All aboard!

Proverbs 17:8
A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

I’m sure most of you have noticed that I do most of my studying from the New King James Version of the Bible. No, I’m not one of those, “If it ain’t KJV then it ain’t for me!” Bible thumpers; I just like the way the NKJV reads. Even though I like the NKJV, I often find myself searching out other translations of the Bible for deeper meaning. Sometimes, and not for the sake of omitting anything, words have been changed or left out of translations for the ease of reading or modern understanding.

Usually I end up looking in other translations when I get an idea from my reading that isn’t necessarily written on the page. Take this verse as an example. When I read it, I thought of Jesus as the present and myself as the possessor. I personalized the verse based on my knowledge of Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus is the Rock of our Salvation. He’s the chief cornerstone that the church has been built upon (Luke 20:17). Second, He is precious in the eyes of the Father (Matthew 17:5) Third, it was His grace that has saved us, and it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).

As I meditated on this verse I began to wonder, what did other translations of the Bible say? Here are just a few:

Young’s Literal Translation “A stone of grace [is] the bribe in the eyes of its possessors, whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.”

New Living Translation “A bribe is a lucky charm, whoever gives one will prosper.”

GOD’s Word Translation “A bribe seems like a jewel to the one who gives it, wherever he turns, he prospers.

Feeling compelled to go even further, I decided to check into Strong’s Concordance to find out what the original words meant. The following is how it would read with the original Hebrew words in parentheses.


“A gift (shachad) is as a precious (chen) stone (eben) in the eyes (ayin) of him that hath (ba’al) it: withersoever it turneth (panah) it prospereth (sakal).”

I know this is a bit much, but it’s interesting stuff. The definitions of the Hebrew words are as follows:

shachad-present, bribe, ransom
chen-favor, grace, elegance
eben-precious stones, tablets
ayin-literal eyes, spiritual discernment
ba’al-owner, husband, citizens
panah-to turn and look, look back, forward, left, and right
sakal-to be prudent, wisely understand, or prosper

All that language to lead into this point: the gift of grace ransomed through Jesus Christ is favor to all those who spiritually discern it and possess it as their own. Wherever Christ’s grace leads your life, He will prosper, as will you through Him. I like the versions that state wherever “it” turns “it” will prosper. Being a Christian means being a follower of Christ. We need to allow Him to lead us and direct our paths. We need to trust that wherever He turns, prosperity will follow. If we’re following Him, then, through His grace, we’re going to catch a ride on the caboose of His prosperity train. “All aboard!!!”