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1.2.4.3 But people
"worshipped" Jesus and he did not
object
With regard to John 9:38 "Lord. I believe, and he
worshipped him." and Matthew 28:17 "they saw him,
they worshipped him." Please note that the word
translated as "worshipped" in both verses is the
GREEK word "prosekunesan" which is derived from the root
word proskuneo {pros-ku-neh'-o}. The literal meaning of this
word is (and I quote): "to kiss, like a dog licking his
masters hand." This word also has the general meaning of
"bow, crouch, crawl, kneel or prostrate." Please
check the Strong's concordance for the true meaning of this
word. Is the act of kissing someone's hand the same as
worshipping him? Once again, selective translation.
However, the above two verses of John and Matthew are not
the only two verses of the Bible were such selective
translation techniques are employed in order to impress upon
the reader a chosen doctrine. For example, in the "Gospel of
Matthew" the English "translation" records that Jesus was
"worshipped" by Magi that came from the East (2:11); by a
ruler (9:18) , by boat people (14:33), by a Canaanite woman
(15:24), by the mother of the Zebedees (20:20); and by Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary (28:9) to name but a very
few.
Since worshipping any one other than God is a fundamental
sin, therefore, the reader understands that Jesus was God
since he condoned them "worshipping" him. Since Jesus
(pbuh) never once in the whole Bible ever told anyone
"worship me!" (as God Himself does in many places),
therefore, once again, we are told that Jesus was "hinting"
that he wants us to worship him. However, as we can plainly
see, what the author was in fact saying in these verses is
that these people "fell at Jesus' feet," or that
these people "knelt before Jesus."
How then shall we interpret their "kneeling down before
Jesus."? Should we understand that they were "praying" to
him? Far from it! Let us ask the Bible to explain:
"And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted
off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed
herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon
me, my lord, [upon] me [let this] iniquity
[be]: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in
thine audience, and hear the words of thine
handmaid."
1 Samuel 25:23-24
When Abigail "fell before" king David was she
"worshipping" him? Was she "praying" to him? When she
addressed him as "my lord," did she mean that he was her
God?. Similarly,
"Then she went in, and fell at his (Elisha's)
feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son,
and went out."
2 Kings 4:37
"And his (Joseph's) brethren also went and fell down
before his face; and they said, Behold, we [be] thy
servants."
Genesis 50:18
"And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the
king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei
the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come
over Jordan;"
2 Samuel 19:18
"Worship" is one of those English words which carry a
double meaning. The one most popular among most people is
"to pray to." This is the meaning that immediately
springs into everyone's mind when they read this word.
However, "worship" has another meaning. It also means "to
respect," "to reverence," or "to adore" (see for
example Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, tenth
edition). The second meaning is used more frequently in
England than, for example, in the United States. However,
the first remains the most popular and well known meaning in
any English speaking country. Even at that, in Britain it is
not at all uncommon even in this age to find the British
addressing their nobles as "your worship."
What the translators have done when translating these
verse is that they have "technically" translated the word
correctly, however, the true meaning of this word is now
completely lost.
Finally, in order to seal the proof of this matter and to
dispel any lingering doubt that may remain in the reader's
mind, the reader is encouraged to obtain a copy of the "New
English Bible." In it they will find the translations of the
quoted verses to read:
- "bowed to the ground" (2:11);
- "fell at his feet" (14:33);
- "falling prostrate before him" (28:9),
and
- "fell prostrate before him"
(28:17)...etc.
Please also read the translation of these verses in "The
Complete Bible, an American Translation" By Edward Goodspeed
and J. M. Powis Smith where they are once again honestly
translated as:
- "they threw themselves down and did homage to
him" (2:11),
- "fell down before him"(14:33),
- "and they went up to him and clasped his feed and
bowed to the ground before him" (28:9), and
- "bowed down before him"(28:17), etc.
Once again, we remember that such sublime manipulation of
the translation in order to establish with the reader a
chosen doctrine was exposed by God in the noble Qur'an. The
Qur'an says:
"There is among them a party who distort the Scripture
with their tongues that you might think that it is from the
Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture; and they say,
'It is from God,' but it is not from God; and they speak a
lie against God, and [well] they know it!"
The Qur'an, A'al-Umran(3):78
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