This next verse in the Proverbs has been translated two different ways. I do not like the translation of the Amplified Version, but for the sake of continuity, I will continue to use it.
"A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity." Proverbs 17:17, Amplified
In the New King James the verse reads very differently: "A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Quite a different translation. So which is correct?
It is my belief that there are two separate entities spoken of in this verse, a friend and a brother. What the Amplified seems to do is combine the two into one single being. Do friends fight? Yes, at times they do. Do friends love? Yes, more times than not.
The two different translations I spoke of in the opening statement are these: 1) that the friend loves at all times and brothers only fight (for example sibling rivalry). & 2) that a friend loves at all times but only a brother can truly love in times of adversity.
I am more drawn to the second translation because there is a certain bond that family has that cannot be replicated through friendship. There are different kinds of love and the love within the family unit is unique in itself. A friend cannot love (it is my belief) the way that family can, or should. As a Christian I have grown by leaps and bounds for I grew up in a very dysfunctional household. Nor did I have a brother that could love in times of adversity because he could not understand how for he is terminally mentally handicapped. So who is my brother? Brotherhood can exist within the bond of strong belief systems. My church is my brotherhood. they can love me in the hard times, they can console me in the sad times. In my definition, brotherhood is raw, rough and honest; friendship not so much.
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