They Fell to the Ground (Caddero a terra)

Italian: «Appena egli disse loro: 'Io sono', essi indietreggiarono e caddero a terra.» (Giovanni 18:6, LND)

English: "Now when He said to them, “' am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground.'" (John 16:6, NKJ)

Call me a Christian with her head in the clouds (or heavenly places as I like to call it); but some of my favorite types of Scriptures are those that speak of how Christ was both God and man.

Ah. Fully God and fully man. What an amazing truth. Just imagine, a man, someone who got hungry and thirsty and felt pain,... could also have the fullness of God dwelling inside His human body.

And I think that Giovanni (John) 18:6 is one of the Scriptures that refer to this truth; although in a not so obvious way. A hidden nugget, a buried treasure, just there waiting for anyone willing to dig a little bit to find it. So what am I referring to? This may take a bit but just stay with me and I'll help you dig.

That My joy May Remain in You (Affinché la mia Gioia Dimori in Voi)

Italian: «Vi ho detto queste cose, affinché la mia gioia dimori in voi e la vostra gioia sia piena» (Giovanni 15:11, LND)

English: "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.'" (John 15:11, NKJ)

I must say, out of all the weeks journeying through the New Testament in Italian, reading Giovanni, (John), 13-17 has been my favorite so far. I've always loved the book of John in general. But there's just something about these capitili, (chapters) where Jesus talks just to His disciples about the things they should remember and do, during the days to come.

There are so many good passages, reading it made me feel like a kid in a heavenly candy store. And reading them all together in l'Italiano for the first time, made it più dolce, (sweeter).

Just to mention a few, in capitolo 14 versetto 6, Jesus declares, "Io sono la via, la verità e la vita..." (I am the way, the truth and the life...)

In 16:33 He encourages us by saying, I have told you these things that in me you might have pace, peace. In the world you will have trouble but fatevi coraggio, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

But what I really want to  call your attention to his how much interest Jesus shows in our personal joy, la gioia.

Lazarus Come Forth! (Lazzaro Vieni Fuori!)

Italian: «E, detto questo, gridò a gran voce: 'Lazzaro, vieni fuori!'» (Giovanni 11:43, LND)

English: "Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth!'" (John 11:43, NKJ)

Have you ever been in a desperate situation where you needed God to step in right away or else something tragic would happen in your life? And were you discouraged because God didn't intervene just then? But... Did God do something you didn't expect that winded up fixing your situation anyway in a manner that let's say... Blew your mind? Well this is basically what happens here in Giovanni, John, chapter eleven.

Jesus had heard that his friend Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was sick. And the two sisters were expecting Him to come and heal Lazarus. But Jesus, decided to use the situation to stretch their faith. So he waited until Lazarus was fully dead before showing up.

When he arrived on the scene, they thought Jesus was late. But He assured everyone that they yet needed to believe and all would be well. He knew that neither healing from sickness or la risurrezione, resurrection, from the dead, was too hard for Him. For He Himself was la Risurrezione e la Vita, the Resurrection and the Life. There was no need to fear or be sad, because God was about to work in their midst.

True Worshippers (I Veri Adoratori)

Italian: "Ma l'ora viene, anzi è già venuta, che i veri adoratori adoreranno il Padre in spirito e verità, perché tali sono gli adoratori che il Padre richiede." (Giovanni 4:23, LND)

English: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4:23, NKJ)

When I first started learning Italian, (at least the Bible and Christian related words), one of the first things I wanted to know was how to say worship in Italian. Because I wanted not just to understand Italian, or even just read the Bible in Italian. I knew that if I was going to get the full experience of the Italian language, I would have to be able to worship and praise God in Italian.

And though I know that many words can express our praise to God, I like to actually say, "Lord I worship you."

So my research began. And I found the Italian word adorare in use quite often. This was good but it seemed to be a form of worship that expressed only adoration or to adore, (which is what adorare also means).

So I continued my search and came up empty until I realized that there is no separate word in Italian for worship.

With Fervent Desire (Ho Grandemente desiderato)

"Luca 22:15 Allora egli disse loro: 'Ho grandemente desiderato di mangiare questa Pasqua con voi' prima di soffrire»" (LNR)

"Then He said to them, 'With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer'" (NKJV)

------- 

I once read about a conversation an Americano man had with a man from l'Italia. And not surprisingly, the conversation turned to the topic of food, il cibo.

The man from l'Italia shared about the importance of il cibo in their everyday lives. Not just for the goodness of il cibo itself, but also for its seemingly inherent power to bring people together.

