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"....May be able to stand against the wiles of devil.....????

jonahmano

Member
Ephesians 6:11 King James Bible
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.


Confused with this verse. Why does it say "ye may be able to stand......" Does it mean that the armour of God is not enough in destroying the wiles of the Devil. Or does it mean that only God can destroy the wiles of the devil and we can only stand up to the devil ...

Can anyone provide me the correct meaning of this verse from the Original text???
 
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Confused with this verse. Why does it say "ye may be able to stand......"

The "may" is there to remind us that unless all of the armor is in place, kept in good repair, and used when needed, it will do you no good. Imagine a real life soldier who neglects his equipment and his weaponry. When he is in the middle of the battle, it is too late to take care of his armor and equipment. We must do our part in "resisting the devil" and God will ensure that he flees from us.
 
Ephesians 6:11 King James Bible
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.


Confused with this verse. Why does it say "ye may be able to stand......" Does it mean that the armour of God is not enough in destroying the wiles of the Devil. Or does it mean that only God can destroy the wiles of the devil and we can only stand up to the devil ...

Can anyone provide me the correct meaning of this verse from the Original text???

Where do you get the idea that the armour of God is for destruction? It is for protection.
 
I think its an old school use of "may." Its not "may" like "yeah, MAYBE you'll be able to withstand the wiles of the devil," its more like "ye may be able" in that "You will be able." KJV has some old school grammar.
 
I think its an old school use of "may." Its not "may" like "yeah, MAYBE you'll be able to withstand the wiles of the devil," its more like "ye may be able" in that "You will be able." KJV has some old school grammar.
This. If the KJV we have today was exactly like it was in 1611 we wouldn't be able to understand it, but much of the archaic use and grammar is still there.

Here's a page of other translations: http://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-11.htm

There's also this page with some commentaries on the original Greek: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/6-11.htm It doesn't appear to have anything that specifically answers your question, but it's possible I may have missed something.
 
If I gave you galoshes, a raincoat, and an umbrella, you might be able to stand against the fury of a thunderstorm. However, if you want to destroy a thunderstorm...
 
This. If the KJV we have today was exactly like it was in 1611 we wouldn't be able to understand it, but much of the archaic use and grammar is still there.

Here's a page of other translations: http://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-11.htm

There's also this page with some commentaries on the original Greek: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/6-11.htm It doesn't appear to have anything that specifically answers your question, but it's possible I may have missed something.

It is the same, its always been the same.

Mathew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Mark 13:31 "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
 
What I mean is if the use of old English that the KJV we use today were to utilize exactly the same as the old English it would have had in 1611, we wouldn't be able to read it.
Have you ever seen the original English version of "Of Plimoth Planatation"? The word usage and spelling is so different it's practically unreadable. It was written around the same time as the KJV. It's had to be edited in order to be understood in today's English.

eta:
Here's a page with some examples:
http://earlyenglishbibles.com/miscpages/ReadOldEnglish.html
 
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