Translating La Sainte Bible, Version Semeur, Marc 1 :9-14 and Israel trip

 

 

We just returned from a trip to Israel. We spent eight days traveling through Tel-Aviv, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, Capernaum, Dan, Caesarea Philippi and Mount of Beatitudes, the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Beth Shean, Bethany, Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran caves, to name a few, and ending with the highlight of 4 days in Jerusalem. This trip has brought many incredible blessings to my life for so many reasons.

The most important blessing was to see first-hand the places where the patriarchs and forerunners encountered God and to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and His disciples. The second blessing was the sweet fellowship and worship we had with6friends from three of the churches where we have been in ministry over the past 36 years. Our daughter Jamie and her husband, Jordan, along with 7 others from our group were baptized by David in the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. Michael chose a place which borders Palestine and Israel (with armed guards at the ready) as this was most likely the actual place where John baptized Jesus. What a privilege to be a part of this sacred experience.

 

Third, our tour guide, Michael, is a German-born, Messianic Jew who lives in Jerusalem and is a modern-day Paul; he not only gave historical guidance but also let us see through the eyes of the Jewish people the strong faith and traditions from the Old Testament and Torah. His life passion is to bring the covenant with God, as the love of His people, as Father to Son, of salvation to the Jewish people. An added bonus from our connection with Michael is that I am now partnering with him in this ministry by translating his Shabbat Readings (similar to our Bible Commentaries) from his native German to English ( These are available on http://www.JersulemMessenger.com. ).
The final blessing is to apply my journey and experiences through Israel and Palestine to my daily scripture readings and especially to my translation from French to English of Marc in La Saint Bible, version Semeur. How cool is this!

 

In my introduction to this translation,  I reviewed Chapter 1 verses 1-9. I concluded with Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River. As I shared previously, we were standing on the very shores where this took place.

Verse 12: Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, L’Esprit poussa Jésus dans le desert, (the Holy Spirit “pushed” Jesus into the desert) where He stayed 40 days and was tempted by Satan. We drove through this desolate land where Jesus survived with savage beasts and was served by angels.

Verse 14: After John’s arrest, Jesus arrives in Galilee, on the lac (Sea) of Galilee and announces “Le temps est accompli. Le règne de Dieu est proche. (The time is finished. The reign of God, also the Kingdom of God, is near. According to Barclay, this is in reference to the appointed time of Jesus’ coming with the good news that we are on the way to life and not to death, of salvation (Eph 1:13). This was the coming of Jesus so that man could see clearly what God was like.

 

This is truly the beginning of the Word and of my raison d’être (most important reason for my existence).

 

Copyright 2018 by Robyn Lowrie. May be quoted in part or full only with attribution to Robyn Lowrie (www.frenchquest.com)

Works Cited
Societe Biblique Internationale. La Saint Bible : Version Semeur. Colorado : International   Bible Society. 1992.
William Barclay. The Gospel of Mark: The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: The
Westminster Press. 1954.