GOD'S NAME MISTRANSLATED LORD
God told Moses to use the name, which possibly the children of Israel knew, when God said "YOU ARE TO TELL THE ISRAELITES, 'YAHWEH, THE GOD OF YOUR ANCESTORS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC AND THE GOD OF JACOB, HAS SENT ME TO YOU.' THIS IS MY NAME FOR ALL TIME …" (Ex 3:15 NJ). These words are from the New Jerusalem Bible which is a beautiful translation and it may be the only bible that uses correctly a transliteration "Yahweh" most of the time for the Hebrew word for God's name, which is found over 6,000 times in the Hebrew bible or the Old Testament. Most English bibles claim to translate from the original Hebrew and then use the word Lord in place of the name God says He prefers to be called. The word Lord (Kurios in the Greek) was substituted in the Greek translation, Septuagint, for God's name several hundred years before Jesus walked on earth. Apparently the reason for the substitution is a Jewish manmade religious concern that people may misuse God's name, if they knew how to pronounce it. The word lord is also a valid term of respect for a superior or boss. Both usages are found 1 Samuel 1:15, with the word Lord that is substituted for God's name capitalized in many translations. God restated to Isaiah, "I AM YAHWEH, THAT IS MY NAME" (Isa 42:8 HC). Yes, it is accurate that God said, "YOU SHALL NOT MISUSE OR TAKE IN VAIN THE NAME OF YAHVEH YOUR GOD …" (Ex 20:7 ET) but discouraging misuse by not using it, is an offensive manmade religious practice. Would you prefer for someone you know to call you by your name or call you "boss" or "mister"? We normally show the greatest respect by calling someone by his name, not by substituting a generic name.
The mistranslation of God's name for religious reasons in the Septuagint leads to more confusion as the Septuagint was used as they recorded Jesus life from Hebrew oral tradition to Greek. When they referred to Jesus as sir or master or boss (adon in Hebrew) as a way of showing respect, they used kurios in the Greek which is correctly translated Lord in English. Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1 when answering a question about the Messiah, "HOW IS IT THEN THAT DAVID, SPEAKING BY THE SPIRIT, CALLS HIM `LORD' (adon)? FOR HE SAYS, 'THE LORD (Yahveh) SAID TO MY LORD (adon): 'SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET'" (Mt 22:43-44 NI). The Hebrew transliteration was inserted for clarity. In the parable of the great supper, Jesus used the word "LORD" interchangeably with the word "MASTER" (Lk 14:21 KJ). The confusion of the use of the word "lord" contributed to the manmade doctrine in Christianity where some believe Jesus is not God's son but actually God in the flesh, which would mean Jesus lied when He said, "I AM THE SON OF GOD" (Jn 10:36 KJ). Perhaps a better way is to actually call God "Yahveh" or if you are use to calling Him "Lord God" then the term "Yahveh God" or "Yahveh our God" would also work. Notice in the above transliterations both Yahweh and Yahveh are used. Both are valid transliteration with Yahweh currently being the most popular. If you know God personally and talk to him, it is good to ask God as to the correct transliteration. Privately we can use His name, Yahveh (accent on the "veh"), in our prayers and publically as a follower of Jesus it may be better to use the word God which people will understand as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who has a son named Jesus, rather than the word Lord which is a confusing byproduct of Jewish manmade teachings.
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