Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 12/24/2010

Question
Dear Pastor Petty:

I noticed this morning an answer you gave a lady regarding why Jeremiah 29:11 was not in the Orthodox Study Bible.  The short answer is the verse is in the Orthodox Study Bible, it is Jeremiah 36:11.   The difference in this case is just how the chapters and verses are numbered.  The numbering differences appear only to apply to Psalms, Jeremiah and Malachi.  This is also stated on page Roman numeral XI in the Orthodox Study Bible.

I hope this is helpful to you and you can forward this additional information to the lady who asked the question.

Merry christm

Answer
Dear Stephen,

Thanks so much for your information. Bible translations seem to differ in their order of chapters and verses, to some extent. I was unaware of this difference when I answered the question.

I wrote a book on the life of Jeremiah which is found on my web site, www.PettyPress.com/books/ “Fire in the Gates”. In my research I found a reference that had laid out the book in chronological order, and that has helped me to “decipher” some of the difficult problems with understanding the book. You’ll find this in the “Author’s Notes” in the back of the book.

Thanks again for your help in this.

As you’ve found, reading the Bible is so important to the Christian. It would be very difficult to maintain a saving relationship with God without it. And learning about God and His requirements for us would be nearly impossible without some connection with God’s Holy Word.

Actually, if we watch for Him, we’ll find Jesus Christ in almost every passage of the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes He’s known as the Creator (cf. John 1:1-4, 10, 14); sometimes He’s known as “the Angel of the LORD” (Ex. 3:1-14; cf. John 8:56-58); sometimes He’s known as the “servant” (Isa. 52:13-53:12); and sometimes as the Messiah. Often He’s behind the scenes, working through those who live according to His will.

If you have difficulty understanding the Bible, there are many aids available to help you do this, (see list below). But above all, read your Bible for yourself, and pray that God will help you understand it.

Feel free to come back again with other thoughts and questions.

Stay close to Jesus.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
PettyPress@gmail.com
www.PettyPress.com (20 Books; 42 Bible Study Guides; more)

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