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P.S. (and again, peace to you, all!):
Regarding the term "read(ing) aloud"... I am directed to share with/remind you that, our dear Lord does NOT mean so loud that someone in the next room can hear you. As with prayer, it is vocal, yes - and so you close your door so that someone who MIGHT be within hearing range CAN'T hear you... because your prayer is for you and JAH; it is NOT so that you can APPEAR "righteous" to other people. Other people can't save us... so praying in front of THEM means... what? Nothing. No value at ALL. It is a sacred rite between YOU... and JAH... THROUGH Christ.
And so... one CAN whisper one's prayer, even pray almost silently... but with one's lips moving. As Hannah did. 1 Samuel 1:13
And it is the SAME... with reading prophecy inspired by JAH:
Although, when in the presence of other Body member, one should ALWAYS read aloud, because the purpose is for the building up OF THE BODY, and not just oneself (love... does not look out for its OWN interest(s)), when ALONE... we have Psalm 1:2... which is SCRIPTURE, to help us "hear" and understand what our dear Lord meant:
"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night."
That word, "meditate," is INACCURATE here. The Hebrew word (taken from Greek, taken from OLD Hebrew/Aramaic) used here, hagah (Strong's H1897) means several things, including "to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak." Given the tradition of the Jews to read the scriptures ALOUD in the synagogues, as even our dear Lord did (when he read from Isaiah), the fomenters of "christendom" took the opposite stance and "decided" that, Christ being "quiet"... and the spirit "groanin... with words UNuttered"... meditation was the proper word. It is not. The PROPER word here is... "mutter." Or, as shown in the NWT and a few other Bible version:
"Happy is the man who does not walk according to the advice of the wicked And does not stand on the path of sinners And does not sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of JaHVeH And he reads His law in an undertone day and night."
Does this mean we must read the Bible day and night? No, dear ones: we are set FREE from the Law and so the ONLY Law we MUST adhere to.. day and night... is the Law of love. That is the fulfillment of both the Old AND New Law. However, when we DO read... SCRIPTURE (i.e., Moses, the Psalms, the Prophets, and the Revelation)... we should read it "in an undertone"... or at least, moving our lips. Why? Because we are showing that our heart... AND OUR MOUTHS are in UNISON! That our HEART is not saying ONE thing, while our mouth is saying another... or vice versa. At least, not when reading scripture... all of which contains... prophecy.
So, move your lips! When you read and when you pray! Because IT IS WITH THE MOUTH... that one makes PUBLIC declaration for salvation. And we are not alone. There may be no other human person watching... but you do NOT know whether there is a spirit person watching. And your declaration must be before them, as well.
BTW - Don't go getting as confused because the WTBTS Bible version has it right: they still can't SEE it... and so they don't DO it. Rather, they LOVE to read and pray aloud... VERY aloud, again, so as TO APPEAR righteous before others... rather than as the verse is trying to show us (when we are reading alone).
I hope this helps!
Again, peace to you, ALL!
YSSFS of Christ,
Shellamar
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