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Who Does God Dwell With?

Sometimes there is richness in words from the Scriptures even when it appears that a passage is translated differently in various versions of the Bible.

I came across one such passage recently.  My attention initially was drawn to just one word, which was actually translated the same in the two different translations I looked at.  But it was the words that followed that appeared to be quite different.

That initial one word was “dwell”.  The passage is Isaiah 57:15 and it reads as follows in the English Standard Version (ESV):

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 

Before I get to the differences in translations, I want to focus on the word “dwell”.  It has some meanings that I find to be quite interesting:

  • to live in or at a specified place;
  • to remain for a time;
  • to think, speak, or write at length about.

In thinking about those meanings, I can’t help but marvel that:

  • God would live with us;
  • God would remain with us;
  • God would think at length about us!

Now on to the differences.  Isaiah 57:15 in the New English Translation of the Bible (NET) reads a bit differently:

For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy:  “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.

So who does God dwell with?  The contrite and the lowly as it reads in the ESV?  The discouraged and humiliated as it reads in the NET?  Maybe it’s all of the above and therein lies the richness in the words:

The contrite are those who feel or express remorse for a sin or shortcomings.

The lowly are those who are humble in manner or spirit.

The discouraged are those who have been deprived of courage or confidence or who are disheartened.

The humiliated are those who have been reduced to a lower position or who have been ashamed or embarrassed.

Regardless of which one(s) I am living out or experiencing to one degree or another, the truth of the matter is that God dwells with me!

Then, as I dug a little deeper, I read the notes in the NET.  The translators of that version of the Bible list other possible meanings of the words to help the reader:

“Discouraged and humiliated”:  “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

“To encouraged the discouraged”:  “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

So maybe the two translations are not that far off from each other after all.  But aside from that, just think, the King of Kings, who is high and lift up and who inhabits eternity, also dwells with the contrite, the crushed, the lowly, the humble and with those who have experienced discouragement and humiliation. 

Furthermore, He dwells with those who have, in their humanity, sinned and experienced their shortcomings but have expressed remorse.  As one who has expressed remorse more times than I would care to admit, I am so glad He still dwells with me!  

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