More Love
My
spiritual director shared Zephaniah 3:17 with me last week as we were
entering into a time focused on God. One line caught my attention:
“With his love he will calm all your fears”. I really liked the
idea of this and is sounded new and fresh to me. I didn't remember
that being part of the verse. Why?
Well,
because she read it in the New Living Translation and I was used to
thinking about that verse from an old Bob Fitts chorus:
The
Lord our God is with us
He
is mighty to save.
His
delight is in us
He
renews with His love.
The
Lord gives praise and honour
Taking
all of our shame.
He
rejoices over us with singing.
He
rejoices over us with joy.
(I
suspect that there are a few readers who are singing along with me
now!)
In
the song, the line is translated “He renews with His love”.
While I like that idea too, it got me curious regarding the various
translations. Here are four translations:
New
International Version
“The
LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take
great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but
will rejoice over you with singing."
New
Living Translation
“For
the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will
take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all
your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
English
Standard Version
“The
LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will
rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he
will exult over you with loud singing.”
New
American Standard Bible
"The
LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult
over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over
you with shouts of joy.”
Unlike
most verses, there is a great variety in the translations of the
phrase that I was initially drawn to.
NIV:
“in his love he will no longer rebuke you”
NLT:
“With his love, he will calm all your fears”
ESV:
“he will quiet you by his love”
NASB:
“He will be quiet in His love”
Obviously
there is a range of meaning of the word translated “no longer
rebuke”; “calm” and “quiet”. But can we see them as sides
of the same thing? I think so.
All
of them are grounded in God's love. It
doesn't really matter who is the one being quiet. If it is God, it
is because He is not rebuking but rather just enjoying us. If it is
us, it is because in His presence we are safe and secure. Our fears
are calmed and we are at peace.
I
encourage you to think about which translation speaks most to you right now. I suspect that you may discover an invitation into a way of being
with God that may seem unfamiliar to you. Or maybe you will be open to a new appreciation for the
depths of God's love for you.
I'd
love to hear your thoughts!
In
God's love,
Tracy
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