THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO ENDINGS - PAST OR PRESENT

I made a book cover out of wrapping paper for my Bible. It’s bright colors and the paper itself is slick and crisp. Every time I open my Bible now it feels like what it really is—a gift. When I open it there’s always new surprises inside.

The Bible I usually use is the King James Version. This week my surprises were some amazing new discoveries as a result of something my friend Paul Norcross taught about this particular Bible.

Did you know that wherever a word in the KJV ends in “eth” the “eth” should be read as “ing?” For me, that made a huge difference in how I understood some familiar verses.

For instance, Matthew 4:4 reads, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” To me it seemed that it referred mostly to things in the past tense, like what was written in the Bible. But when I read it as “every word that is proceeding out of the mouth of God,” that brings everything right into the present for me. Not only would it include what God put in His written Word, but also what He’s continuing to say—the revelation words for things not specifically in the Bible, like “go home a different way, Carolyn.” That got me pretty excited so I decided to look up some other places where there were words ending in “eth.”

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you.” Change that to “He is caring for you.” He is right here caring for me right now. I like that.

Psalm 23 is packed full of “eth” words. “He leadeth me beside the still waters” (vs.2). He is leading me beside still waters. And verse 3, “He restoreth my soul.” As long as it remains “restoreth” I can ask, “When?” But when I read it, “He is restoring my soul,” I know He’s at it right now and that’s thrilling to know. In the same verse, “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness.” But I change it to “He is leading me [right now] in paths of righteousness.” That gives me an extra boost of confidence for the day.

I looked up two more verbs, teacheth and maketh and this was all during my half hour lunch time. It was awesome.

So if you are currently using a King James Version of the Bible, take a look at any action words you can think of that might have an “eth” ending. Like me, I think you’ll get some fresh new surprises at what’s in store for you.

Love, Carolyn

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