Psalm 18:29-31 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
29 With your help I can
defeat an army.
If my God is with me, I can climb over enemy walls.
30 God’s way is perfect.
The Lord’s
promise always proves to be true.
He protects those who trust in him.
31 There is no
God except the Lord.
There is no Rock except our God.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
When I began my morning bible study I opened The BibleGateway as always and found the quote of the day. My preferred version is the KJV because it is free of any copyrights and I can use it as much as I like. Secondly it is an archaic English language used intentionally by those writers. That makes me seek for meaning and that is a good thing.
So this morning I settled on the ERV because of two things. One was its simplicity and the second because it quoted the verse in context. Not all versions give translations in context. They leave context to the reader.
There is a tense change. The KJV uses a past perfect tense while the ERV uses a future tense. That seems like such a little thing but King David had history of victory with the Lord. He has a right to declare what God has done with him. Many of us have no right to claim such a victory, at least not on that scale. The fact that we have not does not diminish the power of God to be “that strong buckler” as the KJV puts it.
The ERV focuses on God’s promises because those are true even if our personal history has not experienced it. It is relatable to a wider group of readers. It serves new believers better to focus on God’s promises rather than seeking for personal victories which may not be as obvious to new believers.