wisdom & understanding

There is a website I use often: Blue Letter Bible. It is the Bible, online - searchable by phrase, keyword, verse, etc. What I like most about it though, is that you can search in different versions. Say you learned a verse complete with the "thees and thous" when you were in 'grammar school' in a large Hampton Roads city. Then you grew up, re-read it in your NASB/Message parallel Bible that you bought for your small group study, and gathered meaning afresh in the newer translation. Intrigued, you wanted to see other translations, so, VOILA, you turn to BLB and look up about 8 different versions. Plus commentaries - all at your fingertips. And free.

This morning I read Proverbs 24 in my King James Bible. (My other Bible was in the room with Abigail, and not wanting to wake her, I left it!) Right now, I am in need of wisdom - and to a lesser extent, understanding. But the two go hand in hand. The Proverbs are full of admonitions to be wise. Most of it was written by King Solomon, who was one of the wisest men who ever lived. Anyways, after reading in the KJV, I re-read parts of it online in different translations. One verse that I needed to read this morning jumped out at me: Proverbs 24:26. The NIV translation is: "Do not say, “I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did.” Or KJV: "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work."

I'll write more later about why this verse and this passage was important to me. I need to roll it around in my head and "hide it in my heart" today. Right now I have a mad Sugar Baby who wants her Ma to get her out of bed. I invite you to peruse this chapter though, because it has some good applications for all sorts of situations. And besides, who COULDN'T use more wisdom and understanding?!