A popular Yoruba song (based on a faulty translation of Isaiah 33:1) says:
"Abanijẹ́ ènìyàn tó ń bà'yàn jẹ́ kiri,
Lọ́jọ́ to bá dẹ́kun àtibanijẹ́
La ó bà ọ́ jẹ́ o".
(i.e. O destroyer, the day you stop destroying others,you will be destroyed)
This can dissuade sinners from repentance and make them continue in
sin to evade nemesis.
What does the rest of the Bible say? Consider these examples.
* "If someone wicked turns away from all his sins and keeps my
statutes and does what is just and righteous,he will surely keep
living. He will not die. None of the sins he had committed will be
held against him. He will keep living for doing what is righteous"
(Ezekiel 18:21,22)
* "Joy arises among the angels of heaven over one sinner who repents"
(Luke 15:10)
*" Repent,therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted
out,so that seasons of refreshing may come from the Lord himself"
(Acts 3:19)
*"Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the
Kingdom of God. Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual
sins,idol worshippers,adulterers,male
prostitutes,homosexuals,thieves,greedy people,drunkards,abusers and
swindlers shall not have a share in the kingdom of God. And yet that
is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean,sanctified
and declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and with
the spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
The above faulty rendition of Isaiah 33:1 in some Bible versions must
have arose from a poor understanding of the Biblical languages. The
Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew before being
translated to Greek,then Latin,...,English,etc. Before you can
translate correctly from one language to another,you must understand
both languages perfectly.
Isaiah 33:1 is properly translated as, "O destroyer, when you finish
destroying others,you will be destroyed".
