You Will Need a Dictionary

Proverbs 4:12 (KJV) When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

I must have been reading this verse in a modern translation because today when I read it in the KJV all I could do was scratch my head.  Take another look at it and look at that word which you think says, “straighten”, but it doesn’t.  It’s spelled differently.  If you read this while thinking it reads “straighten”, then it doesn’t make any sense.  But again, that’s not what it says.

So I went to the dictionary, and this word is more in line with our concept of a straitjacket.  The concept behind it can involve getting straight, but it’s more in the concept of confining and keeping within specific boundaries.  The overall point is that if you learn wisdom and allow it to guide you, it will open up your opportunities and your options.

So?  When you read something that doesn’t seem to make any sense, look a little deeper.  God is not the author of confusion, even if the translators sometimes seem a little old-fashioned.