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"The Message" translation

Posted by ESC on February 27, 2004

In Reply to: Douay-Rheims translation posted by Brian from Shawnee on February 27, 2004

: : : : : : You might wish to include this proverb, meaning of which is not clear

: : : : : : Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith

: : : : : Nice one.

: : : : I find the meaning clear enough. The writer preferred a vegetarian meal with loved ones over a roast from a grain-fattened animal where enmity prevailed at the table.

: : : But the right wine might even the odds.

: : Stalled (?), a. Put or kept in a stall; hence, fatted. A stalled ox." Prov. xv. 17. A dinner of herbs would be a simple meal; in fact, herbs were once known as simples. A meal with an oxen would be a large banquet. It means that a simple gift made with love is better than an extravagant gift without love.

: The Douay-Rheims translation for this verse is "It is better to be invited to herbs with love, than to a fatted calf with hatred." It can be useful to compare several tranlsations of the Bible when puzzling over what a verse means. Or you can just do it for fun.

: I found an online Douay-Rheims site at scriptours.com, but it's not complete. For example, Psalms only goes up to about chapter 40.

Proverbs 15:17 -- Better a bread crust shared in love than a slab of prime rib served in hate.

That's "The Message" version at Bible Gateway. Under advanced search it has several translations.

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