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In most English versions of the Scriptures, the verse above from Exodus 20 is
rendered something like, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Maybe you are wondering what is wrong with that? After all, that is how we all
learnt it for years and years.
The problem is, that by translating it in that manner the translators managed to
break the very commandment they were translating. To comprehend this fully we
need to look at the Hebrew words that have been translated, and also look to the
many other scriptures that talk of the Name.
The key words to fully understanding Exodus 20:7 are; The Name in Hebrew “Ha
Shem”; ‘the Lord’ in Hebrew “YHWH”; ‘God’ in Hebrew “Elohiym” and
‘vain’ in Hebrew “shawv” or “shav”. Let us look at these words one by one.
The Name : Ha Shem. ‘Ha’ is Hebrew for ‘the’. ‘Shem’ translated ‘name’ is
number 8034 in Strong’s, “ an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality;
by impl. honor, authority, character:- base,[in-] fame [-ous], named (-d),
renown.” So we see that the name contains more than just a mere identification,
it also contains honour, authority and character. Often you will hear people
express concerns about ‘the family name’ when one member of the family gets
into some trouble or other. In some societies on this planet, you hear of “honour
killings” conducted by family members in order to preserve the family name. Why
do folk be so protective of their name? It is because their ‘character’ becomes
attached to their name, belong to a family with a bad reputation, and you may
find no one trusts you even though your personal character may be far different
from that of your relatives. So we see that certain character traits are tied to
a name.
Some folk think that the name itself is not important, that the third commandment
is only about the “authority” of our Elohiym(G-D), can this be true. Certainly (and
may we say, obviously) not. If you were to send your son to conduct some
business for you, depending on the type of transaction, he would be required
to have certain documents giving him your ‘authority’ to complete the transaction
on your behalf. These documents would be required to both contain your name
and have your personal signature, your son would most likely, also have to have
similar documentation to prove that he was in fact your son and not an imposter.
So while the word ‘name’ does imply ‘authority’ it does not just mean ‘authority’
So we see that a “name” contains far more than just ‘appellation’ by which we
know whether we are talking to Sam or Joe. Let us now look at “the Lord”
Most English translations of the Scriptures render the tetragrammaton YHWH (or
reading right to left as in Hebrew HWHY) as “The Lord” this has been done more
than 6800 times. Check a concordance and see if this is not so. Please understand
this, ‘the Lord’ is not a translation, it is a substitute for the personal name of
our Creator. In doing this the translators broke the third commandment they were
translating. Lord, is a title, like Mr or Sir. Mr who, Sir who? Lord of what or who?
One of the names given to the devil, (Ha Satan) is Beelzebub, (BAAL-ZEBUB) it
means “Lord of the flies”.
Your Lord can be anyone who you obey or to whom you give warranted or
unwarranted esteem. ‘The Lord’ does not identify an individual it merely implies a
certain status, landed gentry in Britain used to be referred to as “The Lord of the
Manor”. Not only have translators broken the third commandment and taught others
to do so, but they have also ignored and made of no account the warnings in;
Deut. 12:32
“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add
thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Proverbs.30:6
“Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found to be
a liar”
Rev.22:18
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, if any man shall add unto these things, Elohiym(G-d) shall add unto
him the plagues that are written in this book:”
Maybe you are thinking that Rev.22:18 only refers to the book of Revelation,
however it is the same principle. We will also see, with further examination, how
this Taking of the Name of YHWH in vain , by replacing it with ‘The Lord’ has had
even greater ramifications in the Renewed Covenant Scriptures. First let us now
look at the word translated “God” .The English word is singular, while the Hebrew
word ‘Elohiym’ is plural, denoting more than one personage ,as is consistent with,
Gen.1:26
“And Elohiym said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...........”
Taking the Hebrew “Elohiym” and making it the Singular English “God” has taken
away the context, that this 3rd Command also applies to the Name of The Son.
Therefore while it may seem insignificant to some this small detail has enormous
consequences.(Please also see our page “confusion of words” for more
explanation on why we should avoid the use of the word ‘God” entirely.)
Now let us look at that word ‘vain’, we have counted 12 different Hebrew
references in Strong’s that have been translated as the one english word “vain”
so it would be folly to presume that we understand the meaning of this word
without first checking on it’s original Hebrew word.
In the case of Exodus 20:7 the word is number 7723, in hebrew “shav” in the sense
of desolating; ruin; uselessness.
“Vain” in Websters dictionary is defined as :- Empty; worthless; having no substance,
value or importance.
