Lost in Translation

"For years, English speaking Christians read a Bible that said little about justice. In the older King James Version (KJV), the word justice never occurs in the New Testament, and rarely in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word mishpat is mistranslated as "judgement" about 100 times and as "justice" only once." -Ownership, Land, and Jubilee Justice, Making Housing Happen

I mean, seriously take a look at Amos 5:24 from two different translations. Essentially it's one word that's different but it changes the whole meaning:

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." KJV

"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." NIV

Let judgment run down. Think about the image that evokes..

Later in the same chapter of the book I'm still currently reading (Making Housing Happen) it talks about how most translators interpret the Greek word dikaiosyne as "righteousness", even though a growing number of scholars will insist that it means both "justice" and "righteousness" or justice/righteousness.

With what might be a more accurate translation, take a look at this well known verse and see how it comes alive in a new way:

"Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice." Matthew 6:33

Suddenly.. the Bible has even more texts about justice. Which if we're honest, that's more consistent with the themes that run throughout scripture.