations

Grace and peace to all,

Hi, you can ask around but I think italics and brackets are the same, just presentation style. I've never seen a Bible that has both, have you? Your mention of an entire verse in parenthesis- this is a different from brackets- which verse? If you research I'm sure you'll find a different explanation for that.

Hi T-rex,

I appreciate your input;

Also, I am not thinking anything nefarious or evil here. The King James Bible is a very special book and is the preserved perfect word of GOD.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

However, let me be more precise and articulate in my quest for an answer to why are parentheses are in the KJV.

Italics and parentheses are two different things.

The examples that you provided, are in brackets, and in my KJV, they are in Italics;

So far, my study on this topic... Italics were first used in the original printing in 1611 AD by the translators to indicate words that were not in the original sources. But parentheses were not used.

I think by the final edition of the KJV in 1769 were parentheses used.

However, whole verses are in parentheses where the verse IS in the original sources.

So my question is...why the parentheses?

Giannis,

Thank you for the thoughtful reply.

Hi GiGi

I think that we all become Pharisees quite often. Aren't we Pharisees when we point out our brother's fault and judge them?Even gossip them? Why do we do that? Because we forget that we all do mistakes, maybe not the same but different mistakes. And if God were strict with us He would had already sent us to hell. So we feel free to judge others. But who's given us the right to judge that other person when at the same time we are in the same position of being under judgement? All that has to do with humility. A humble person always justifies their brother and judge strictly themselves. A prideful person always justifies themselves and judge strictly the others. And when I judge my brother and put the guilt on them (if something happened between us) and not on me, then this means that I dont repent. I always consider that the fault is the other person's fault, not mine. And I forget that I stand infront of God through His grace, not due to my good character. So does my brother.

And this is lack of love as well.. We can all see our brothers' fault, can't we? But if we put the lens of judgement in our eyes instead of the lens of love, then we actually see the mistake but with the intention to judge. In the opposite case we see again the same mistake but with the intention to help. So it is a matter of heart.

"Father forgive them because they don't know what they do", Jesus said on the cross. Question: Didn't they actually know what they were doing to Jesus? Of course they knew. They were nailing an innocent person on the cross. So why did Jesus say that? Because He wanted to justify His enemies, not judge them. This is what love is. And this is what humility is. God humbled Himself, He put Himself in a position lower than His creation. Why? Because He wanted to attract us through His love, not through fear and strict justice. These are Jesus' footprints for us to follow. Humble christians attract the grace of God. as well as love from their brothers and God.

Hello sir, from your words it sounds like you already decided what you believe before you look into it. You say interpreters added their own thoughts in italics and I wonder where does such an assumption come from? Sometimes articles like "the" or "a" are needed to complete the translation and they indicate that with brackets or italics. The fact that its being presented in the first place shows more transparency. Other Bibles don't indicate that. There is no word-for-word language translation, you end up missing words and would be incomplete and grammatically incorrect sentences. You can even do a Google Translate of basic words and you might input 4 words and get 3 words back, or vice versa. It doesn't mean there's a grand conspiracy to deceive you and it doesn't mean the devil is behind it. I would suggest studying any foreign language and you will learn more about how translations occur. I looked at the FAQ and saw this below. You can see in the examples "that" was used to complete the translation which is just following English rules, or "it was". I don't think the devil is behind a big conspiracy to make it grammatically correct and clear to readers. The fact that the translators were this transparent shows how careful and forthcoming they were. Also, all of this can be checked anytime against the original Greek/Hebrew so its not like anyone is able to get away with sneaking extra words in.

Q: What do the words in italics or [brackets] mean?

A: These are words the translators added from the Hebrew and Greek to make the English complete. It is also seen in italics in some Bibles.

Examples:

Genesis 1:10

And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of

the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.

Proverbs 30:11

[There is] a generation [that] curseth their father, and doth not bless

their mother.

Romans 6:5

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall

be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:

Jesse,

I just reread your post and this passage struck me where fowls in mid-air do just what you describe. "The phrase "caught up together" is the Greek word HARPADZO which means to snatch up by force. It's used for a bird, like an owl that will swoop down and snatch up a mouse. And it's used for the Lord coming and snatching up His people. In fact, it's the same word in Latin (RAPTUS), which is where we get rapture from. It comes from the Latin Vulgate."

Now this passage " And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great."Rev.19.17-18 Jesus also refers "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." (Mt.24.27-28)

Hi Jdtaggart,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post concerning parentheses in the King James Version.

The video suggestions were indeed intriguing, however, it did not reveal the answer to my question;

"Why are there parentheses in the KJV?"

Also, it was suggested to look in the FAQ of this site, Howbeit, the answer is not there.

So, If someone could please give a simple answer with some kind of verification, it would be much appreciated.

God bless as we worship in spirit and the truth.

Role of Numbers

God set man's life on the basis of 120 years. (Gen.6.1) Gospel is tagged by 12 while the law of sin and death is 10. The Decalogue for example. Whereas man who is blessed in the Son has passed from condemnation. He is under the Law of the Spirit. so 12x12 helps us understand the word of God-'he who has the Son has the Father also. 1 Jn 2.23

The context in which God set the rule points to the war in heaven and the angelic revolt (Rev.12.7-8) They mingled with daughters of men. Thus the number 10 refers to life of man.

Why did God gave the Decalogue when the Law of the Spirit is expressed in sevens and the Gospel in 12? Man is created in our image. So the Word was with God gives us the word becoming flesh. This distinguishes between 12 for the Son of man while 7 is for the Word. This made clear in the multiplying of loaves. Twice Jesus does one in which the 12 baskets of left over and in the second seven baskets are kept as a testimony. The first instance is for God and his testimony is as that the Son. In the second it is as the word became flesh and testimony for the Law or the Word which was God.

While the Word was God, and the Law set seven days in the everlasting Covenant what was the need for the law of sin and death as the basis for the nation of Israel? As Jesus said, " But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."( John 6.36-39)

What does 144 signify?

"and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand," St John sees the Lamb,

God set 12x10 as a rule. "yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Gospel is tagged by the Spirit by 12 while the Law of the Spirit sets 7 as a rule. So judgment on the disobedient is set in seven angels with trumpets and seven vials etc.,

12x10 refers to man's life. For a believer it is 12x12. The reason is simple. He that has the Son has the Father as well. So he who is saved by the gospel of Christ has also the gospel of God. Thus 144 explains the saints redeemed from the earth and set in heavenly places. Correspondingly in our flesh and blood we represent them. 144x1000 explains our volume for the reason mentioned in my earlier post.

Volume of the holy city is 12000x12000x12000 (Rev.21.16) We are all members of the body of Christ.