If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death

“If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;  If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”  (Pro. 24:11-12) 

 

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”  (Ezk. 3:17-18)

 

“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”  (Acts 20:27)

 

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”  (II Tim. 4:2-4)

Yea, hath God said

Genesis 3:1-5

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman,

Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Yea, hath God said – first step is to cast doubt on God’s words, to get you to lay down your shield

Ye shall not surely die – direct contradiction of God’s words

For God doth know – suggesting that there is secret knowledge that God is withholding from you

your eyes shall be opened – suggests that gaining this secret knowledge brings enlightenment

ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil – suggests that gaining knowledge makes you a god and you can decide for yourself what is good and what is evil.

the LORD your God proveth you

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut 13:1-3

much ado about Euodias

I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. (Philippians 4:2 KJB)

The King James Bible (KJB) spells the name as Euodias

Note that Tyndale 1534, Coverdale 1535, Matthew’s bible 1537, the Great bible 1539, the Geneva bible 1560, the Bishops’ bible 1568, Mace N.T., Wesley’s N.T., Haweis N.T., Webster’s 1833, Julia E. Smith Translation 1876, New Life Version 1969, The Living Bible 1971, JB Phillips 1972, Green’s Literal 1993, Wycliffe 2001, A Conservative Version 2005, Jubilee bible 2010, New Matthew Bible 2016, and Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 spell it Euodias same as KJB. [Thank you facebook amigos for help compiling this list]

Remaining modern versions I’ve checked so far spell it Euodia.

The name recorded in the Greek texts is Εὐοδία.  Male names usually end in -ας, -ης, and -ος, but sometimes ancient forms are also used. Female names usually end in -α and -η, though a few end in -ώ with -ου being possible.(w)  Again this is the general rule according to the ever changing understanding of contemporary scholars about Greek language as it was over 2,000 years ago.

Various commentators imply that the KJB translators purposely changed ended the name Euodias with an ‘S’ because they were chauvinist or had agenda to portray the disagreement in Phil 4:2 as between a man and woman. I recently heard a someone use this as an example of how there are mistakes in the KJB.

Can see this bias in this Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2136&t=KJV

There may well be a trend that in Greek where masculine names have an ‘S’ at the end, but that is a generality and not true in every case and the ‘S’ does not always carry forward into other languages.

For example  Ανδρέας is transliterated into Andreas, but the English equivalent is Andrew and the Italian equivalent is “Andrea”, but just because the Italian equivalent ends in ‘a’ doesn’t transform a man into a woman.

Even if it is a general rule in Greek, Euodias is the name in English, not in Greek — and there is no general rule in English that female names cannot end in ‘S’, as a matter of fact there are many female names that end in ‘S’.

To accuse the translators of the AV1611 as having an agenda requires willful ignorance of the many bibles that come before the KJB that translate the name as Euodias including Tyndale 1534, Coverdale 1535, Matthew’s bible 1537, the Great bible 1539, the Geneva bible 1560, the Bishops’ bible 1568.

The translators choice to spell Euodias the same as previous English bibles before them is consistent with the goal of the king’s translators of 1604-1611 to not write a new Bible from scratch:

“Truly, good Christian Reader, we never thought from the beginning that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one; … but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark” (The Translators to the Reader, 1611 KJV, ninth page).

 

If it was truly an agenda on the part of the translators to portray these two as a man and a woman as a way to suppress women, then the translators were woefully inconsistent and ineffective as there are plenty of other verses throughout scripture that elevate the position of women.

Research continues…

Jesus came to divide

Lk 12:51-53 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:  for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Mt 25:32 and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

fear not

Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Ps 121:1-2 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

Ps 56:11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Phlp 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Josh 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

1Pet 5:7-10 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Jn 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jms 1:2-8 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

2Cor 4:16-18 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Isa 40:29-31 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Phlp 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Mt 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

as a brother

Some examples of the term “Brother” used as a title and to refer to brethren in the faith…

Either how canst thou say to thy brotherBrother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. Luke 6:42

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Acts 9:17

And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: Acts 21:20

came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. Acts 22:13

Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. Rom 16:23

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 1 Cor 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: 2 Cor 1:1

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 2 Peter 3:15

 

Titles such as “Father” and “Master” are forbidden (Mt 23:9).  Ministry functions such as apostle were not used as titles (ie: “Paul an apostle” not “the Apostle Paul”).  The only valid title we should hope to be known by among fellow believers is “brother” or “sister”.