taH vIHHa'!

Search lIj ghaj tIq Daq lIj bed, je taH vIHHa'.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Psalms 4:4b

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Klingons, as I've noted before, are not Vulcans. Nor do humans present a passionless, dry and logical face to the universe. That is why we - humans and Klingons - need this word of scripture, the command to taH vIHHa' / be still.

[In fact, if you know the history of the Vulcan race, even they needed this advice - for they too have a violent and bloody history.]

I've noted that the Bible's advice is NOT to be without emotions. "Be angry, and don't sin" is how Paul interprets the beginning of this verse, in his letter to the Ephesians. The problem is not emotion - rather the problem is letting it run away with us. Even Jesus displayed anger in facing down the abuse of religious people when he turned the moneychangers out of the temple.

The concern is our response to troubling emotions - and this passage points the way:

Search lIj ghaj tIq Daq lIj bed, je taH vIHHa'.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Psalms 4:4b

The word vIHHa', still, is the same Klingon term used in the KLV of Psalm 23's "still waters." vIH - be in motion, plus the negation suffix, Ha' means "not be in motion," i.e. be still. The Hebrew root here is different - here it is damam, only appearing a couple of dozen times in the Bible, translated as cease, be cut down (off), forbear, hold peace, quiet self, rest, be silent, keep (put to) silence, be (stand) still, tarry, and wait. Here it is used to tell us, in effect to "stop and think."

About what? We do well to reflect on all that God has done. Klingons like this - to recount triumphs - ta'mey Dun, bommey Dun (great deeds, great songs) as they say it. So scripture encourages us to remember what God has done

How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word and following its rules.
I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:9,11 NLT

But the stillness matters too. To be vIHHa', still, means ceasing the endless flow of distractions that boil around us. From cell phones, ham radio, ipod, pager, computers and more, I feel at time wrapped in a thick fog of words, words and more words. We do well to cultivate silence. As Ecclesiastes notes:

The more words you speak, the less they mean. So why overdo it? Ecc 6:11 NLT

Search lIj ghaj tIq Daq lIj bed, je taH vIHHa'.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Psalms 4:4b