Favorite Bible Verse(s)

Here's another question for ya'!

What is your favorite Bible verse(s)?

Some of my favorites are on my signature.

Great thread MissYC!! I've got a few, here is one of my favorites.

II Kings 2:23-24
"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

MissYoungClassic wrote:

Here's another question for ya'!

What is your favorite Bible verse(s)?

Some of my favorites are on my signature.

Well, as you can see under my name, Psalm 34 is a favorite of mine. When my youngest nephew, Caleb, was almost three, one of his favorites was Psalm 23. He would quote verse one as, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I don't need nothin!"

I have a lot of them...But my Bible is in Spanish and I don't know how to translate the verses to a proper and litterary English!

Vanesa.

silent-partner wrote:

Great thread MissYC!! I've got a few, here is one of my favorites.
II Kings 2:23-24
"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

Those "little children" were not so innocent and knew very well what they were doing and their motives. They were making fun of the prophet Elisha because he was wearing Elija's official clothing (since Elisha was now his successor). The people there treated God's servants or representatives with hostility and the children had learned the wrong ways of the parents and thus did the same. The people in Bethel were not true worshipers and instead gave their loyalty to a golden calf and worshiped it.

But First, the King James Version has done us a disservice by translating the term as “children.” The Hebrew word can refer to “children,” but rather more specifically means "young men." Some bibles use the word “youths.”

Second, the fact that the bears mauled 42 of the youths indicates that there were more than 42 youths involved. This was not a small group of children making fun of a bald man. Rather, it was a large demonstration of young men who assembled for the purpose of mocking a prophet of God.

Third, the mocking of “go on up you baldhead,” is more than making fun of baldness. The baldness of Elisha referred to here may be: 1) natural loss of hair; 2) a shaved head denoting his separation to the prophetic office; or more likely, 3) an epithet of scorn and contempt, Elijah not being literally bald. The phrase “go up” likely was a reference to Elijah, Elisha’s mentor, being taken up to Heaven earlier in 2 Kings chapter 2:11-12. These youths were sarcastically taunting and insulting the Lord’s prophet by telling him to repeat Elijah’s translation.

In summary, 2 Kings 2:23-24 is not an account of God mauling young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against God’s prophet by a large group of young men. Because these young people of about 20 years of age or older (the same term is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7) so despised the prophet of the Lord, Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with the rebels as He saw fit. The Lord’s punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. The penalty was clearly justified, for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself. The seriousness of the crime was indicated by the seriousness of the punishment. The appalling judgment was God’s warning to all who would scorn the prophets of the Lord.

Well said, Carol. The Bible has violence. We live in a violent world, as Jesus did, and as those who came before Him did. The difference is that in the Old Testament we read of "eye for an eye", whereas with the coming of Jesus it became "turn the other cheek" and "love your neighbor as yourself." The Bible shows that God's justice will be served, as it was in this passage from 2 Kings, which is why we are supposed to leave the judgments to Him.

I've always loved Psalm 23. It's an emotional portion of Scripture.

bethandmanly wrote:

Well said, Carol. The Bible has violence. We live in a violent world, as Jesus did, and as those who came before Him did. The difference is that in the Old Testament we read of "eye for an eye", whereas with the coming of Jesus it became "turn the other cheek" and "love your neighbor as yourself." The Bible shows that God's justice will be served, as it was in this passage from 2 Kings, which is why we are supposed to leave the judgments to Him.

I've always loved Psalm 23. It's an emotional portion of Scripture.

Yes. You are right. I share 100% what you've said above.This my opinion too.

Vanesa.

Carol wrote:

silent-partner wrote:

Great thread MissYC!! I've got a few, here is one of my favorites.
II Kings 2:23-24
"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

Those "little children" were not so innocent and knew very well what they were doing and their motives. They were making fun of the prophet Elisha because he was wearing Elija's official clothing (since Elisha was now his successor). The people there treated God's servants or representatives with hostility and the children had learned the wrong ways of the parents and thus did the same. The people in Bethel were not true worshipers and instead gave their loyalty to a golden calf and worshiped it.

But First, the King James Version has done us a disservice by translating the term as “children.” The Hebrew word can refer to “children,” but rather more specifically means "young men." Some bibles use the word “youths.”

Second, the fact that the bears mauled 42 of the youths indicates that there were more than 42 youths involved. This was not a small group of children making fun of a bald man. Rather, it was a large demonstration of young men who assembled for the purpose of mocking a prophet of God.

Third, the mocking of “go on up you baldhead,” is more than making fun of baldness. The baldness of Elisha referred to here may be: 1) natural loss of hair; 2) a shaved head denoting his separation to the prophetic office; or more likely, 3) an epithet of scorn and contempt, Elijah not being literally bald. The phrase “go up” likely was a reference to Elijah, Elisha’s mentor, being taken up to Heaven earlier in 2 Kings chapter 2:11-12. These youths were sarcastically taunting and insulting the Lord’s prophet by telling him to repeat Elijah’s translation.

In summary, 2 Kings 2:23-24 is not an account of God mauling young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against God’s prophet by a large group of young men. Because these young people of about 20 years of age or older (the same term is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7) so despised the prophet of the Lord, Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with the rebels as He saw fit. The Lord’s punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. The penalty was clearly justified, for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself. The seriousness of the crime was indicated by the seriousness of the punishment. The appalling judgment was God’s warning to all who would scorn the prophets of the Lord.

Very well written, you should be a Bible school teacher!