A man posed this consideration in a Christian group I follow on Facebook. He used Proverbs 16:31, to support his argument that the Bible is no longer applicable to our time.
The verse says, “Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life.”
At first his reasoning seemed logical. He said, since we know by science that gray hair is genetic and has nothing to do with leading a “God-loyal life” maybe we should question more of what the Bible says. He continues by suggesting that the example described is one of many, ancient people used to help explain a condition that modern science had yet to discover.
Again, it sounded reasonable, but then I looked at the where he had gotten the verse from. The verse came from The Message Bible which is a translation written by Eugene H. Peterson. According to the introductory chapters, the intention of the translation is to keep the language of the Bible “current and fresh and understandable.” It is a noble goal, but might the true meaning be confused by doing this?
To support my point, that same verse from the King James Version, clears up any misunderstanding. The verse says, “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” So, what the KJV is telling us, “hoary head (white or greyish hair)” is a mark of distinction if found in righteousness. It is not an “award for a God-loyal life.” Gray hair is only a mark of distinction if that person is also righteous. This understanding makes more sense, because there are many people with gray hair that have no loyalty to God. The modern translation conflates righteousness with leading a God-loyal life, and then makes the marker of assessing this, something as arbitrary as having gray hair! Yes, that doesn’t make sense… but more importantly that is NOT what is actually said.
This YouTube video gives a pretty good breakdown on Bible Translations, what you should look out for and why it all matters.
