BIBLE-IN LEI MUM THU A SAWI EM? (cf. Isaia 40.22)

April 29 (Vànglaini)-a ka thu ziah tlâng kawm nân Billy Graham-a thusawi, “Tûnah chuan vânram hi a dung lam yard chuti zât, a vâng lam yard chuti zât tiin ka sawi ngai tawh lo. Bible hi Pathian thu a ni tih ka ring a. Nimahsela, Bible-ah hian ka pawm hleih theih loh leh ka sawi rem hleih theih loh thil tam tak a awm. Tûnah chuan ka ngaih dàn ka thlák ta a. ...,” a ti tih khân facebook lamah sawi zui a hlawh angreng a. Mi ṭhenkhatin Bible-ah hian lei mûm thu ziah a ni an ti a; lei mûm ziahna lai an tih chu Isaia 40:22, “Ani chu leilung kualkhungna chunga ṭhu chu a ni” hi a ni. He thu ‘leilung kualkhungna chunga ṭhu’ tih hi Harry Rimmer-an lei mûm thu sawina niin a hrilh fiah a ni àwm e. Mizo Bible-ah hian a chiang sa khawp mai; “leilung kualkhungna” tih chu lei chung lama awm tûr a ni, lei mûm thu sawina a ni lo. “Leilung kualkhungna” chu mi ṭhenkhat sawi anga lei a nih nghâl si chuan Pathian chu leiah a ṭhu tihna a ni ang. Mahse he thûin a sawi tum chu, vân sâng taka Pathian ṭhut thû a ni a; chuta ṭang chuan leia chêngte chu khau ang leka a hmuh thûin a zui nghe nghe a ni.

Hebrai Lexicon pakhat ‘A Hebrew - English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver & Briggs’ (BDB)-ah chuan he laia Hebrai thumal hman ‘hug’ (h hnuaiah hian dot awm tûr a ni a, a lam dàn pawh khug tih tûr) chu verb a nih chuan, “rin kual, thil bial siam” tih a ni a; reference ah Job 26.10 leh Thuf 8.27 pêk a ni (BDB, 1979:295). Joba 26.10 chu Mizo Bible-ah, “Tui ramri a siam a, thim leh êng thlen chinte nèn” tih a ni. Bible lehlin tharah chuan, “Thim leh êng inrina atân tui chungah kâwlkil a siam a” tih a ni; hei hian a awmzia chu a phawk fuh zâwk. Revised English Bible (REB, 1989)-ah chuan, “Tui chungah kâwlkil chîm chin tûr a bithliah a” tih a ni. “Kâwlkil chîm chin tûr bithliah” tih lai tak hi Hebrai thumal ‘hug’ hmanna chu a ni. Mizoin “kâwlkil” kan tih ber chu khua kan han chuan a, kan mit tlin tâwkah vân leh lei insi angin a lang kual ruih ṭhin a; chu lai vân leh lei insîkna ni àwm taka lang chu ‘kâwlkil’ chu a ni.

Thufingte 8.27-ah, “Tuifinriat chunga kal hualna a siam laiin” tih kan hmu a; lehlin tharah erawh chuan, “Tuithûkpui hual tûra kâwlkil a rin kual hmate khân” tih a ni. Hetah pawh hian lehlin thar hian ṭawng bul lam awmzia a phawk ṭha zâwk. The New International Version (NIV, 1978)-ah chuan, “Tuithûkpui chungah kâwlkil chin tûr a chhinchhiah lai khân” tih a ni a. Hetah hian “Kâwlkil chin tûr a chhinchhiah” tih lai tak hi Hebrai ṭawngin ‘behugo hug’ tih a ni; hêngah hian ‘hug’ chu thiltih sawina (verb) a ni a; leiah emaw, tuiah emaw ramri chin siam (rîn kual) tihna a ni.

BDB-ah ‘hug’ chu noun a nih chuan, “kaihkulh, vân kaihkulh” (vault, only vault of the heavens) tih a ni a (BDB, 1979:295); reference ah Job 22.14 leh Is 40.22 pêk a ni a. Joba 22.14 hi Mizo Bible-ah chuan, “Vân kual chungah chuan a kal vêl a” tiin lehlin a ni a; lehlin tharah erawh chuan, “Vanlaizâwlah a lêng vêl a” tih a ni thung; footnote-ah, “Hebrai kâwlkil, lei leh vân insîkna nia lang hi Pathian kalkawng a ni a, a kal kual a, lei a thlîr vêl ṭhin tih ngaih dân an nei.” tih a ni. New American Bible (NAB, 1970)-ah chuan, “Vân kaihkulh chungah a kal vêl a” tih a ni.

