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Questions From ReadersThe Watchtower—1961 | February 1
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bad, the Christian congregation is not primarily responsible for not sanctioning her remarriage before the death or post-divorce adultery of her ex-husband. The self-seeking divorcer is the responsible one, according to the Scriptures. All that the Christian congregation can do legitimately is to help her to grow straight morally as a Christian by extending to her all the spiritual help possible.
Because of his adultery, unrepented of before the divorce, the unfaithful husband could be disfellowshiped by the Christian congregation of which he may be a baptized member. By concealing his adultery from wife and congregation he may postpone his disfellowshipment for a time. If in addition to his concealed adultery he undertakes to divorce his innocent wife, then he shows that he has not repented of his adultery. Neither does he have his wife’s forgiveness for it. Hence he must be disfellowshiped by the congregation when the facts of the matter become known. To the wrong that he has committed against his wife by the adultery that he has concealed from her he hardheartedly adds injury by suing for divorce from her in her innocence. For his moral uncleanness, of which his hypocritical, unloving course shows he has not repented, he must be disfellowshiped from the Christian congregation on the basis of the evidence laid before the congregation’s judicial committee.
● What is the meaning of Job 19:26? In the King James Version it reads the opposite of the way it does in the American Standard Version; the one saying, “Yet in my flesh shall I see God,” and the other, “Then without my flesh shall I see God.”—J.G., U.S.A.
The New World Translation of Job 19:26 reads: “Yet reduced in my flesh I shall behold God.” Under footnote b it gives two alternate renderings: “Yet out of my flesh,” and, “Yet apart from my flesh.” The American Standard Version, which reads “without my flesh,” has a footnote reading, “Yet from my flesh shall I see God.”
Why these differences in translations and the presence of the footnotes? These are no doubt due to the ambiguity of the Hebrew text. However, the thought seems to be that Job, when so wasted away as to be merely skin and bones, and thus practically “without flesh,” or “reduced in my flesh,” would “see” God. Job cannot be accused of here speaking ill-advisedly, as some would have it, but rather prophetically. He himself did later “see” God by seeing the manifestation of his power, by hearing his voice by means of the Word or Logos, and by having the eyes of his understanding opened to see the truth about God. Because of this he could say: “In hearsay I have heard about you, but now my own eye does see you.”—Job 42:5.
Not that faithful Job himself literally saw Jehovah God, for God plainly told Moses: “You are not able to see my face, because no man may see me and yet live.” The apostle John testified to the same effect, saying: “No man has seen God at any time.” “At no time has anyone beheld God.”—Ex. 33:20; John 1:18; 1 John 4:12.
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AnnouncementsThe Watchtower—1961 | February 1
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Announcements
FIELD MINISTRY
To safeguard our thinking ability for effective service of God is of great importance. Study of the Bible is necessary to do this. During February Jehovah’s witnesses will call on people everywhere with a Bible-study aid of real worth, The Watchtower, offering a year’s subscription and three booklets on a contribution of $1.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE?
How well do you know your Bible? Do you know who wrote each of its sixty-six books or when each was written? Do you know the main contents of each book? Do you know how hard has been the Bible’s fight to live or how it has been preserved down to our day? Read the answers to these and many other fascinating questions in the hard-bound, 384-page book, “Equipped for Every Good Work.” Send only 50c.
“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS
March 12: Keep on the Watch as Sons of Light, and Awake to Our Responsibility, ¶1-3. Page 77.
March 19: Awake to Our Responsibility, ¶4-22. Page 83.
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