Modifiers

(Pro 18:5 KJV)  It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

We need to be careful when we read the translations of more modern times.  I realize that Moffett is not really modern because it comes from the early 1900s, but compared to the King James and Geneva Bible, it is modern.  I guess it would be better to say to be careful of people who tend to paraphrase and look for cool ways of saying things.

We run into that problem in this verse with Moffett. He starts this verse off this way,

“It is not fair to favor the guilty,”

At first, I thought that sounded pretty good, but then I did a little bit of digging.  I did a search in my Bible software on the word “fair”.  It seems that the word is used in the King James only to refer to being attractive or good looking.  I may have missed a place somewhere but that seems to be what’s going on.  The concept of being fair in the sense of balance is not a Biblical concept.   We run into it a lot in our political discussions and with people who want to manipulate our system.  We might run into it in our discussions of theology, or not.

God is not concerned about being fair as we have defined it.  He is concerned about justice, truth, righteousness, and a host of other Biblical concepts rooted in His character.

So?  Make sure that you understand the meaning of words in the Bible when you try to apply them to the teachings of the Bible.