Isaia 40:22 hrilh fiah dàn hi thu inchuh inphûmna lai tak chu a ni. Mi ṭhenkhatin Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (JFB)-te hrilh fiah dàn ṭan chhanin, “Lei mûm chung, vân sângah khian a ṭhu a,” tih tûrah an ngai a. JFB hi kum 1870-1890 lam daiha tihchhuah kha a ni a; hrilhfiahna ṭha thawkhat ve tak ni mah se a hlui deuh tawh a, an thil hrilh fiah dàn hi a kip a kâwia pawm vek a harsa. Matthew Henry Commentary (MHC)-ah, “He sits upon the circle of the earth” tih hi lei mûm thu a sawina nge, lei khuhtu vân, ‘circle’ anga an ngaih ṭhin a sawina tih a chiang lo. Harry Rimmer-a’n Swedish ṭawngin “rund” an ti tih phei hi chu eng zâwk nge bial/mûm tih a chiang lo lehzual.

C.I. Scofield-a Reference Bible-ah pawh lei mûm thu sawina a ti chiah lo, “Mi tam takin he châng hi lei mûm (bial) thu an kawhtîr” a ti lek a; miin lei mûm thu sawina anga an ngaih thu a ziak chauh zâwk a ni. C.I. Scofield-a’n references a pêk zawng zawng (Job 9.8; Is 45.2; Is 44.24; Jer 10.12)-te hi Pathian chu lei leh vân siamtu leh kai pharhtu a nih thu sawina vek a ni a; lei mûm thu lam hawi pakhat mah a awm lo. Isaia 40.22 hi tûnlaia English Bible lehlin thar deuhten an dah dân lo thlîr ila:

RSV : above the circle of the earth

NRSV : above the circle of the earth

NAB : above the vault of the earth

REB : on the vaulted roof of the world

TNK : above the vault of the earth

TEV : above the earth and beyond the sky

NEB : on the vaulted roof of the earth

Hêng Bible lehlin hrang hrangahte hian ‘vault/vaulted’ tih a langsâr hle a. Bible hman dànah chuan ‘vault’ chuan lei mûm thu sawina ni loin, vàn kual ruih sawina a ni ṭhin. Vân kual ruih sawi nân Juda-ten ṭawngkam pahnih ‘hug hassamayim’ (vault of the heavens) leh ‘hug haaretz’ (vault of the earth) an hmang a; he ṭawngkam pahnih awmzia chu a thuhmun reng.

Edwin Yamauchi chuan, “Mi ṭhenkhatin Isaia 40.22 hian lei mûm thu kâwkin an ring a. Nimahsela, he chângin a sawi tum chu LALPA (Yahweh) chu lei chung kual ruih chunga a ṭhut thu sawina a ni” a ti (Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Vol 1. 1980:266). RN Whybray chuan, “Leilung kualkhungna (circle of the earth) hian kâwlkil kual ruih a kâwk a (lei hi thleng zâwl duai angin an suangtuah ṭhin a;) a nih loh leh vân boruak zau tak (firmament) emaw lei chunga khuhtu sakhat, Pathianin a siam emaw a kâwk ang” tiin a hrilh fiah a (RN Whybray, Isaiah 40–66 (NCB), 1987:57). H.C. Leupold pawhin, “He leilung kualkhungna tih awmzia chu vân mûm pul khi a ni” a ti bawk (HC Leopold, The Exposition of Isaiah II, 1971:35).

C.R. North-a chuan Isaia 40.22 thu hi, “Hei hian a kawh chu vân kaihkulh emaw vân boruak zau tak emaw khi a ni. Chu chu in chung chhîp mûm ang, lei chung lama kual ruih khi a ni a. Chutah chuan arsite an bei tuar a; a hnathawh chu vân sâng chung lama tuipui awm rawn baw tûr lo dan a ni” tiin a sawi (CR North, Isaiah 40–55 : Torch Bible Commentary, p 46). C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch-ten he thu hi hetiang hian an letling a, “Ani chu vân kaihkulh chung lamah khian lalṭhutthlêngah a ṭhu a” tiin. An hrilhfiahnaah chuan, “Ani chuan vân kual ruih, lei chung lama kual ruihah khian lalṭhutthlêng a hûng a” an ti (CF Keil & F. Delitzsch. Isaiah, 1969:152). John L. McKenzie chuan, “Hei hian lei chung lama sakhat ni âwm taka lang, vân kum kulh hi a kâwk a. Chu chu Near Eastern mite ngaih dân a ni a. Vân khi puan in ang deuha lei khuhtûah an ngai” tiin a hrilh fiah (JL McKenzie, Second Isaiah : Anchor Bible, 1983:22).

Tûnah chuan lei a mûm tih ka hre tawh; Bible-ah erawh chuan lei mûm thu sawi a ni lo. Bible sawi dàn hian kohhranah pawh zung a kaih thûk êm êm a. Copernicus leh Galileo-ten lei ni loin ni zâwk khi khawvêl laipui (heliocentric) an tih lai khân kohhran pawhin a hre thiam lo. Galileo phei chu a chungchâng an ngaihtuah vawi hnihna kum 1633-ah Roman Inquitition-in thiam loh a chantîr a; a thih 1642 thlengin house arrest-in an dah a nih kha. He ngaih dàn dik lo hi Roman Catholic kohhran chuan sût lohin a vawng reng a; Galileo thiam loh chantîr aṭanga kum 350 hnûah October 31 1992-ah khân Pope John Paul II chuan thupha chawiin Galileo thiam loh chantîrna chu a ṭhiat chauh a ni.