(First, please forgive all of the highlights and note symbols in the Scripture screenshots. They have been done over the years with various studies and do not pertain to the current discussion.)
Next, please look simply at the way that the Bible translators have structured the text in the English translations versus the format in Hebrew below. See that in its original form there are no indented sections and divisions (“poetic form”). These are added “to make our reading/understanding easier,” but consider the question, whether how the translators chose to structure them are really what was intended?
For educational purposes, I set a somewhat different structure below ◉ in the light shade of teal. I am not saying that the “restructuring” below is necessarily the “correct way” to read the passage. I am simply asking you to read and see if the restructuring leads you to a somewhat different interpretation of the passage than in ESV and NKJV
The additional comment I should make is that there are plenty of examples in TaNaKh of a “collective noun” such as people, assembly, being used with a singular pronoun. And if האדם in verse 9 were interpreted as “mankind,” a “collective noun,” then the pronoun “him” would not be unusual in referring to mankind as a collective noun. And my point about “restructuring,” or simply “structuring,” is that these efforts to make Scripture more “readable” potentially allow two things:
❶ putting YHWH in a box, i.e. making him smaller,
❷ overlaying the bias of a person or committee of persons and passing it along to others. ((See Matthew 5:19))
◉
Does the lack of indentation of verse 19 lead you on a different path? Again, I am notsaying that how I presented the passage above is “the right path,” but that we should not take hard and firm, lethal stances on a path that someone else’s structuring has led us on. Is that not precisely what the snake/serpent did in the Garden? Sometimes we get led “down a primrose path.” For what ideas do you use a “high hand,” a “raised fist?” What “concept” might bring you pleasure? Should such beliefs that we “ingest/consume” lead us to drive others from their land or kill others?
You might look back at the Discussion section, post 06. Bible Translations to see the history of our current English translations. There is a long historical tradition laid out there. And certainly, over time, changes may have been made to fit current thinking, but who knows what has been preserved and what changed from early traditions? One must continually 🤔.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_into_English
Hopefully you recently read in the Discussion section 12. Levels of Meaning at my encouragement. Or, another approach, you might consider typing in the search bar “historical critical.” Below is a screenshot, an excerpt from post 12. Levels of Meaning.
SO important are the two listed ideas above. Scripture must be taken as a whole, and must be read with the eyes of faith.
Please recall:
⦁ John 18:37-38
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
One of the aspects of “the Truth” that Yeshua/Jesus witnessed to is that people will go to the extent of literally killing other people based upon a stance that they take… we might best remember that many occurrences of “killing” in the Hebrew Scriptures refer not to “literal killing,” but to the “killing” of a certain spiritual outlook or worldview, a challenge of beliefs. And again, as Yeshua/Jesus did healings, freeing of captives, nurturing, the examples often refer to the spiritual plane (e.g. “driving out demons”).
⦁ Matthew 25:32-45
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
How do we arrive at “conclusions” upon which we take stances that actually lead us literally to “kill others?” Yeshua/Jesus clearly tells us not just to love God and love neighbor, but also to love our “enemy,” i. e., one who thinks differently from me. (Matthew 5:43-45) What may be one of the most powerful of statements by Yeshua/Jesus is this:
⦁ Luke 10:27-37
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
The Greek word here for “mercy” is g4697. σπλαγχνίζομαι splagchnizomai. Unfortunately, I cannot give a Hebrew equivalent, because the word occurs in LXX only once, in the Apocrypha.
▸ ESD g4697. σπλαγχνίζομαι splagchnizomai; middle voice from 4698; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity: — have (be moved with) compassion.
AV (12) – have compassion 7, be moved with compassion 5;
to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)
How I interpret this is that we are to show mercy to others, no matter how we judge their “stance.” Be merciful. (See Micah 6:8 and Matthew 7:1-2) If we desire that we are treated mercifully, we must also extend mercy to others.
When others have a different opinion from mine, do I remedy that situation by eliminating them? Really?
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com, February 2026. Please cite if you use this material.