The Biblical Slacker
03/23/2006 23:23 Filed in: Faith & Reason
I recently switched from my trusty New American Standard Bible (which I have been using since 1980!) to the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Whereas the NASB is pretty literal, all the time, the HCSB is literal most of the time; but the translators gave themselves the freedom to be dynamic in their translation when the literal sense would make no sense.
As I've been teaching from the HCSB and reading through it, too, I enjoy its freshness because it is the first Bible I've ever used as my primary translation that is outside the Tyndale tradition. And although sometimes I find it's renderings odd (like "deluge" instead of "flood" in Genesis), I am also delighted when I come across a word or phrase that communicates a biblical meaning in both a new and precise way.
One of these is the HCSB's use of "slacker" for "lazy" (רָפָה/raphah) in Exodus and "sluggard" (עָצֵל/atsel) in Proverbs.
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines slacker as "a person who shirks work or obligation." See if that definition works in these verses:
But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ (Ex 5:8)
But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ (Ex 5:17)
Go to the ant, you slacker!
Observe its ways and become wise. (Prov 6:6)
How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep? (Prov 6:9)
Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand. (Prov 10:26)
The slacker craves, yet has nothing,
but the diligent is fully satisfied. (Prov 13:4)
A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge,
but the path of the upright is a highway. (Prov 15:9)
The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth. (Prov 19:24)
The slacker does not plow during planting season;a
at harvest time he looks,b and there is nothing. (Prov 20:4)
A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work. (Prov 21:25)
The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the streets!" (Prov 22:13)
I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. (Prov 24:30)
The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road—
a lion in the public square!" (Prov 26:13)
A door turns on its hinge,
and a slacker, on his bed. (Prov 26:14)
The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth. (Prov 26:15)
In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser
than seven men who can answer sensibly. (Prov 26:16)
Don't you just love the word "slacker"? What a great word to use in these contexts. You know, when I used to teach high school, I got to use the word "slacker" a lot. Thanks to the HCSB, I'll be able to continue using it!
As I've been teaching from the HCSB and reading through it, too, I enjoy its freshness because it is the first Bible I've ever used as my primary translation that is outside the Tyndale tradition. And although sometimes I find it's renderings odd (like "deluge" instead of "flood" in Genesis), I am also delighted when I come across a word or phrase that communicates a biblical meaning in both a new and precise way.
One of these is the HCSB's use of "slacker" for "lazy" (רָפָה/raphah) in Exodus and "sluggard" (עָצֵל/atsel) in Proverbs.
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines slacker as "a person who shirks work or obligation." See if that definition works in these verses:
But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ (Ex 5:8)
But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ (Ex 5:17)
Go to the ant, you slacker!
Observe its ways and become wise. (Prov 6:6)
How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep? (Prov 6:9)
Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand. (Prov 10:26)
The slacker craves, yet has nothing,
but the diligent is fully satisfied. (Prov 13:4)
A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge,
but the path of the upright is a highway. (Prov 15:9)
The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth. (Prov 19:24)
The slacker does not plow during planting season;a
at harvest time he looks,b and there is nothing. (Prov 20:4)
A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work. (Prov 21:25)
The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the streets!" (Prov 22:13)
I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. (Prov 24:30)
The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road—
a lion in the public square!" (Prov 26:13)
A door turns on its hinge,
and a slacker, on his bed. (Prov 26:14)
The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth. (Prov 26:15)
In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser
than seven men who can answer sensibly. (Prov 26:16)
Don't you just love the word "slacker"? What a great word to use in these contexts. You know, when I used to teach high school, I got to use the word "slacker" a lot. Thanks to the HCSB, I'll be able to continue using it!