Quote:
Originally Posted by Michlow
*Bump*
Anyone want to address this?
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God is slow to anger, meaning He does not immediately blot out His people if they sin. He is long suffering, even with the wicked, otherwise this world would have been burnt toast millennia ago.
God does not get angry like humans tend to do. That is, we often get angry at the slightest things. We get angry when others make simple mistakes with no ill will on their part at all. Yet we get impatient, and angry. It doesn't take much to make the average human angry. Yet God is not like that. He doesn't get angry with us for slight or inconsequential reasons. IF God is angry, it is because there is a serious and valid reason for it.
Now, let's look at the text:
God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry
with the wicked every day.
(
Psa 7:11)
Notice, "with the wicked" is in italics, meaning those words were supplied by the translators, they are not found specifically in the original text. Let's look at a literal translation:
God is a righteous judge, And He is not angry at all times.
(
Psa 7:11, Young's Literal Translation)
Here are some older English translations:
The Lord is a iust iuge, stronge and pacient; whether he is wrooth bi alle daies?
(
Psa 7:12, Wycliff's English translation of the Latin)
God is a rightuous iudge, & God is euer threateninge. Yf men wil not turne, he hath whet his swearde: he hath bent his bowe & made it ready.
(
Psa 7:12, Coverdale's English Translation)
The Lorde is a righteous iudge: and the Lorde is prouoked to anger euery day.
(
Psa 7:11, The Bishop's Bible)
God iudgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God euery day.
(
Psa 7:11, Geneva Bible Translation)
We can see that the Hebrew text is somewhat unclear. It seems that God is angry, yet it is not
clearly stated with whom as it is in the AV. The general idea is that God is a righteous judge who is not to be mocked, that the wicked who persist in their wickedness can expect wrath from heaven for their obstinate sinning.
Let's look at the Greek old testament:
God is a righteous Judge, and strong, and patient, not inflicting vengeance every day.
(
Psa 7:11, Complete Apostles' Bible translation)
God [judge is a just], and strong, and lenient, not [anger bringing on] each day.
(
Psa 7:11, Apostolic Bible Polyglot)
God is a righteous judge, and strong, and patient, not inflicting vengeance every day.
(
Psa 7:11, Brenton's translation)
It seems the Greek text is declaring that God is righteous and patient, NOT constantly full of wrath, like the wrathful deities common in the pagan conceptions of the gods.
Adam Clarke offers an interesting discussion:
God is angry with the wicked every day - The Hebrew for this sentence is the following: ועל זעם בכל יום veel zoem becol yom; which, according to the points, is, And God is angry every day. Our translation seems to have been borrowed from the Chaldee, where the whole verse is as follows: אלהא דינא זכאה ובתקוף רגיז אל רשיעי כל יומא elaha daiyana zaccaah ubithkoph rageiz al reshiey col yoma: “God is a righteous Judge; and in strength he is angry against the wicked every day.”
The Vulgate: Deus Judex justus, fortis, et patiens; numquid irascitur per sinpulos dies? “God is a Judge righteous, strong, and patient; will he be angry every day?”
The Septuagint: Ὁ Θεος Κριτης δικαιος, και ισχυρος, και μακροθυμος, μη οργην επαγων καθ’ ἑκαστην ἡμεραν; “God is a righteous Judge, strong and longsuffering; not bringing forth his anger every day.”
Syriac: “God is the Judge of righteousness; he is not angry every day.”
The Arabic is the same as the Septuagint.
The Aethiopic: “God is a just Judge, and strong and longsuffering; he will not bring forth tribulation daily.”
Coverdale: God is a righteous judge, and Gob is ever threateninge.
King Edward’s Bible by Becke 1549, follows this reading.
Cardmarden: God is a righteous judge, [strong and patient] and God is provoked every day. Cardmarden has borrowed strong and patient from the Vulgate or Septuagint, but as he found nothing in the Hebrew to express them, he put the words in a smaller letter, and included them in brackets. This is followed by the prose version in our Prayer Book.
The Genevan version, printed by Barker, the king’s printer, 1615, translates thus: “God judgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God every day.” On which there is this marginal note: “He doth continually call the wicked to repentance, by some signs of his judgments.” My ancient Scotico - English MS. Psalter only begins with the conclusion of this Psalm.
I have judged it of consequence to trace this verse through all the ancient versions in order to be able to ascertain what is the true reading, where the evidence on one side amounts to a positive affirmation, “God is angry every day;” and, on the other side, to as positive a negation, “He is Not angry every day.” The mass of evidence supports the latter reading. The Chaldee first corrupted the text by making the addition, with the wicked, which our translators have followed, though they have put the words into italics, as not being in the Hebrew text. In the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi there is no various reading on this text.
The true sense may be restored thus: -
אל el, with the vowel point tsere, signifies God: אל al, the same letters, with the point pathach, signifies not. Several of the versions have read it in this way: “God judgeth the righteous, and is Not angry every day.” He is not always chiding, nor is he daily punishing, notwithstanding the continual wickedness of men: hence, the ideas of patience and longsufferiny which several of the versions introduce. Were I to take any of the translations in preference to the above, I should feel most inclined to adopt that of Coverdale.
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