The Fastest Boat

It is interesting to compare the design of sailboats for the prestigious America's Cup. The British and Americans used models in a tank to find the best design. The British used a traditional design for one model, and compared proposed boats against this previous winner. The Americans used an open ended approach and just went for the fastest model they could imagine.

The racing boats were built using the results as guides. The British were no slouches, but the Americans won the race. Tradition lost to innovation.

I remember when an old man told me that Easter was in the Bible, in Acts 12:4. He smiled at my incredulous expression.

Later I told an owner of a Bible shop that I had found a flaw in the King James Bible. She checked out this text and said, "Maybe the Jews followed Easter in those days?" Even if they did, the question was, what did the Bible say? I saw the anxiety in her face. The KJV was being challenged.

As with the boat models, many use the King James as an infallible standard to which all other translations are compared. If any deviate from this translation, they are automatically wrong. Now I love my King James. It is the most beautifully written I have ever read. But it does have a cult following who elevate it to the status of infallibility.

I believe in the infallibility of the original sources of the Bible, and this is a trivial deviation from them. But I also believe in other translations, including such as the Living Bible. They open up the Word to so many. I am presently listening to Ezekiel in this version. I find it very helpful and easy to understand.

I have checked out a number of translations pertaining to Acts 12:4. All but the KJV use the word "passover" or "Pesach" in this verse, and even the original text, from which the KJV was translated, says "passover". The beautiful King James will never let you down, but I am certain that Luke, who wrote Acts, knew more than any translator.

Why all the fuss? An old man wishes that people would open up a little. There are other translations of the Word. Some are the only ones that many people can understand.