Bare, Bear, Bore

“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” ~ 1 Peter 2:24

Bare (adj.) ~ “without the appropriate, usual, or natural cover.”

Bear (verb.) ~ “carry the weight of; support.” or (noun.) “a large, heavy mammal that walks on the soles of its feet, having thick fur and a very short tail. Bears are related to the dog family but most species are omnivorous.”

Bore (verb.) ~ “past tense: bear.” or (verb.) “make (a hole) in something, especially with a revolving tool.” or- a lot more definitions that we are not going to list.

English is such a fascinating language. It is a language which borrows 80% of its content from 350 different other languages. It is a thief of a language. By this statistic alone, you can assume that at times, finding the right word is difficult. English has so many choices and we still struggle to say what we need to say.

Recently, I came upon 1 Peter 2:24 in the King James Version, but noticed something in the context of the verse that I never had picked up on. The verse reads, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” The word says “bare” not “bear” or “bore” as I always had read it. When studying the word “bare” I found that is nearly always denotes nakedness.

Its homophone “bear” is what I always implied this verse referred to. To bear something means essentially “to carry” or “hold.”

So I did what any theologian would do and I found the original Greek word to describe it. It left me in much more confusion. The word is anapherō and although it can be read as “to carry” it typically more so refers to “an offering” as in Jesus had offered His life on the tree/cross.

So in confusion, I sat and wondered. Why would the translators of the King James Version (and other versions for that fact) use the word “bare.” So then I researched the Old English for the word “bare” and what I found made me smile.

The same word for “bare” or “naked” would have bær which holds the meaning “sheer, absolute” (c. 1200) and is from the notion of “complete in itself.”

With that being said, read the verse again with that definition in mind.

“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” ~ 1 Peter 2:24

Now read it, with inserted definition.

“Who His own self, [completed in Himself or offered absolution of] our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” ~ 1 Peter 2:24

The translators understand that Christ baring our sins meant only He who complete in Himself could free us of “His own self” as the verse suggests. He didn’t just carry or “bear” out sins. That verse would be incomplete then because it doesn’t tell us where He dropped them off. If you carry something, eventually you will need to put it down.

Jesus made us complete, by absolutely doing away with our sin. He was the only person capable of doing so. The word here is not, bear, bore, carried, offered. The word is “bare.”

He gave absolution from our sins. And while we are in this conversation, one more definition couldn’t hurt.

Absolution (noun.) ~ “formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment.”

We are absolutely, entirely free, because Christ bare our sins on the Cross.

And as Scripture preaches, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” (Galatians 3:13).

I pray you enjoyed this thought. God bless!