[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

Now it would not be necessary to do something so "difficult" as to check the Geneva Bible, or the John Calvin commentary, or the Luther Bible to realize that the "misread", "emendation" and "indisputable error" accusations were nonsense. You could also simply go some of the strongest popular commentaries after the King James Bible. The first is around 1700.

http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bhenry2.html
Matthew Henry - Minister and Bible Commentator

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc4.Is.xiv.html
http://www.biblebrowser.com/isaiah/13-15.htm
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary
The Doom of Babylon. B. C. 739.

Every one that is found alive shall be run through, as soon as ever it appears that he is a Babylonian. Nay, because the sword devours one as well as another, every one that is joined to them shall fall by the sword; those of other nations that come in to their assistance shall be cut off with them. It is dangerous being in bad company, and helping those whom God is about to destroy. Those particularly that join themselves to Babylon must expect to share in her plagues, Re 18:4.

Those who join themselves to Bablyon are in danger of :

Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
Come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues.

There are many today who willingly join themselves to the Bible version babylon, the confusion of the errant versions, the babble of conflicting texts, nothing pure and holy. Note that Matthew Henry did not express any doubt about the Hebrew nispeh being "join". All three commentators here found themselve "correcting" the King James Bible on numerous other verses, yet all fully accepted "join".

And here is John Gill around 1760.
[
http://www.studylight.org/com/geb/vi...=013&verse=015
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/i...l/isaiah13.htm
everyone that is joined [unto them] shall fall by the sword;

and everyone that is joined [unto them] shall fall by the sword; or "added" unto them; any of other nations that joined them as auxiliaries, see Revelation 18:4 or "that is gathered"; so the Septuagint, "they that are gathered"; that are gathered together in a body to resist the enemy, and defend themselves. Some render the word, "every one that is consumed," with age; neither old nor young, as follows, should be spared. The Targum is, "everyone that enters into the fortified cities," flees there for safety and protection.

John Gill discusses :

John Gill - "joined" or "added"
Greek OT - "they that are gathered"
Targum - "everyone that enters into the fortified cities"
"some" - "every one that is consumed"

John Gill has the same Rev 18:4 cross-ref as Matthew Henry. And on the translation question issue John Gill speaks almost identically to John Calvin two centuries earlier. Joined or added is the basic meaning, there is a "consumed" alternative (Calvin called it feeble, Gill just mentions it as from "some"). And Gill adds the Greek OT and the Targum, which both clearly given as far closer to "joined" than "captured".

Our final historic Commentator is Albert Barnes.

http://books.google.com/books?id=bP42AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA273
Notes: Critical, Explanatory, and Practical on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
- Albert Barnes (1854)

Every one that is joined unto them -

Their allies and friends. There shall be a vast, indiscriminate slaughter of all that are found in the city, and of those that attempt to flee from it. Lowth renders this, ' And all that are collected in a body;' but the true sense is given in our translation. The Chaldee renders it, ' And every one who enters into fortified cities shall be slain with the sword.'

Here is the Albert Lowth translation (1815)

http://books.google.com/books?id=p_IoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA81
Isaiah 13:15
Every one, that is overtaken, shall be thrust through :
And all that are collected in a body shall fall by the sword.

So even though Lowth is far closer to the Authorised Version than "captured", Barnes offers a specific correction "the true sense is given in our translation". ie. "joined".

Barnes also give the Chaldee, the Aramaic Targum given by Gill. Clearly a Hebrew translation understanding of everyone "joined" can become, cross-language, everyone "that enters". However you would never get to "enters" from either "consume/destroyed" or "captured". Thus we are already noting, en passant, that the Greek LXX and the Targum are strongly supporting the Authorized Version over "captured" as well, James Price pretensions notwithstanding.

So even if, somehow, both Price and Combs had lost their critical thinking abilities, and had missed the Geneva Bible, Luther Bible and the Calvin commentary, simply reading any one of these three historic commentaries would easily have shown them that they should avoid Price's Folly. The absurd assertion of a "misread" or an "emendation" or an "indisputable error". And any competent "peer review" should have flunked the Combs paper simply for this obvious blunder or at the very least sent it back with a request for full fact-checking afresh and documentation of every item. If a blunder this bad got through as the "indisputable error" - clearly the whole paper is trash.

Shalom,
Steven