L'Italiano went on to talk about what he would want his last meal to be if he were dying, and even who he'd eat that meal with.

Obviously he was on to something. For he even pointed out that the last act of Jesus, Gesù, before He died on the cross was to eat dinner with friends. We see this here in Luca chapter twenty-two.

As They Went, They Were Cleansed (Mentre Andavano, Furono Purificati)

"Vedutili, egli disse loro: «Andate a mostrarvi ai sacerdoti». E, mentre andavano, furono purificati." (Luca 17:14  NR)

"So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:14 NKJV)

-------

One of the many things I love about La Parola di Dio, the Word of God, is that there are so many different ways Jesus gave healing to those who were sick.

Luca 17 tells one of those ways that I just find so amazing.

It's the story of ten lebbrosi, lepers, who came to Jesus, seeking to be healed, guarito. But here's the thing. Jesus, Gesù didn't touch them as he often did. He told them  in 17:14 to Andate a mostrarvi ai sacerdoti, go and show yourselves to the priest. And what was the significance of this?

Back in those days, lebbrosi  were considered to be unclean and had to live outside the city/village. And if ever they needed to come inside the city they had to warn people by crying out "unclean."

The only way they could live and move freely within the city would be if for whatever reason, the leprosy was gone from their bodies. And this had to be verified by a priest.

(Stay with me, I'm trying to bring out a point.)

I Shall be Perfected (Giungo al Termine della mia Corsa)

I was never much of a runner; at least not a very fast one. But late in my teens, I discovered something I was better at… running distance. I may have lacked speed but I did have some endurance. This is similar to how our Christian walk is. As we mature in Cristo we learn that this is not a sprint but more of a long distance marathon.

And not only is our walk like a marathon, it's also like an obstacle course. We see an example of this in the life of Christ.

In Luca 13:31 Jesus, Gesù, received a warning that Herod was out to kill him. (I'd say that qualifies as an obstacle.) But He didn't respond in fear. He knew that these "obstacles" were an unavoidable part of His mission. Gesù remained confident because He also knew that He had entered His final lap.

Today and tomorrow I cast out demons and heal, He said in versetto 32. And the third day I shall be perfected. But what did He mean when He said I shall be perfected?

Full of Light (Illuminato)

During Week 9 of our journey through il Nuovo Testamento, we looked at Marco 13:24 which talks about not just the light of the moon but its splendore, splendor. 

(See: The Moon and its Light/La Luna e il suo Splendore)

I love it when the Word, la Parola uses grand words like these to describe God and the things of God. Sometimes I think that in our demand for everything to be simple, quick and easy, we unknowingly strip away the full meaning of things which make God's word so… well splendido, splendid. Don't get me wrong, simple and easy definitely has its place. But if we are ever going to grasp the greatness of God in this life (as much as possible anyway), then sometimes we're going to need some adjectives that at least try to capture how awesome our God and His Kingdom really are.

So here in Luca 11, we see la Bibbia once again teaching us about the wonders of God's light, la luce.

Luca 11:34  tells us that the lamp of the body is they eye, so that if your eye is good, your whole body will therefore be full of light. And Luca 11:36 adds that when you are filled with light on the inside, it's like a bright shining lamp or candle that when lit gives off its light to the space it's in. But again as in Marco 13:24, the Italian version of  Luca 11:36 uses the phrase il suo splendore. God's light within us is no ordinary light but one that is full of splendor.

She Brought Forth her Firstborn (Diede alla Luce)

The second chapter of Luca, Luke, tells the story of the Birth of Christ. Specifically, Luca 2:7 tells us that Mary gave birth to, or brought forth, her firstborn son.

But if you read Luca 2:7 in an Italian version of the Bible, you won't see a literal translation of gave birth or brought forth. It says, diede alla luce.

This phrase literally means, she gave to the light, her firstborn son. What an awesome way to describe Christ's birth into this world. Now lest you think this is a specific way of describing the entrance of the Son of God into the world, let me point out that Luca 1:57 uses this same phrase, diede alla luce, when speaking of the birth of John the Baptist as well. In fact, this wording is used throughout the Italian version of the Bible and throughout Italy in general.

The Moon and its Light/La Luna e il suo Splendore

La Bibbia, the Bible, constantly reminds me of how awesome God is.

God can take a single passage of scripture, and from that one passage, reveal to us multiple truths. A single verse can hold different meanings for different people. And a single story can hold many additional gems that aren't really the main focus of the story.

