The students looked puzzled and they read from their Bibles, He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted.
We then had a lively discussion about the word "bind up" and "comfort" and what their reactions to the imagery those words bring up.
Anyway, being the research info hound type, I had to check it out after the study!
My Mac Sword Bible software at home says the word is "chabash" which is Strong's word number 2280 and so cutting and pasting it straight out from my software ...
2280 chabash khaw-bash' a primitive root; to wrap firmly (especially a turban, compress, or saddle); figuratively, to stop, to rule:--bind (up), gird about, govern, healer, put, saddle, wrap about.Running the search at crosswalk.com it said the word is often translated into the King James as "saddle" with "bind up" being second most common.
Running the search over at Biblegateway.com "bind" is found in the NIV, NASB, KJV, ESV while "heal" is found in the Message and "comfort" is found in the NLT.
So it would seem many of our students have the NLT as their Bibles. Bind appears to be the more literal translation of chabash. Eugene Peterson at the Message interprets that to mean "heal the heartbroken" while the translation team at NLT thought "comfort the brokenhearted" better conveyed the idea of the passage.
The sharing around that word as well as other phrases in that one verse gave a window into the lives of our students as they reacted to the way God is at work. Definitely things to be in prayer for about their lives.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners ...
Lord, in any case, whichever word or phrase we use to describe it, Jesus was not content for us to stay in that broken place and we are to be about participating with him in doing that work in others too! Amen.
1 comment:
I was searching on google for " bind up the broken hearted" and found your blogg.
I have been studing some material for Living Waters and this is a verse they use , the picture is of God ministering healing throught the cross and repairing our broken hearts buy binding the halve or fragment back together , still simplified the transaction off cousre but you study of the word was good stuff.
paul.cormack@gen-i.co.nz
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