Bible translations do make a difference in how we respond to the words. Today, I was particularly struck by the word, “devoted,” only to discover it’s from the older 1984 NIV version. And yet, two verses later, the contemporary version of verse four, “I offer my life to you” is more compelling. I’m sure they ultimately speak the same message, these various translations, but I am speaking to the way in which the words resonate in my heart.
Guard my life because I am faithful. Save your servant who trusts in you—you! My God! . . . Make your servant’s life happy again because, my Lord, I offer my life to you, . . . [Psalm 86:2, 4; CEB]
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. . . . Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. [Psalm 86:2, 4; NIV 2011]
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. . . . Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up soul. [Psalm 86:2, 4; NIV 1984]
Am I faithful or am I devoted? Perhaps the difference for me is that faithfulness implies a kind of reliability and steadfastness that, I hate to confess, is not my strength. Whereas, devoted appeals to my passionate side. I can be devoted but also screw up, knowing my God knows my heart is an open book to the Spirit within. It’s a kind of Peter vs. John kind of thing, the dopey bull in a china shop compared to the studious academician. Silly, I know, but that’s where my head is today.
And then the other phrase, “I offer my life to you,” gave me pause. Compared to a rather amorphous lifting up of my soul, the CEB version feels more like surrender, intentional and conscious and immediate. This is what I want to do today: not just trust or hand over some part of me, but the whole of myself, I want to cross the line of fear and doubt, fully devoted.
Meditations from Zion 
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