For example, Mark 13 speaks of the last days. But in v. 24, I found a little gem of truth buried like hidden treasure.

It talks about a time when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. But the real treat is in how the Italian version describes the moon's light. It's called il splendore of la luna, the moon.

Astonished at His Teaching (Rapita in Ammirazione)

I don't know about you, but there are times when the Word of God fills me with such awe, that I can't find a way to fully express what it stirs up inside of me… But that doesn't stop me from trying.

So I really love the places where the Bible records the words of the people in reaction to something profound that Christ has spoken. This is what we see here in Marco, Mark 11:18. The English Bible uses the word astonished, saying the people were astonished at His teaching. Other ways of saying this would be amazed, enthusiastic, in admiration, or even spellbound. (I really like that last one.)

 
But after I read this in Italian, it brought me a step closer to being able to express what I often feel in response to God's Word.

In Italian, it says that the people, or the crowd, was rapita in ammirazione.

Rapita, can be translated here as captivated. It literally means kidnapped or taken captive. The words that Christ spoke were so profound that the people were taken captive by it.

But that's not all!

Good Ground, Good Fruit (Buona Terra, Buon Frutto)

As we continue our journey through the Italian New Testament, we have finished the book of Matteo, Matthew; and have already crossed over into Marco, Mark. But before we look into our first scriptures in Marco, let me just mention a previous lesson from Matteo 25. It was about the talents a man gave to his servants and it talked about different forms of the word fruit in Italian: including fruttare, as well as the phrase farli fruttare. (Briefly,  farli fruttare means to yield, or you could say "to make fruitful.")

And here in Marco 4:8 a form of the word fruit is used again, (this time, in both the English and Italian translations this time).

It's the parable of the sower and the seed and therefore speaks of the ground or the earth, la terra.

There are many lessons in this familiar parable, but the basis of it is something Italians tend to be very aware of. Not just that you have to sow seed to get a harvest, but also that you can't just sow it any old place… At least not if you want to have a good harvest and bring forth much fruit.

As He Said, Come Aveva Detto

I didn't think of it at the time, but the basis for this topic really came some years back, on a day I was texting with a friend.

It was just after 6 pm on New Year's Eve of 2013. And I was thinking that in Italy (6 hours ahead of my time zone), they had already crossed over into 2014. And since I tend to get a little excited over things like this, I decided to share it with someone. So I sent the following text to my friend:

And her reply was, (how nice of her to play along)…

Hm, I said to myself. Ditto? Italian? I'd never thought about it, but it did seem like a word that came from this language. So I did some research and found that ditto does indeed have Italian roots. It meant something like, having been said. Today in Italian it's represented by the word, detto. And we see it used here in Matthew 28:6 in the phrase, come aveva detto.

Traded (A Farli Fruttare)

One of le parabole, the parables, in  Matthew 25 tells the story of a man who gave talents to his servants before going away on a trip.

This man gave five talents to one servant, two to another, and a single talent to a third. He gave each according to their ability. And once he was gone, the servants who received the five and the two talents went to work.

Now when the Bible talks about what the servant with the five talents did, the English version says he went and traded with them.

But the Italian from the Nuova Riveduta translation, uses the phrase a farli fruttare. Even if you don't fully understand this you can recognize  fruttare as a word similar to our English word fruit. The entire phrase literally means to make them yield, as a plant would yield fruit.

You Made Them Equal to Us (Tu Li Hai Trattati Come Noi)

Matthew 20:1-16 tells una parabola, a parable, of a landowner who hired different men to work in his fields throughout the day. It ends with the teaching that the last (ultimi) will be first (primi), and the first last.

It's a truth that I've accepted because the Word of God says it, but I confess I didn't fully understand it. At least not until I read it as part of my daily Bible reading… in Italian! It's amazing how much of your understanding opens up just by reading in Italian day by day. And this time, it wasn't because of the words used in the Italian version. It was just because my understanding of the language is growing and I'm able to see more while reading in Italian because I don't have to work as hard to understand what the Italian is saying. I can just focus more on what God's word is saying and receiving insight and revelation from Him.

In this story, some workers are hired at the very beginning of the day and others at different times throughout the day, even at the eleventh hour, l'undicesima ora. Yet at the end of the day, they were all paid the same.

This bothered the workers who started at the beginning because they felt they should have been paid more than those who worked fewer hours. But the landowner reminded them that they received what he agreed to pay them. And also that it was his right to do whatever he wanted with what was his. Did his goodness bother them because there was something impure in their own hearts?

