an inheritance
undefiled and unfading
imperishable
Reading my Bible last night I ran across a wonderful rhythm of words in 1 Peter 1:3-4.
I was especially stuck by the line, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Imperishable.
Undefiled.
Unfading.
The simple majesty of that line of words, like a string of Battleships in a column smacked me in the head and said, use these words in tomorrow’s Haiku.
This morning I went looking for the Verse in the Bible Gateway because I wanted to copy and paste the text.
Why type when you can copy and paste.
I am a web guy after all.
But I couldn’t find the passage.
I read through 1 Peter (ONE PETER would say the some folks).
Then read through 2 Peter (TWO PETER would say some folks).
Searched for a 3 Peter even though I knew there wasn’t one but that might be a surprise to some folks.
And read them over again.
Non of the words seemed to echo what I had read the night before.
I grabbed my nightside Bible.
Its a small New Testament I got from the Gideon’s at a street fair in Suwanee, Georgia a couple of summers ago.
I like it as I can hold it right in front of my nose and read without my glasses.
Flipped through the pages to find those words and there they were.
Imperishable, undefiled, and unfading!
Then I remembered.
My wife and I chatted with the Gideons for a bit and told them that we had both worked at Zondervan in Grand Rapids.
I told them that as Zondervan Webmaster, I had helped put the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible online.
And there was the mystery.
I had expressly asked the Gideons if they had an English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible.
The Gideons looked at each other and then said to wait and one feller dug through some boxes and came up with one.
And in the ESV the verse reads: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
In the NIV, the verse reads: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you
Not to be left out, the King James Version reads: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
What one do I like best?
Well I am thinking that a MASTER TRANSLATION might be interesting.
I mean.
Use all the words.
An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, can never perish, spoil or fade, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
Interesting that it works.
Majesty of the words.
Majesty in the words.
No Haiku For You 