So I was doing a Bible study with my new ESV Bible that I got for Christmas and got to Matthew 17:21 and it wasn't there. The scriptures jumped from 20 to 22. What??? I called my sister (who loved my study Bible so much that she got one for herself) to ask her to check out that verse; it was missing from her Bible as well. What the heck??? I hit the panic switch! That Bible was my new favorite. I can't rely on a Bible MISSING scriptures. I was in shock that this Bible that had over 95 contributors to make it, had this big of an error in it. In my panic I began raving that I was going to call someone to get reimbursed for the Bible. Sure enough, my sister jumped on my panic train and added that she was going to burn hers. Ok, hang on a sec. Does every girl come equipped with a panic switch??? I'm laughing too hard to finish this post. My side is hurting.... hahahahahahaha!I was on the phone dialing the makers of the Bible when my sister saw the teeny tiny #4 footnote that read,"Some manuscripts insert verse 21." What the heck?!? I contacted the publisher of my Bible (Crossway) and spoke to a customer service rep explaining what had happened and the panic that I was in because I really loved this Bible. I had the rep laughing pretty hard as she listened to my story, she then explained to me that the scholars (95 contributed) collectively decided to create a literal translation instead of translating ideology and that (while my King James Version does contain verse 21) text had been discovered (Dead Sea Scrolls being part of that) since the King James was printed that suggested verse 21 was not part of the literal translation of the original text. Well, that seems like a reasonable explanation. The beauty of the ESV Bible is that it still includes the scripture, you just have to look in the footnotes for it. That is pretty cool!!! But I gotta say, my sister and I went from 0-60 and back to 0 again in .2 seconds. Wow, this topic is kind of a tough one. The Bible warns to not add or change the God inspired word (see Deut. 4:2 and Rev. 22:18-19)... very confusing. If we are to really believe that the Bible is inerrant, then why did God include a warning? That leads me to believe that there have been additions AND omissions and that my omnipotent God knew there would be and included warnings, sooooo who's to say that the King James is 100% accurate or the ESV? Which one is really the word of God? Apparently I'm not the only one in the dark on this one. I just read an entire thread on the topic and one poster made mention of the book of Jasher. Whoa, what? So I went lookin. Joshua 10:13 AND 2 Samuel 1:18 both reference the book of Jasher. None of my Bibles contain the book of Jasher. Yah, this topic could get pretty sticky.
Ultimately for me, it's about relationship with my God, which is why I read the Bible in the first place (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - ALL scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work). I think this can all be chalked up to everything works for the good for those who love the Lord. It comes down to me and God and whatever anyone else has done or has not done will not blur my focus on my Lord and Savior and the Almighty God who created me. This whole "Bible thing" could be a huge and needless hangup as I experienced today with the panic switch (Sorry Darvina). It was pretty hysterical both figuratively and literally, but ultimately helped to lock in my resolve! I cannot say it any better than this blogger, "Only Jesus is the inerrant word of God!" I like it alot!
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