/lit/ - Literature

Book of Tobit.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Just about the only philosophically interesting passage in the Bible.

>>5695666
Did your groin-grabby priest recite that one in latin for you, popish scum?

>>5695658

Sermon on the Mount
basically any thing in the NT
the OT is pretty idiotic and awful. But it had to be done to make way for Jesus

>>5695669

that line is so god fucking tasteful

>>5695658
"holla holla dollah billah watchya gatchya againz me homie?"
Ballahs, Hook 2, Verse 4-5

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

>>5695672

No I read that myself. You know, I get that salvation through works going heretic faggot.

>>5695666
>666

>>5695700
sounds like something an edgy teen would write

>>5695658
Ezekiel 23:20

Every time I wade in the beauty, dunk my head and praise Jesus in my religious ecstasy.

>>5695716
>the earth abideth forever

Lol, it won't, and didn't. I thought Christians used the bible to defend creation

>>5695705

well must I say that's a bad rep i've given the book... I swear it's beautiful

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

(Other translations are fine but 'sounding brass,' 'through a glass darkly,' 'know even as also I am known' are poetically brilliant. Kiekegaard develops this chapter wonderfully in Works of Love)

The one with the bald guy and the bears that ate the kids.

Also, we'll never know being that this is just some English bastardisation.

>>5695809
Since when were there bears in the middle-east?

>>5695814
Dunno mate I didn't write it.

>>5695814
Every animal was. How else do you think koalas got on the arc?

>>5695814
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_brown_bear

Martial mentions Libyan bears in one of his epigrams.

Jeremiah 5:14
"I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them."

"It's a-me, Mario."

Hebrews 12:28

>>5695658
"The fool sayeth in his heart: there is no God; checkmate atheists, lol rekt- you mad brah?"

"Schizo superscript scan the voice imprint only I can hear you. Deserted mansion in my head half-lidded lanterns returning. Sclera scarlet as wall of virgin bombed by flask of bourbon. Can't be certain."

Stefan 2:39

"Jesus wept"

>>5695658
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him

Matthew 27:46

Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 15:34

And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

YEEZUS JUST ROSE AGAIN

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

>>5695795
this
I agree

>>5695658
I always felt that the Babel tower episode has a mystical and poetic resonance to it.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

(Matthew 16:25)

>shall I know even as also I am known

brilliant

>>5697029
>this is what betas actually believe

"Up up up the ziggurat, lickety-split."

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but... you will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."

-- Leviathan, 4:20

>>5697107
>i misattributed it again XD

>>5697107
The Bible speculating that there might not be Gods? I'm done.

Can I also quote my favorite fantasy book?

>>5697139
Leviathan is a book written by Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century, not a book of the Bible, pleb.

>>5697147
Then why the fuck is it in a /thread about the bible, tool?

this

>>5697151
because people on 4chan are faggots

>>5695722

How is your autism going on?

>>5697089
>he doesn't understand the line

>>5695669
would you like to read the vomit-worthy version from the new living translation?

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

>>5697018
>not "father why hath thou forsaken me?"

>>5697107
>4:20
this is from marcus aurelius' meditations btw plebs

>>5697164
Ubi eras quando punebam fundementae terrae? Indica mihi si habes intelligentam

>>5697107
blaze it

Objective answer:
Psalm 23:1-4
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
he leadeth me beside the still waters.

>>5697220
>using translations with funny language in them

>>5697333
>Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
yea

>>5695658
First Epistle to the Corinthians

>>5695669
What the fuck does this passage even mean. Like the biblical yoloswag actions mean nuffin!

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

>>5697186
>then explain

>>5697213
Absolutely disgusting

>>5697347

>Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

>I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left

>cause' I've been blastin' and laughin' so long that

>even my momma thinks that my mind is gone


I REALLY HATE TO TRIP(fag) BUT I GOTTA YO

>tripfagging ever

>>5695658

I have two favorites. One is (maybe cliche? but whatever)

John 11:35
>"Jesus wept."

I think it condenses Christianity in 2 words. In no other religion would God Himself be "weeping"... weeping is a sign of weakness. It is quite unthinkable for Islam or Judaism that God would cry. (Remember: Jesus is God; not a messenger of God, or merely a prophet.)

So the passage clearly sets apart Christianity from other Abrahamic religions, which cannot think the suffering of God, the weakness of God. Christianity is the only one that embraces this paradox.

On the other hand, for Eastern religions who may have better understanding of "weakness" (for instance, the Tao is described as passive, feminine, ...) they couldn't possibly accept the idea that the highest being would be emotional. The idea that Buddha would cry is quite preposterous to a Buddhist. Yes, the Buddha was a human, but infinitely wise, and so without any emotional outbursts.

So I like that because it manages to convey what is so special about Christianity in 2 words.

That's my favorite of the NT

Of the OT, my favorite is:

>It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Or, in another translation:

>It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

This is the most numinous passage of the whole Bible I think; for the words "dreadful"/"terrifying" and the word "living".

