Substituting the Name of YHWH with "LORD"

Substituting the Name of YaHuWaH with “LORD” or “Lord” as has been done in most translations, is against all Scripture. 

1. It is a transgression of the Third Commandment.  Exo 20:7 “You do not bring the Name of YHWH your Elohim to naught, for YHWH does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught.”  By this commandment, we are prohibited from bringing His Name to nothing, or falsifying it. 

2. It is a transgression of the command in Deu.  4:2, “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you.”  (See also Deu. 12:32, Prov. 30:6 and Rev. 22:18-19, where this command is repeated.)

3. in Jeremiah 23:36,  YHWH reproves the prophets:   “…for you have changed (overthrown) the Words of the living Elohim, YHWH of hosts, our Elohim!”. See also Isa. 24:5.

4. The word “Lord” is not an innocent title.  This is also transgression of Exo 23:13 “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.”   This title can be traced back to false deities! 

5. Terms traditionally used to substitute the Name YHVH include:  LORD, God, Adonai, Powers of Heaven, etc. 

In their extreme and mistaken attempt to observe the Third Commandment, a “fence* to the Scriptures” was built called the Massorah.  In 134 passages, the Scribes altered YHWH to “Adonai” to prevent the pronunciation of the Name.  It is alleged by some that the Massoretes did not give the true vocalization for YHWH, but used the vowel signs for the alternative title “Adonai” for the same reason.  In the traditional translations, this practice continues with the Name being translated with “LORD”  and other titles.  This practice is still observed today, where both Jews and Messianic believers use the words “HaShem” and “Adonai” as substitutions for the Name YaHuWaH.  “HaShem” literally means “The Name.”  “Adonai” means “Master.”

In the Greek Manuscripts of the Messianic Scriptures, the Name is substituted by titles such as “Powers of Heavens,” etc., in order to abstain from using the proper Name and upsetting the religious institutions of the day.  Even today, religious institutions object to the use of the proper Name in favor of titles such as “Lord,” “God,” and many others.  (Comments adapted from “The Scriptures.”)

After leaving Christianity, I attended a certain Messianic synagogue for a time. However, after butting heads with the rabbi of that congregation over this topic, there was no other choice for me but to leave. It was not because we didn't agree. It was much more serious than that. He would allow no discussion of the topic within the congregation. In other words, he forbade even private discussions between two people who saw the issue in the same light. So this practice of breaking the Third Commandment is alive and well everywhere, in both synagogues and churches.  Knowing the truth, brethren, what shall we do about it?

A well-meaning friend once intimated that we should not offend those who are in the habit of using "HaShem" (i.e., Jews and some Messianics) by using the Father's Name. So in other words, we should offend our Father by NOT using His Name so as not to offend someone else? I don't think so! I do not go out of my way to be offensive (except that speaking the Truth IS offensive to many), but I am offended by those who avoid using His Name in favor of circumlocutions. So what's the difference? The commandment is to be followed, and if someone is offended as a result, then so be it.

As a side note along these lines, because of Exo. 23:13, we should also be very careful about using the names of false gods.  This would include the names of the days of the week, which are named after these false gods, and the names of the first eight of the 12 months of the year on the Gregorian calendar .  How creative can we be in a society that drowns in paganism? It is almost impossible, especially when we consider everyday words in the English language (such as "fortune," "luck," "money" etc.) that come from the names of false gods. Nevertheless, it seems to me that those who truly love Abba will avoid using these names.

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*An example of a "fence" would be when you don't want your little child to burn himself on the stove because it is hot and you tell him to stay out of the kitchen because you don't want him anywhere close to it.

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