Be still and know that I am God

Continuing with translation of the PEV

I am very excited to be back into translating more of the PEV. What we do from now on won't be part of the Mini-Bible, but it will be available digitally and in future publications. Susanna has been working on more of Genesis, and checking over it has reminded me how slow Bible translation is! It makes me realise that I often don't understand everything when I read the Bible, but I just move on. Like what does it mean that Abraham’s servant “made the camels kneel down” (Genesis 24:11)? (Apparently it’s how camels lie down, either to rest or be unloaded, so it probably means he let them rest.)

Dave has also been working on some verses from a couple of booklets including a few Psalms. He’s frustrated that he can only think clearly for about 4 hours a day now (he’s 88), but is determined to keep serving while he can! I was looking at his translation of “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), and soon realised that I have always completely misunderstood this verse. It’s in a lot of songs, and I’ve always taken it to mean, ‘Take a breather, focus on God and remember that he is sovereign.’ Apparently, it’s most likely addressing the rebellious nations, and actually means, ‘Stop [fighting]! And acknowledge that I am God.’ It’s still good to take a breather and focus on God, it’s just not what this verse is talking about!

Give thanks that I’ve been able to get back into PEV translation, and pray that we’ll make good progress drafting, checking and testing it with Aboriginal people.