The most recent 20 comments posted to Electrolite by Jim Sweeney:

Sorry to be so slow to respond, but only a few of the postings seem to have been emailed, and I hadn't seen Teresa's response.

The New English Bible is what I have at my desk, and I'm not particularly qualified to comment on the quality of its translation. I find its footnotes helpful.

My point was simply that there is a good deal of brutality in Proverbs (and elsewhere in the Bible, for that matter).

The variety of meanings yielded by the different translations underlines the difficulties which should confront anyone relying on biblical literalism. Which text? Which translation? My impression is that American fundamentalists treat the KJV as sacred, and I don't think this is a good thing.

"Increasingly, MWO matters." writes Nyhan. At least he seems to think they're effective. That ought to be worth something.

This article, and the earlier Salon hit piece, could just be clever publicity ploys to raise the site's profile...

Proverbs - which ends with a paean to a capable wife with her own business - has several lines about keeping a son in line by beating him:

19:18 Chastise your son while there is hope in him, but be careful not to flog him to death.

22:15 Folly is deep-rooted in the heart of a boy; a good beating will drive it right out of him.

It's a very mixed bag.

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