Contemplative Bible Reading

James 3:9-10 (American Standard Version)

⁹ Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God:

¹⁰ out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

So are the words from the American Standard Version of the late 19th century. When was the last time you heard the word “therewith?”

This is poetic. The poetry went away in the early 1970s with the New International Version:

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

I find the second version much easier to understand. Then again, I am an engineer – not a poet and not an artist.

Has the move from poetry to plain English chased the poets and artists from the Bible? From the church? Have we kept space in the church for the artists?