What In The World Are Spiritual Mondegreens?

Sometimes we have to listen very closely to understand the lyrics of some of our modern day songs. This is especially true with some of the rapid-fire lyrics of rap artists, who are nearly impossible to follow even with the printed lyrics in front of us. Of course this isn’t anything new. When we hear a song lyric that we don’t understand, we usually ask, “What in the world is that word?”

The term for misunderstanding a song lyric is “mondegreen.” The word was coined by Sylvia Wright in 1954. As a child, Sylvia heard a Scottish ballad that included the misheard lyrics, “They have slain the Earl of Murray and Lady Mondegreen.” As is sometimes the case with misunderstood Bible verses, she didn’t realize her mistake for years. She eventually discovered that the song was not about the tragic death of the Earl and a mysterious “Lady Mondegreen,” but only the Earl. The actual lyrics were, “They have slain the Earl of Murray and they layd him on the green.”

An example of a spiritual “mondegreen” (misunderstanding a Bible verse), is found in the beginning of Romans 11:26, where Paul declares, “And so all Israel shall be saved.” Modern premillennialists contend that there will be a mass conversion of the nation of Israel at the time of Christ’s return. Supposedly, the prelude to this event was the establishment of Israel as an independent nation in 1948. One of the texts employed to support this proposition is the above clause. From this text, the question is, “Will all Israel be saved?” The answer is found in how the little adverb “so” is used in the verse.

Discernment is something that at times can be difficult. Misunderstanding song lyrics is rarely something to be concerned with, but the misunderstanding of spiritual matters is a serious problem. This is why God was pleased that Solomon, when promised anything He asked for, requested “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9 NIV). Paul warns Timothy that a misunderstanding of the Scriptures can lead to worthless arguments and disputes (2 Timothy 2:14). The cure to this problem, is to study God’s word “diligently” (2 Timothy 2:15 ASV). Just as we would locate a written copy of the lyrics to a song in order to correctly understand any misunderstood lyrics, the best way to correctly understand God’s Word is to read all of it for ourselves – carefully and often (2 Timothy 3:16; Acts 17:11; Psalm 119:160; Psalm 139:17).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets