What were you thinking?

I talked last week about how important it is to go back to the original languages when reading the Bible. I again want to stress that God can use any translation at different times. In fact, Jesus quoted from the Hebrew text as well as the Septuagint version. The text was a tool.

But one verse in particular is so mistranslated that I want to address it….it has been adopted by many, and the faith movement (which I am not opposed to as a rule) has hijacked the verse to mean something completely out of context. So, what is it?

Proverbs 23:7a For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…

This is often quoted as ‘For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’

To use this verse in this manner is like me telling you the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears like this, “And the first bowl of porridge was too hot.” That does not sound like much of a story, now does it.

The problem is not just that people are taking one sentence out of a parable, but it’s also a terrible translation.

This verse if taken as it is often quoted would make it as though we believe, and we are. I used to believe I was good enough in basketball to play in the NBA. I played, a lot. I realized that not only was I NOT good enough to play in the NBA, I was also not good enough to play on my local high school team. But I really believed! Or maybe it can be taken this way, I also thought I was a nice person. But when I got alone in the secret place with God, I realized I was an idolater, adulterer, murderer, and worse. Just because I think something about myself does NOT make it fact.

But here we are with this verse.

To understand what the verse is saying, first, let’s realize that we’ve taken a half of a sentence out of a three verse parable by Solomon. Here we go.

Proverbs 23:6-8 9 King James— Eat not thou the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: for as he thinketh in his heart so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which though has eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

With all of the “Thee’s and Thou’s” it is hard to understand, especially when we don’t understand Jewish idioms. An evil eye is to be stingy.

Let’s try again with the New King James, it helps a little bit. Proverbs 23:6-8 NKJV Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten you will vomit up, and waste your pleasant words.”

The Proverb is not about manifesting, or faith at all, it’s a story about avoiding stingy people. Stay away from stingy people Solomon says, but we still do not have the full context. In order to understand what the part of the verse that is misused, you need a better translation.

This version of the parable comes from the Jewish Bible, translated by a Jewish man named David Stern. Proverbs 23:6-8 CJB Do not eat the food of a stingy man, don’t desire his delicacies; for he is the kind of man who keeps accounts—’Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but he doesn’t mean it. The little you eat you will vomit up, and your compliments will have been wasted.

The most accurate translation of this ‘as a man thinks’ portion actually just means the man in the parable is keeping record of what you’re eating, and drinking. He is holding what he has spent on you against you. It has nothing to do with the way it has been wrongfully used.

While I believe in positive confession, and keeping our thoughts in line with the Word of God. I also believe this verse has nothing to do with that. We cannot just think something into reality.

It is important to take each verse and review it in context. I am not saying God cannot use things, but often in America we make every verse be a benefit to us, and add onto our Marvel Hero view of ourselves. Be careful, we have one hero, and we are the sheep of his pasture….not super heroes.