your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [b] your sheep and goats and your cattle.

So, you're saying God is on the Atkins diet??

(Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist....)

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That poor girl. What a terrible accident.

I'm glad you have a workable solution, Susan, even if it's not the best possible. The cluelessness of your landlord astounds me.

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So, you're saying God is on the Atkins diet??

Well, the early signs are in Genesis, wherein Cain offers God a bunch of grain and stuff, and Abel gives him a sheep, and God goes for the protein and bails on the carbs.

Kinda breaks down if you try to apply it to Isaac and Jesus, though.

Or at least gets very icky.

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Well, you know man is in the "image" of God. Doesn't mean that God=man and therefore would be less cannibalistic.

(We're getting into a weird area here. Not that this would be so unusual.)

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Well, the lady in the supermarket yesterday told me to eat more meat to get better centred (also to have more sex) and tied that to being made in not the literal image of God, but the image of his wants and desires.

Obviously Atkins.

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OK. The rent money has been transferred to the power company, and our lights will stay on. Next on DH's list of asses to kick is our landlord's, and he has this idea for how to try to persuade the landlord to sell us the house at a discount based on the fact we've been here since '99--sure, he'll get less money than if he sold it on the open market, but it'd also be a lot less hassle, and he'd get the money quicker.

If somehow this could all work out to leave us owning this place, what with the nice neighbors and good-sized yard and the perfectly decent, convenient location right here in the city, it'd be the best annoying angst-producing crisis EVAH.

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Also, do you know what it means when a Bible verse is quoted with "NIV" at the end? I'm writing cover copy for a devotional, and this verse from Exodus is cited: Exodus 20:24b, NIV. I don't get the "b" or the "NIV". Could you or Cindy (or anyone else) clue me in?

Yeah, it's New International Version. If you see KJV it's King James Version. RSV = Revised Standard Version. NSRV = New Revised Standard Version. NLT = New Living Translation. There are a ton of translations in English, and a lot of abbreviations. If you need more of them explained, give a holler.

I didn't see your question about the "b" answered. If I'm being repeato girl, I'm sorry. But just in case...

The "b" afther the "24" indicates they're taking the second half of the verse.

Exodus 20:24 reads:

" 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

In this case, I would imagine they're using the verse from the "Wherever I cause..." point, forward.

Sometimes, if you're reading the text, you'll see [b] or whatever, in the text. In that case the [b] would be taking you to a footnote. But when a letter is part of the verse reference notation, it's signifying you're taking the second part of the verse.

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Oh, I was being repeato girl. Sorry Susan and -t.

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You clarified my guess, Cindy. I was tricked by a footnote.

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Susan, you weren't the only person to get very little sleep last night.

This stuff that went on at my house yesterday has me really freaked out. It was keeping me up for a while last night, and I'm still trying to figure out what, if anything to do about these developments.

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