Psalm 97:10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

אֹהֲבֵי יְהוָה שִׂנְאוּ רָע שֹׁמֵר נַפְשֹׁות חֲסִידָיו מִיַּד רְשָׁעִים

For those of you that do not speak Hebrew, that second verse is also Psalm 97:10. Please note the lack of punctuation. While I do not read Hebrew, I can see that it does not contain English punctuation.

Would the use of periods in verse 10 render a different meaning where a colon and semi-colon are used? In the past I have allowed men to argue their position on scriptures by pointing out the placement of colons and semi-colons in scripture. Is that the right attitude considering such punctuation wasn’t used in the original language?

While I would need a degree in the Hebrew language to translate the original text to another language, I do not need a degree of any sort to understand the spirit of the Word. I do not need to use punctuation to prove a point. (pun intended)

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

I sit before scholars and teachers and preachers and evangelist, but when I listen to them I listen for the Holy Spirit. If you ask me how I can do that, I must say I cannot teach you that. The Holy Spirit speaks through the bible. If we allow our only source of Holy Scripture to be in the form of the speech of men, then we are cutting off the source of speech of the spirit.

Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep

Given without punctuation, without distraction, allowing the word of truth to speak for itself.

Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

I was pondering upon what to write today, thinking on the family of God. Doing a word search on family in the KJV, I found it appeared only one in the New Testament. It appeared 21 times in the NIV. Curious as to why I looked up the Greek used for family in the NIV and found oikos. Its first and primary definition is house or home. Drilling down to other translations looking for family I discovered this definition; the inmates of a house.

I am the type of person who is fascinated by words in The Word. The origins and related meanings of context and experience can be a revelation. I see similarities within the old meanings and how life in Christ plays out today. Are they accidental? Maybe, but interesting to ponder in a setting free from doctrinal constraints.

Consider the behavior of inmates. While they all fall under the constraints of the warden, they form attachments within the prison (house). They feel secure in forming attachments of like thinkers. Christians tend to gravitate to believers who have similar if not the same beliefs. Inmates form gangs within the prison, shielding one another. Christians form denominations like Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and a variety of others even those classified non-denominational.

Ezekiel 47:10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

We fishers of men all cast our nets upon the same water. Our nets catch those of our own kind.

Yet all are inmates of the same house.