Scripture
Church leaders who do their job well deserve to be paid twice as much, especially if they work hard at preaching and teaching.
~I Timothy 5:17, CEV
Quote
If a preacher is doing his job well, you canot pay him too much.
~Don Murphy
I grew up on the King James translation but it is not the English we spoke then or now. It is hard to read and even harder to understand. The newer translation are much easier to read and to understand. The NLT was translated by one hundred and eleven scholars. When I say scholar, I’m not talking about a pastor who writes books or even commentaries. We are not talking about Warren Wiersbe or John MacAuthur. I am talking about men who study scripture and languages for a living. These people are linguist, syntacticians, and semanticist. I sat at a round table with six or so at Woodstock a few years ago and I didn’t open my mouth; I did not want to divulge my ignorance. The slower ones at this table made 34 on their ACT. I only made 32 {16 both times}. Over ONE HUNDRED of these types [including contributions from F.F. Bruce] translated every word of the NLT and there are spots in the NLT where you don’t need a commentary. I am currently reading the CEV which is where I got today’s text…Church leaders who do their job well deserve to be paid twice as much. The CEV makes it clear and understandable and this is why a lot of folks hate modern translations…they are too clear.
The KJV reads…Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. When I first started preaching, there wasn’t a dozen laymen in the SBC that could tell you what this verse meant. We never use the term elder in a Baptist church but the elder was the senior pastor. Dr. Kenneth Taylor translated it…Pastors who do their work well should be paid well and should be highly appreciated, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. You can see what I mean: it is hard to misunderstand or to ignore the clarity of the newer translations. I am convinced that those who cling to the KJV do not want to know the meaning of scripture. You have over one hundred scholars who are willing to work for you but you know so much, you decline their offer. This spells pure ignorance. I tell people all the time, reading and comparing translations will help you more than commentaries. How can I blog the above verse and get away with it? I am retired! So you can accuse me of vanity or greed or whatever: I don’t care. THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH. Some will like, most want!
No extra: I got so tired I couldn’t think.