Days or Years

(Proverbs 10:27 KJV)  The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

There is a contrast in the Hebrew that comes through in the KJV but not in the NASB.  The Hebrew has “days” (3117) [yom] and “years” (8141).  The verbs are opposites.  God “prolongs” (3254) one and the other gets “shortened” (7114a).  “Prolong” literally means “add to”.

This fits well in my observations.  It seems to me that the good things in life take a long time to build and consistent effort.  Raising godly children is a project that seems to go on forever and yet the evil side can come down like a ton of bricks in a moment.  I came to marriage with a really nice ukelele.  I bought it in Hawaii when I was in college on the advice of a friend who knew ukeleles.  I played it for years and let it sit for years but time does good things to a quality musical instrument.  Then one day my young child got hold of it.  It was no longer a ukelele.  It was now good for starting a fire.

So?  Don’t get discouraged when it seems like expectations are not being fulfilled.  It takes time for life to age properly and come together well.  God sees it even when we don’t.  Of course if you prefer pasturized process cheese food to a nicely aged baby Swiss, all bets are off.