We tend to imagine God as a concept, as a transcendent machine ,like the philosophers do (the god of Spinoza, or Leibniz)... a super-intelligent machine.

But here we have "the LIVING God" - which accompanies feeling of DREAD - this is clearly not a philosophical thing; it's the authentically Abrahamic attitude to God. Not cool reflection, but fear of a truly living entity.

It gives me the chills...

>>5697213
It wasn't bad up until that last fucking sentence which sort of shits all over it.

>Being in the right place at the right time
Fucking hell, whoever did that should be shot.

>he's not reading it in the original Greek

Resurrection of Lazarus in the Gospel of John and the martyrdom of St. Stephen in the Book of Acts.

Wisdom (not in Protestant Bibles) chapters 1-3 where it explains how people miss the mark by not hoping for divine justice and immortality and how lack of belief in this leads to an immoral YOLO/Carpe Diem life.

>>5697521
>original Greek
It's originally in Latin, retard.

the advantage of the original king james translation is that it's far more accurate

once you translate instead of transliterate, the ability of a passage to have multiple levels of meanings is often lost

>>5697452
Yeah, Platonism is a very tempting heresy. To depersonify God and make him into a "Form" or "Ideal", "the Good". This view of God became popular during the Renaissance under the influence o of the Neoplatonists and Kabbalists. God isn't an idea or a transcendentally beautiful geometrical shape as Plato would have Him. He is a real substance whose image is what Ezekiel saw, a man with white hair on a throne.

Look up Pascal. He had a religious experience that changed his life, and the words he used were, I believe, "I saw the living God, not the God of the philosophers".

>>5697523
This is how I know ur a bleb

>>5697523

hebrew, aramaic, and greek

the romans, the catholics, and their take on things came much later

deep breaths, this isn't a religious discussion

>>5697552
But the King James Bible has errors I believe. The Douay Rheims is supposed to be more true to the Latin of the Vulgate.

>>5697561

its the type of thing that you should check for yourself, by reading translations side by side, and checking all discrepancies

it doesn't require any special equipment and its very informative

>>5697552
>>5697561
Also, the advantage of the older translations is not just accuracy, it is literary merit. The recent translations are so disgustingly profane in their language.

>>5697452
Nice ones

>>5697568
Worst example I have come across

>let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
Ecclesiastes 9:8, King James

>Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!
Ecclesiastes 9:8, New Living Translation

Only a Christ-hating witch or rabbi could have written the latter.

>>5695669
What translation did this come from?

>>5697397
>thinks I'll explain the line to some idiot who google searched 'meek'

Does anyone else think that Ecclesiastes lacks a hope in the resurrection and implies that one should "make the most of this life, because that's all we've got"?

Isaiah 53:5 by far

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

>>5697591

it was an insight into mortal existence, so you've read it correctly

"work hard, and enjoy the fruits of your labor"

this was the limit of mortal wisdom, as given to Solomon by God, prior to the full revelation of divine redemption

>>5697603
I've just read this Catholic commentary on the Book which says otherwise and defends the Christian orthodoxy of the text

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05244b.htm

You're wrong to say that those prior to Christ did not believe in a resurrection. Job affirms a resurrection, for example. The Book "Wisdom" (not in Protestant Bibles) contains a very straightforward affirmation of man's immortality.

>>5697559
trolled :)

>>5697619

I don't totally disagree with the notion that man was aware of greater things than working and eating, but I would be interested if you could find a passage where God specifies resurrection or redemption prior to Jesus.

For example, Satan thought he was actually winning by killing Jesus, so that particular idea of God as the sacrificial lamb simply didn't exist yet.

I'll concede some ignorance on my part, but I'll need documentation.

>>5695675
>the OT is pretty idiotic and awful
>he's a New Testament guy

>>5695675
>Sermon on the Mount

full pleb

>>5695658
this one goes deep

>Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
> who draws strength from mere flesh
>and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
>That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
> they will not see prosperity when it comes.
>They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
> in a salt land where no one lives.
>But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
> whose confidence is in him.
>They will be like a tree planted by the water
> that sends out its roots by the stream.
>It does not fear when heat comes;
> its leaves are always green.
>It has no worries in a year of drought
> and never fails to bear fruit.”

mah nigga Jeremiah 17:5-8 keeping it real and dismantling humanism

Hail satan

>>5698500
No. The whole point of humanism is the joy it takes from things outside religion. It doesn't rely on leaps of faith to find meaning. That passage attacks humanism, but who gives a shit? So do most theistic texts.

>>5698599
>No. The whole point of humanism is the joy it takes from things outside religion. It doesn't rely on leaps of faith to find meaning.

>>5698599
> It doesn't rely on leaps of faith to find meaning.
But it relies on blind faith for the same people who torture little girls to death when they are ten and organize industrial genocides, create capitalist systems and write Hegelian stuff.

>>5698599
Do you really think the whole damn book is about the opposition between faith and the earthly? That someone would compile all these text just to get that one point through?

>So do most theistic texts.

