Tiny Devotional for Thursday, 07-13-2023

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, we are dancing, and singing, and movin’ to the groovin’.

There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
Proverbs 13:7, NASB

Better translation:

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
Proverbs 13:7, New King James Version

It was never my intent to become a textual critic, but here I am, doing it AGAIN. Today, I’m entangled by the difference between ‘pretends to be rich/pretends to be poor’ and ‘makes himself rich/makes himself poor.’
(I do NOT know Hebrew; I just know how to use some of the available tools. )
The Hebrew ‘rich’ phrase in line 1 is from עָשַׁר (ʿāšar)  and the ‘poor’ phrase in line 2 is רוּשׁ ( rûš). I can find NO hint of ‘pretends’ in either phrase. I have asked some experts about it, and if they answer, I’ll post that in the comments.

So: 

How do you get rich, but really be poor? 

And how do you get poor, but really be rich?

Our brainy, beautiful, adventurous, adult daughter Tobhiyah is, at this very moment, in Gumbane, Mozambique, in east Africa. She went there through an agency that specializes in linking foreign missions with the home front. 

She met Celia Mendes, the on-site missionary, who teaches and feeds 300 kids each day. Well water there is too salty, so she built five water towers for the community. Poverty much?

Despite having many needs, the children love to dance, celebrate, and pray. For us.

Who do YOU think is rich?

Peace be on your household.