“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Sometimes when two or three translations are available, they are all helpful in presenting a harmonious and clearer thought. We recently noticed this in Psalms 119:160, where the translation may be correctly rendered: 1) “The beginning of thy word is true” (see margin), 2) “Thy word is true from the beginning,” and 3) “The sum of thy word is truth.” The first has reference to a particular portion, the beginning; the second envisages a gradual unfolding; and the third draws the conclusion that it is all truth. The word chosen to represent the original, when there are two or more from which to choose, should be that which best fits all the circumstances surrounding the subject.
Isaiah 9:6 opens with the declaration that “a child is born… a son is given.” The “child” is, without doubt, the subject of the verse. Had the translators at this juncture considered the basic fact stated, they would not, indeed could not, have translated some portions of this verse as they have done. Why? First, because the noun “child” is never applied to any offspring other than human. It, therefore, definitely indicates the nature of the Being entering into the phases of life which are later vividly portrayed by the titles given. Such a circumstance should have convinced the Revisers that the title “Mighty God” could not properly be applied to that which had already been classed as human. Second, the fact that the Child was “born” is added proof that He could not be so named, for even “orthodoxy” agrees that God was not born. Third, the fact that He was “given” is indisputable evidence that there must be a Giver, and obviously the Giver is God. Thus, John 3:16 and Hebrews 7:7 eliminate the possibility that the predicted Son could Himself be God. “Orthodox” people, in order to sustain their argument for the Trinity, apparently without seeing their inconsistency, adopt methods which reverse the order of Scripture as presented in the text, by maintaining that, though the “child” was born, the “son” was not born but given, and that this “son” existed before the birth of the child. Quiet meditation will reveal how contrary to fact such a proposition must be, for custom and common sense have combined in recognizing “son” or “daughter” as appellatives indicating a more honorable stage in life following that of childhood, and Scripture itself has acknowledged the practice.
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Author: R. H. Judd
Keywords: Trinity, Triunity, Trinitarianism, Trinitarian, Arianism, Arian, Three in one, Three gods, Three gods one person, Arius, Arias, Nicene Creed, Nicaea, Nicea, Athanasian Creed, Athanasius, Father son holy spirit, Father son holy ghost, Triune, Three persons in one God, Socinian, Socinianism, Socinian heresy, Jesus God, God the Son, Nicene, Nicean Creed, Council of Nicaea, Council of Nicea, homoiousios, Homoousios, Homoiousian, Mighty God, El Gibbor, Handel's Messiah
Bible reference(s): Isa 9:6
Source: One God: God of the Ages (Oregon, IL: Restitution Herald, 1949).
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.