“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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People in the Christian Establishment Need to Do their Jobs
Over the past few months, I have been criticizing Bible translators, Christian publishing houses, seminary professors, and preachers for failing to do their jobs. All of them are part of the Christian establishment. Yahweh is very clear about the importance of His Name, but most Christian establishment leaders steadfastly refuse to take Him seriously.
Yahweh has had problems with the religious establishment all along. For example, see Ezekiel 34 and Matthew 23. You should take the time to reread those chapters.
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of Elohim; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of Elohim?” (1 Peter 4: 17)
I think the New American Standard Bible is among the best Bible translations on the market today, but it is woefully inadequate. When the NASB 2020 was released last year, The Lockman Foundation heralded its Bible’s accuracy in its promotions, but Lockman’s translators failed to address a gigantic problem that has plagued every edition of the NASB since it was first published in the 1960s. They have rendered Yahweh’s Name as “the LORD”, “the LORD God”, “the Lord GOD”, and “LORD of hosts/armies” in every version. That’s wrong and disgraceful. I think it’s sinful. In fact, I don’t think it’s even a close call. At best, it demonstrates a callous disregard for Yahweh’s commands.
“Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His Name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His Name is exalted.” (Isaiah 12: 4)
Intelligent people who have the mental capacity to translate Scripture can’t deny the importance of Yahweh’s Name. Yahweh stressed the importance of His Name repeatedly throughout the Bible, so the so-called “time-honored” tradition of stripping His Name out of the Bible is indefensible. Even so, translators keep misrepresenting what Yahweh actually said as though it doesn’t matter.
The NASB 2020 may be more readable than previous editions, but it is not more accurate. It didn’t move the needle in that regard.
Lockman’s translators’ logic baffles me. They may be intelligent, but they have made some really bad decisions over the years and they keep doing it. Given what Yahweh says about His Name in the Bible, it is foolish to ignore His command to declare His Name.
Lockman’s translators would probably be among the first to criticize the Pharisees and scribes of the Messiah’s day for adhering to their “time-honored” traditions instead of Yahweh’s word, but Lockman’s translators are doing the same thing they did. It’s just as wrong now as it ever was. The Messiah criticized the Pharisees and scribes harshly for doing it, and He hasn’t had a change of heart. As I said, it’s not even a close call.
Yeshua replied, “Why do you break the command of Elohim for the sake of your tradition?” […] “Thus, you nullify the word of Elohim for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15: 3 and 6-9)
I’m not picking on the NASB’s translators, but they are perfect examples of the point I am making. Virtually every English translation of the Bible makes the same glaring error, and no one seems to care, no one except Yahweh that is.
Should a retired business professor have to tell seminary trained Bible translators something this basic? I don’t think so. The fact that someone like me had to do it says a lot, and what it says is not good.
I level the same criticism at the Christian publishing houses that market those flawed products. The Lockman Foundation is just one of them. All of them should know better.
This is not a trivial matter. Yahweh’s Name is important enough for Him to devote a lot of time and attention to it in the Scriptures. He is not known for making small talk. He expects His messengers to take Him seriously. Those who don’t take Him seriously are begging for trouble, and trouble is heading their way. The train has left the station. It’s rolling down the tracks and picking up a head of steam.
Seminary professors and preachers are guilty of the same offense. How can they read, teach, and preach the Scriptures that they profess to revere and not address this issue? Over the years, I’ve talked with a large number of them about this problem. Most of them look at me as though I’m speaking a foreign language. It’s shocking.
Some of them have accused me of being part of a cult. That’s nonsense. I’m simply telling them what the Scriptures actually say, and I present evidence from the Bible to prove that what I am telling them is correct. There is nothing cultish about that. It’s a matter of right and wrong. If Christian traditions conflict with Yahweh’s word, they should be jettisoned.
Talking with most preachers about the importance of Yahweh’s Name is like talking to a rock. It shouldn’t be that way. Yahweh needs to do something dramatic to get their attention. If that’s what it takes, that’s what He will do. If people who profess to represent Yahweh before His people don’t straighten up and fly right, I expect Him to make wholesale changes, because faith and obedience go hand-in-hand.
“You believe that Elohim is one. Good for you! The demons also believe, and they shudder.” (James 2: 19)
There must be thousands of people in the Christian establishment who are honest enough to take Yahweh’s word seriously. Where are they? Their silence is deafening. Some of them must have enough courage to lay aside their emotions, feelings, and indoctrination and look at the facts. If they will do that, they will know that I am right. Once they see the light, they need to speak out boldly. The fact that so few of them have taken Yahweh’s word seriously mystifies me. People who immerse themselves in His word have to be wearing blinders to avoid seeing that Yahweh expects His people to tell the world about Him by Name.
