Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:26–31
Communication is a difficult and complex process, even for people who speak the same language and live at the same time and in the same place. Have you ever said something to a friend or even to your spouse that was taken entirely the wrong way? Suppose, for example, that you intended to ask someone a question on Sunday morning after the worship service, but you forgot. You might send them a text that says, “I meant to ask you something this morning, but I didn’t see you.” You simply mean to communicate that you want to ask a question that you failed to ask earlier, but the receiver might take it as an accusation that he had forsaken the assembly. However we may use them, words play an essential role in communication. We need to be careful both how we use them and how we hear them.
This is especially true when it comes to the Bible. When God chose to communicate His will to mankind, He chose to do so through the medium of words. God has spoken “at various times and in various ways” (Hebrews 1:1). But God did not speak to us in 21st-century American English. He spoke in first-century Greek and in Hebrew that was already centuries old when the New Testament was first penned. If it is easy for us to misunderstand people who share our language and most of our cultural experience, it is even easier to misunderstand the words of the Bible. This is why we must read it carefully and with the understanding that we are far removed from the time and place where it was first written.
Here is one example of a passage that could be misunderstood. In Paul’s final words to the Corinthians at the close of his first letter to them, he says, “I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied” (1 Corinthians 16:17). When you read the phrase “what was lacking on your part,” you might get the idea that Paul is accusing them of letting him down, that they have neglected to assist him in some way, and that someone else had to make up for their shortcoming. But this probably isn’t Paul’s meaning at all. The word translated “lacking” can simply mean to be absent. There was a void that needed to be filled, a need that had to be met. If the brethren from Corinth had been with Paul when the need arose, they would surely have risen to meet it. It isn’t that they were negligent; they simply weren’t there. The ESV accordingly says, “They have made up for your absence.” The NLT has, “They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me.”
As you do your Bible reading this year, read with great care. Compare with other translations when something doesn’t seem clear. And, when in doubt, talk to someone else about the passage you are puzzling over. As you read, remember that these are God’s words, the words of everlasting life.