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A carpenter worked for a lumber company for forty years. After work each day, he'd carry home a few pieces of lumber. When he retired, he decided to build himself a house. When that was done, he still had lumber left, so he built a garage. Then he had a guilty conscience. Although he had never gone to church, he decided to go to confession. He told the priest, "Father, I worked for a lumber company for forty years and each day I carried home some lumber. From that I built a house." The priest said, "You know the Bible says, 'Thou shalt not steal'." The carpenter replied, "Father, I'm not finished. I had enough lumber left that I built a garage." The priest said, "That's bad, my son. You'll have to make a novena." The man rubbed his jaw and answered, "A novena, Father? I don't know. But if you have the plans, I'm sure I have enough lumber!"

Obviously, that man misunderstood the word novena. As much as I love the old Authorized King James' Version of the Bible, it, too, is filled with English words from the year 1611 (when it was published) that are misunderstood. Here are some examples, with the actual meaning in parentheses: Colossians 3:12 - "bowels" (compassion); Philippians 3:20 - "conversation" (citizenship); 1 Peter 3:2 - "conversation" (behavior); Acts 28:13 - "fetch a compass" (to sail round); 1 Thessalonians 4:15 - "prevent" (go ahead); 1 Corinthians 10:25 - "shambles" (meat market). Our English language is a living, changing reality. That's why I agree with Frederick Grant who said, "Biblical translation is an endless process." Our word translate comes from the Latin verb "transferre." That verb is formed from two Latin words: "trans" (across) and "ferre" (to carry). When the Bible is well translated, the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words of the original text are carried over into English, so we can understand what the author meant. My favorite translations are The New English Bible and the Good News Bible.