Yep, any form of actual interpretation is something to avoid, right?

get real

>>5697439
I've been milking and plowing so long that
Even Ezekiel thinks that my mind is gone

>>5697554
>Look up Pascal. He had a religious experience that changed his life, and the words he used were, I believe, "I saw the living God, not the God of the philosophers".
That's beautiful. Thanks.

>>5698708

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."

Leviticus 18

"Jesus, light of my life, fire of my loins. My hymn, my redeemer. Jah-ee-zus: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Jah. Ee. Zus.

H was J, plain J, on the cross, hanging five feet nine in three nails. He was Jeez in a toga. He was the savior on the mount. He was Christ in Pilate's execution log. But in my arms he was always Jesus."

(Nabokov 1:01)

>>5698723
You can't, unless how you 'lie with a woman' is conventionally sodomy.

>>5698723
there is a passage in the new testament too

>Or do you not know that the unrighteous[a] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,[b] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Corinthians+6:9-10&version=ESV

>>5695658

Ruth 4, NRSV

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him." 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. 17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi."

Brings tears to my eyes every time

>>5698723
w'et-zäkhär lo tish'Kav mish'K'vëy iSHäh Tôëväh hiw

zakar: a priest or man with religious duties
mish'K'vey iSHah: 'lie the lying of a woman'
Toevah: ritually impure, idolatrous

In other words don't let a temple prostitute stick his dick in you.

>>5700269
you are the very first person who know hebrew for real, no doubt

>>5697373
I see it more as "shit doesn't really matter in the end".

>>5700269
you seem to be a self-justifying jew faggot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom_Zachar

>>5700344
'zakar' is the word the Hebrew scriptures use for 'male' in a religious sense

ie. Deut 4:16 'likeness of male' in reference to idols
Deut 20:13 the Canaanite males who will lead you into idolatry
Ezek 16:17 'male images'

The ordinary Hebrew word for man is 'ish,' which can also mean husband.

I was sent forth from the power,
and I have come to those who reflect upon me,
and I have been found among those who seek after me.
Look upon me, you who reflect upon me,
and you hearers, hear me.
You who are waiting for me, take me to yourselves.
And do not banish me from your sight.
And do not make your voice hate me, nor your hearing.
Do not be ignorant of me anywhere or any time. Be on your guard!
Do not be ignorant of me.
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am <the mother> and the daughter.
I am the members of my mother.
I am the barren one
and many are her sons.
I am she whose wedding is great,
and I have not taken a husband.
I am the midwife and she who does not bear.
I am the solace of my labor pains.
I am the bride and the bridegroom,
and it is my husband who begot me.
I am the mother of my father
and the sister of my husband
and he is my offspring.
I am the slave of him who prepared me.
I am the ruler of my offspring.
But he is the one who begot me before the time on a birthday.
And he is my offspring in (due) time,
and my power is from him.
I am the staff of his power in his youth,
and he is the rod of my old age.
And whatever he wills happens to me.
I am the silence that is incomprehensible
and the idea whose remembrance is frequent.
I am the voice whose sound is manifold
and the word whose appearance is multiple.
I am the utterance of my name.

>>5700404
>'zakar' is the word the Hebrew scriptures use for 'male' in a religious sense

You sure about that? Its Arabic cognate (dhakar) means male in the usual sense. The proto-Semitic from which they both derive apparently does as well.

>>5697050

It does, it represents the fact man can not bring himself to Heaven through the works of his own hands but instead must rely on another.

>>5697452

Amen to that bro, nice picks.

>>5697164
u wasn't with me shooting in the gym

>>5697373
I think it means no matter who or what you are, it all comes down to luck and timing so long as you are with God.

You can be wise, strong, whatever if that is what you so desire

>>5697452
no, jesus is Gods son

>>5698723
you shall not speak lies to a man like you would lie to a woman

>>5700447
Isn't that from that Thunder gnostic thing? Either way it's beautiful.

>>5700678
nuh-uh. Jesus and God are the same. God took a physical human form so he could come down and get some of that fleshy mortal poontang coz he couldn't bang the smokey ghost-soul things in heaven.

>>5697452
I agree with that OT quote, quite spooky

>>5700833
>>5700678
pic related

>>5695669
I'm sure many of you know this, but in "Politics and the English Language" Orwell presents exactly this passage as counterpoint to "modern English of the worst kind".

Here's his modern translation.

Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

I think more like the second passage unless I'm stoned.

>>5700878
that is everything I hate about how journal articles are written

Even if you know the background information, it's so stupidly worded often.

>>5701057
>Even if you know the background information, it's so stupidly worded often.
>it's so stupidly worded often.
Was that intentional?

>>5701073
no, i am stupid

>>5697452
Well said

For people interested in reading the kjv, check out this program:

http://www.e-sword.net/index.html

Its totally free as far as im concerned. My dad uses this to study it. It contains the kjv and a few other versions, that way you can compare different versions on the fly. (nlt may be in there, if not you can always search it up on google).