My Yoke is Easy (Il mio giogo è dolce)

I remember a time when I'd become very weary of all that was going on in my life and greatly in need of God's rest, as it talks about in Matthew 11:28. We all get to this place at times; several times even. But let's be real. What Matthew 11:30 says it takes to get that rest, accepting that Christ's yoke is easy... just doesn't come easy. When you think of a yoke or a burden, it's something that you know you must bear, but is still difficult to endure. Yoke, easy. Burdens, light. These are pairs of words that don't seem to go together. And if you read the verse in the Italian, it takes this even further. In the Italian Bible, the word used for easy is dolce; which as many know means "sweet."

Can this really be true? Can a bitter trial we experience actually be sweet? Well getting back to the time when I was truly burdened, I felt like it was more than I could bear. Having already walked with Christ for some years, my prayer life had become pretty strong. But under the weight of my trial I found myself going to God in prayer even more. And as I did, something pretty amazing began to happen. I was spending a lot less of that time agonizing over my circumstances and a lot more in delightful fellowship with God. Right in the middle of my troubles!

I remember that this was also a lonely period in my life when no one really seemed to have time for me. There were days when I would literally stare at the phone hoping it would ring, and I'd have someone to talk to. But the truth was, part of my trial was learning how to walk alone, when necessary. And it was really the fact that I didn't have anyone to turn to as I went through this trial, that pushed me to spend more time in the presence of God.

And even though I didn't know anything about the Italian Bible at the time, looking back now I can truly say, that was when I had my first taste. Taste of what you might ask? My first taste of Christ's yoke being dolce, sweet.

All These Things Will be Added (Vi Saranno Sopraggiunte)

I once saw an episode of a TV show where a man looked up one day and realized he was almost broke. Now usually that's the type of thing that  causes someone to panic. But this man didn't. And when asked repeatedly why he didn't; he gave pretty much the same answer each time. Something will come up, he'd say. Or, something will turn up.

The man wasn't worried because he knew that financially and career wise, he'd built on a good solid foundation. And he was confident that some opportunity would arise for him before things got too out of hand. And sure enough. By the time the show was over… out of the blue, something "came up."

The man's finances got back on track and he was able to continue having all the different things he needed.

In a similar way, Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 that we should not worry when there are unfulfilled needs in our lives. As it says in Matthew 6:33, if we are faithful in carrying out the things of God and we seek to walk in His righteousness; the things we're in need of will be supplied.

That's the way the English Bible puts it. It says, all these things will be added to us. But the word used in the Italian gives us another way of looking at this.

You Shall Call His Name (Tu gli Porrai nome…)

I must confess. When growing up, I wasn't too crazy about my first name, Marcie. It wasn't the most common name and it seemed like most people I interacted with had a hard time saying it (at least at first). And forget about anyone spelling it right.

I use to imagine myself with a few other names I thought were more fitting. It wasn't a huge issue for me. I just would have preferred being called something else. That is until as a young Christian, I found out what my name meant… Warrior!

How awesome, I thought. All of a sudden, I liked my name; was proud of it. Even to this day when it seems like life is knocking me  around just a bit too much, I try to remember the name I've been given and remind myself that I can't get stuck being timid and fearful. I have to act more like my name. I have to put up a better fight.

Now I don't think that my parents intentionally picked a name for me that meant warrior. But over and over again in the Bible, we definitely see this happen. And with the opening chapter of the New Testament, we see God setting the stage for Christ's life and work on earth by telling Joseph what His name was to be before He was born.

"You shall call His name Jesus" (Matthew 1:21). That's powerful in and of itself.

But what made this stand out even more to me was the phrase used in the Italian language Bible, "gli porrai nome Gesù." The literal translation of this is more like, you shall put  or set upon him the name Jesus.

The Italian language is known for being a very expressive and colorful language that often describes things differently than many others. This is one of the reasons I've come to love reading the Bible in Italian. After being both a student and teacher of God's Word for more than 20 years, phrases and wording like this allow me to see the Scriptures in a whole new light. The phrase "tu gli porrai nome…" is a perfect example of this.

To say that a name is  placed or set upon a newborn child implies so much more than just something to identify him by. It's more like assigning a role, a calling or  even a destiny to someone. It reflects what or who he is to be.

The name set upon King David meant Beloved of God and we know that God thought of David as a man after his own heart. Before the birth of David's son who was to be the next king, God said his name was to be Solomon which means peace. And during King Solomon's reign, he indeed had a great time of peace.