“For this reason also, Elohim highly exalted Him [the Messiah], and bestowed on Him [the Messiah] the Name which is above every name [Yahweh], so that at the name of Yeshua [Yahweh] every knee with bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Yahweh, to the glory of Elohim the Father.” (Philippians 2: 9-11)
Yahweh is serious about this issue, and He’s getting more serious with each passing day. I hope so-called “Christian leaders” are astute enough to see the light before it’s too late. If they aren’t, they need a change of venue.
Over the years, several preachers have told me that “we” are not certain how to pronounce Yahweh’s Name. They explain that His Name has been out of circulation for so long that “no one can know the correct pronunciation”. That’s as weakminded an explanation as I have ever heard. I wrote His Name is Yahweh to prove that those arguments don’t hold water. All they have to do is read the book.
If they read the book and still have doubts about the correct pronunciation of Yahweh’s Name, they can do a little research on their own. That’s what Yahweh’s representatives are supposed to do, especially preachers and teachers. They should do their jobs.
Please read the SnyderTalk editorials below. They provide more details about this issue:
- NASB 2020: A Perfect Opportunity Wasted
- Why Do Preachers Go into Preaching?
- Yahweh Commanded Us to Call Him by His Name
- King James Bible Believing Churches: Are You Kidding Me?
- Yahweh’s Name is Important
- The Most Abused Verses in the New Testament
- “the LORD God” and “the Lord GOD”
The 3rd Commandment
This is the 3rd Commandment:
“You shall not take the Name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in vain.” (Exodus 20: 7)
“Lashave” is the Hebrew word that’s translated as “in vain”. It means to reduce Yahweh’s Name to naught or to render it as empty.
Nothing is more “in vain” than stripping Yahweh’s Name out of the Bible and refusing to use it, especially since Yahweh commanded us to declare His Name to the world.
Satan prompted Jewish rabbis to take Yahweh’s Name out of circulation in the mid-2nd century BC. Leaders in today’s Christian establishment are his coconspirators. More than anyone else, they need to read Ezekiel 34 and Matthew 23, because Yahweh was talking about people like them. As I said, He hasn’t had a change of heart.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
The majority of those print houses and translators are what is known as trinitarian in the doctrinal beliefs. Which means they believe there are 3 completely separate persons but explain him more like a creature with three heads than even what they teach as three persons – both of which are unscriptural. They are blind to the understanding wisdom of the truth that the LORD is indeed One because they do not understand grammatical uses of the words like “and” or “also” in scripture. It is a humbling revelation that Yahweh is One and not a God in three persons. So don’t expect changes soon because it would completely throw off the long-standing misinterpretation of the godhead and would wreak havoc throughout the church worldwide and even through the world. Yahweh will reveal himself to those who desperately seek him as a deer searches for water.
While I do use Jesus it is only because it is the Greek translation of Yeshua (as William is to Guillermo from Spanish to English). However I am also beginning to change that but it means that I will also need to undertake the re-recording my projects which could be a very expensive assignment.
Everyone should purchase your book and study it.
Very good information. Thank you. Yahweh is sending them warnings. I am one of His messengers. I fear that many if not most of them are too proud to admit their errors.
Hello Dr. Snyder,
First – I would like to say that your book, “His Name is Yahweh”, has been a tremendous help to me, in my own faith walk, and I highly recommend it to all
really want to learn – many do not.
For the most part, these are satisfied with whatever they hear from their pastors or preachers, for the hour that they will grudgingly spend on the wrong day of the week,
to satisfy what conscience that they have left…..or, maybe I should say – what their itching ears want to hear.
I think that this is why these publishers succeed so well…..they give people a product that is easy to read, doesn’t require much thought, and makes them feel good.
For me, at least, I have found TS 1998 and TS 2009 to be the most useful – they not only restore the Names of Father Yahweh and Messiah Yeshua, in the hebrew letters, but also give the reader / student the hebrew names of people and places, in english letters – so that one can have a fuller reading experience, and actually learn…..I certainly have.
Please do continue your excellent works, Neil…..thank you, for the help you have given to me and many others, by them.
May Our Father Yahweh continue to Bless you, in all that you do.
John, thank you. I pray that Yahweh will continue to use His Name is Yahweh to bless His people. Knowing that He is using the book is a blessing to me.