There are so many quality translations of the Bible to help us read God’s Word profitably, but many people ask me about the origin of each of these translations. I have shared three views of biblical translations below—two serious and one comical way of looking at them.
They only caution I would point out is a translation or paraphrase that is from a single person’s point of view. The Bible itself talks about success that comes from the combined wisdom of counselors, so a single-person paraphrase does open itself up more to the author’s whims than to true scholarship.
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And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which [Stephen] spoke. (Acts 6:10)
Luke the historian doesn’t give us very many details about Stephen, but one common thread is the obvious help the Holy Spirit gave him:
Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people
they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke
all who sat in the council…saw his face as the face of an angel
when they heard these things they were cut to the heart
being full of the Holy Spirit, [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God
Jesus lived this way too. Near the end of His public ministry He said,
“I have never spoken on My own authority or of My own accord or as self-appointed, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me orders concerning what to say and what to tell. And I know that His commandment means eternal life. So whatever I speak, I am saying exactly what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instructions.” (John 12:49-50 AMP)
Jesus said this same Holy Spirit who directed His vocabulary, and Who gave Stephen his irresistible words, would do the same thing for us too. The apostle Paul asked for the Ephesian Christians to pray for him like this, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).
When we are yielded to the Holy Spirit we can say with assurance…
A mark of a godly leader is his irresistible, Spirit-led vocabulary.
This is part 60 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
Craig T. Owens 