Concerning the last post.

Many of the recent translations miss the point of Proverbs 25:23. They usually go something like this "As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks." Not only does "sly" miss the point, but also the comparison is off. The comparison is this "As the north wind is to rain, so the backbiting tongue is to anger."

But in Palestine the north wind did never bring rain. Rain never came from the north. The north wind drove away the rain. So then, we must say that backbiting drives away anger, which is stupid, or we must say anger drives away backbiting. It is the only thing that makes sense.

The translators have fits with this passage because of the word "north." I think that some were so afraid of the word anger--the idea that it is godly to be angry with backbiting--that they turned the Scripture upside down. Shall I say they were false witnesses? No, I dasn't say that, should I? Could a milk-toast view of Christianity have influenced this translation? hmmmm.

But, on the other hand [don't you love it] it is possible to get a valid interpretation from the NIV. The lying tongue spread anger everywhere, pits brother against brother, husband against wife, etc. But the value of the traditional KJV is that it directs the anger where it belongs--against the slanderer, so that his slander comes back against him, even though he or she wants people to get mad at each other. It is the backbiter who is the culprit, not all the ones who are backbitten. There is where the anger should go: against the devil-tongued one.