Proverbs 29

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)

I don’t usually quote the old King James Version. But sometimes no other Bible translation packs the same punch. We often hear the above verse quoted in the Ole King Jimmy because of the word “vision”. The NKJV translates the Hebrew word “revelation”, and the ESV translates it “prophetic vision”. The word “vision” can be misleading because the world talks so much about the importance of having vision or creating a vision statement. Usually this refers to the core principle guiding an organization. It is often the brainchild of the founder. But in this verse the Hebrew word refers to the prophetic revelation of God. It does not mean man’s dream but God’s truth.

Second, the Hebrew word for “perish” is better translated “cast off restraint.” The idea is that when people don’t have God’s revelation of truth as their lodestar, they cast off all restraint. Every person does whatever he wants. This is what happened during the period of the Judges when the people ignored God’s laws, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This, of course, led to spiritual disaster.

On the other hand, the person who has the prophetic revelation of God, who knows the Word and does what it says, is a happy soul. In the end, the soundness of our life and its accompanying joy is not determined by how much we know or by how much we have but by how well we practice God’s truth.

We have been given the revelation of God. It is a sacred trust. Let us hold fast to it and live it out in such a way that it benefits us and brings light to others. The Word of God applied by the Spirit of God is the only force in the universe strong enough to harness the passions of man.