Have translators, by removing the Name of YHWH from the Scriptures brought
the Name of Yahuweh to nothing? Have they been guilty of treating it as of no
importance? Absolutely yes they have.
That said, this is not the only way that we can take the Precious Set Apart Name
in vain.
There is Power in the Name of Yahweh, a power that only Yahweh has, if we fail
to fully appreciate the Power of the Name and treat the Name lightly we are in
danger of taking the Name in vain.(that is making it of no account and uttering the
Name above all names with no more thought than uttering the name of the man
next door).
Deut.8:18
“But thou shalt remember YHWH thy Elohiym: for it is He that giveth thee
power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware
unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
1Chronicles 29:11
“Thine, O YAHWEH, is the greatness, and the power, and the honour, and the
victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;
thine is the kingdom, O YAHWEH, and Thou art exalted as head above all.”
Psalm21:13
“Be Thou exalted, YAHWEH, in thine own strength; so we will sing and praise
Thy power.”
Psalm59:16
“But I will sing of Thy power; yea I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning:
for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.”
Also if we claim the Name of YHWH while acting in a manner that does not honour
The Name of YHWH then we are bringing the Name to no account or even into
disrepute.
Proverbs 30:8-9
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty or riches; feed
me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is YAHWEH? or lest I be poor,
and steal, and take the name of my Elohiym in vain”
If we claim the Name of YHWH then we have to careful that we live up to it,
by the Power of the Ruach Ha Qodesh, as none of us are capable of doing this
in our own strength. We have to be careful to proclaim the Name with all due
care and reverence.
By removing ‘YHWH’ from the scriptures and replacing it with ‘the Lord’ or
“Adonai”, the scribes and translators, have successfully hidden the truth of the
Messiah’s true name from literally millions of professing “christians”.
Jeremiah 8:8-9.
“How do you say, We are wise, and the law(Torah) of YHWH is with us?
Behold the lying pen of the scribes has certainly worked deceit.
The wise are ashamed; they are terrified, and are captured. Behold they
have rejected the Word of YHWH; and what wisdom is theirs?”
The Messiah said,
John 5:43
“I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive”
Millions of professing followers of “Jesus” have failed to see that the name of
“Jesus” cannot be derived from Yahuweh. Failed to realize that Jesus is not
a translation of the Hebrew Name of Yahushua but a substitution, in just the
same way that “The Lord” has been a substitute for YHWH. The success of this
hiding and distorting of the true name of Messiah has been greatly aided by the
hiding of the tetragram YHWH by replacing it with Adonai or Lord.
Even amongst ‘christians’ who have realized that Sunday worship, easter,
christmas etc, are pagan substitutes for the true Sabbaths and Feast Days of
YHWH; and have returned to keeping YHWH’s true days. Thousands upon
thousands of these folk still have yet to come to the same realization about the
Name and return to the use of the correct Name.
Jeremiah 6:16
“Thus saith YHWH, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, We will not walk therein.”
We all need to seek those old paths, time is short. We need to study carefully
and prayerfully, that we do not break the third Commandment or any other, out
of ignorance.
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek YaHuWeH while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the vain man his thoughts: and let him
return unto YaHuWeH, and He will have mercy on him; and to our Elohiym,
for He will abundantly pardon.”
We must not underestimate the importance of YHWH’s Name, the Name, that the
Son, our Saviour, came in. YaHuWeH has made it abundantly clear that we are to
respect and honour His Name. The only Name that Saves, YHWH does not take
this matter lightly.
Leviticus 18:21
“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech,
neither shalt thou profane the name of thy Elohiym: I am YAHWEH.”
Leviticus 19:12
“ And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane
the name of thy Elohiym: I am YAHWEH.”
Leviticus 22:32
“And you shall not profane My Qodesh(holy) Name, and I shall be counted
Qodesh among the sons of Israel; I am YAHWEH, who is sanctifying you.”
We need have no doubt about it YAHWEH is very serious about His Name.
It is By No Other Name, that we are saved to eternal life, we need to be equally
serious about His Name.
Malachi 1:6
“A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father,
where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is My fear? saith YAHWEH
of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say wherein
have we despised thy name?”
Malachi 2:1-2
“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give honour unto My Name, saith YAHWEH of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will
curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because you do not
lay it to heart.”
Yahweh makes no secret of how He feels about His Name being taken in vain,
let us try to do it no more, for in times past and present we all have.
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