哈巴谷書 {ha1-ba1-gu3-shu1}Old Testament – Minor Prophets There’s nothing minor about the prophet Habakkuk and nothing inferior about his prophecies. “Minor” is simply a description of the book volume (3 chapters) as compared to the “major” ones such as the Book of Isaiah (66 chapters). A total of 12 Minor Prophet Books including Habakkuk were placed…
Author: yubo.du
Ecclesiastes
傳道書/传道书 {chuan2-dao4-shu1}Old Testament – Wisdom Books Slow down for this: [ih-klee-zi-AS-teez]Or, start with “easy as tees”, then “ecleasy as tees” Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek word, Ἐκκλησιαστής, which translates the Hebrew title of this book, קֹהֶלֶת (qoheleth). All of them mean “the Preacher” or “傳道 {chuan2-dao4}”. Here’s something fun, if you take the first 8 letters from Ἐκκλησιαστής, you get ἐκκλησία,…
Live Like a King
We have established that it’s not all glamor to be a king, especially that of God’s people. Some kings appreciated the magnitude of their responsibility and trusted in God as such. They found their reward in God, in life, and in remembrance as the ones who “did what was right in the sight of the Lord” in…
The Last Mile
Before we move on, let’s stop for a minute and think about the ground we have covered so far. There are the mechanics and technique of interpretation, the exercises to get anyone started on the necessary cognitive training, the Bible-specific terms and knowledge, and a whole bunch of quirky information peppered here and there. Sincerely, hats…
“Preach It”
We’ve talked about how sermon interpretation goes beyond a normal conference interpretation. Now, not all of us are familiar with preaching, so I find it extremely helpful to hear how different pastors preach and let them naturally rub off on us. For Mandarin, FLCC’s got you covered. For English, you can start with Pastor David Pawson…
Numbers. No, not that Numbers.
Interpreting numbers can trip up an interpreter more often than you may think, and in more ways than you may imagine. So, let’s look a bit closer at those numbers. Small numbers are no-brainers. If you sit through Lessons 2 to 5 of any language class, that should cover them. Problem occurs when you get…
Chronicles of Chronicles
1/2 Chronicles歷代志上/下 {li4-dai4-zhi4-shang4/xia4} Speaking of the kings, we all know where to look for their stories: 1 Kings and 2 Kings! Once we finish those captivating histories, we are immediately invited to persevere through 9 chapters of family trees in 1 Chronicles, only to read on and feel, “Wait, didn’t I just read these in Kings?” Yes,…
Tales of Two Kings
Solomon marked a critical turning point in Israel’s history. His reign was celebrated for its enormous wealth, glory, and extravagance. He built the First Temple of God. Sadly, the kingdom split right after his reign. And kings’ names became much less friendly to pronounce. Let’s start with the two kings right after Solomon: his son Rehoboam and his enemy Jeroboam. Rehoboam [ree-uh-BOH-uhm]羅波安 {luo2-bo1-an1}Son of…
Heavy Is the Head…
… that wears the crown. Let’s talk about kings: the fascination of the postmodern world. While Disney, Netflix, and HBO are taking their turns to profit from romanticizing monarchy, the Biblical account of the many kings and kingdoms becomes hard to “market”, especially without the CGI and enormous production. Nevertheless, the riveting history of Israel…
Founding Fathers
Once upon a time, God made a promise with one man, a man without any apparent merit; a fallen man like all others; a man doomed to repeat the generations of failure of mankind, yet He promised him anyway. That was the promise of “Stars and Sand“, which testifies that God loves because He is love, and promises…