Filthy Rags

I was remembering a church service from several years ago.  Something happened in that service that proved to me the importance of having the pure word of God. It was near the beginning of worship when a man stood up and read the following verse from his Bible.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
take us away.

Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

My family is sitting with me in the same row. It was all the children could do to keep from laughing when they heard the phrase “like a filthy garment” in this verse.  You see, they were all following along in their Bibles. Here is what they were reading.

But we are all as an unclean thing
and all our righteousnesses as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)

They heard the phrase “like a filthy garment” but they were reading the phrase “as filthy rags.” They instantly realized the absurdity of the words that were spoken. (It nearly made us all laugh!)  I see this as a sad thing in that Isaiah 64:6 expresses the futility of the human condition without the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior. “Filthy rags” is a very different picture than “a filthy garment.”

To be certain, I discussed this with my family when we got home. I had already spent much time studying what Bible version we would use in my household and had decided on the King James Bible. I am convinced that it is the pure word of God for English-speaking people. All the rest of the versions are bible babble.

The reason I feel that the above example is so powerful is that even the children saw the clear difference and they realized which one was superior. The people of the Church do err greatly when they don’t place their trust in the pure word of God.

God bless, Mike