In A Word

It's interesting to see the way different Bible translators handle things, and sometimes one can only speculate as to the reason. In the New International Version I noticed, the conspicuous use of the word, "punish" in verse 6 in chapter 12 of Hebrews, which reads:

"6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Compare the same verse with the way the NKJV renders it;

"6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."

The writer of Hebrews is recalling a passage from Proverbs 3, specifically verses 11 and 12. Those verses read as follows:

"11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;
12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights."

I guess the confusion for some people might come in when they read verses like Colossians 2:13-14;

"13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

I looked at quite a few of the more well-known translations and it seems as though the NIV is the only one that uses the word punish in place of "chastens", "corrects," or "disciplines." Does this matter? What is this passage about?

I guess the inference is that some of the new Jewish believers were thinking that they had reason to doubt their faith because they themselves were suffering. The writer of Hebrews was telling them that discipline from God was evidence that they were in fact His adopted sons and daughters. Fathers love their kids, and they discipline them in order to keep them going and growing in the proper directions.

When we repent of our sins, confess them to God and ask for forgiveness, He is completely faithful and just and He does forgive them. But that doesn't mean that there won't be consequences for the sins we have committed. David sinned some whoppers, and he and his entire nation suffered from the consequences of those sins.

It doesn't matter whether we use the word "punishment" or some other similar word. What matters is that when we sin, because He loves us, God will often bring about very painful consequences to teach us, to grow us and to draw us closer to Him. In a word, He does it out of "love."