A lot of people say the word "lord" is the English translation of the Hebrew word "ba'al". Does Exodus 23:13 mean that we should remove the word "lord" from our Bibles entirely and replace it with another word?

Answer From The Annual Reading Schedule - Week 18 Notes For Exodus: No. First of all, I would like to point out that I disagree with stating that the word "ba'al" is "lord" in English. Rather, if we look at how many people replace the Name of Yahweh with "Adonai", and how English translations following this tradition replace it with "LORD", this actually shows to me that "Adonai" means "Lord" and therefore "ba'al" would need to be translated as a different English word. I am of the opinion that the Hebrew word "ba'al" actually corresponds to the word "master", not "lord".

Therefore, I disagree with the translations that translate "Adonai Yahweh" as "Master Yahweh", and believe the proper translation for the phrase, "Adonai Yahweh" is actually "Lord Yahweh". Many will sharply disagree, but the fact of the matter is that the word "LORD" and "Adonai" being the words used to replace the Name of Yahweh actually is the strongest proof in my opinion that Adonai does mean "Lord", not "ba'al". And, if we were to translate "Master Yahweh" back into Hebrew, it seems that you would be saying the word ba'al before the Name of Yahweh every time, which is not something I think we're supposed to be doing at all.

In an effort to have our speech pure, I wonder if a lot of people have missed the point of what we're supposed to be doing and possibly started doing the very thing we are all trying to avoid! Our goal should not be to "avoid words that we used to use entirely, just because." Our goal should be to speak the Scriptures in English as accurately as possible so as to represent what is in the Hebrew. That means if the Name Yahweh is there, we say Yahweh; but this also means if the Hebrew word for "Lord" is there, we say "Lord" in English (or, if our conscience is uncertain or we don't want to offend others, stick with only speaking the Hebrew word itself).

I agree, we should not replace Yahweh's Name with the word "LORD" or "GOD". We should definitely read the Name Yahweh where it appears in the Scriptures.

However, I disagree with this new idea that the word "Lord" must be entirely removed from the English Bibles we read from. If the word "Adonai" means "Lord", then any place Adonai (or Adon, etc.) would be in Hebrew, we would translate it as "Lord" in English.

If you disagree, and you maintain the view that "ba'al means Lord, and Adonai means Master", then you still have to put the word "Lord" somewhere in your Bible if you're going to translate it into English! Either way you look at it, it doesn't make sense to completely remove the word "lord" from an English translation.

We have to use equal weights and measures.

The only exception I could understand to this rule, is if you just leave the word in the Hebrew and don't translate it at all into English – that I could understand. The reason I understand that is because some are bothered in their conscience to say "Lord" or simply do not want to offend others who are bothered by it.

These words, Adonai and Ba'al, are not the same, so it doesn't make sense to translate them the same way as simply "master". One of these is a term frequently used to refer to Yahweh, and one of these terms is definitely not! We must make a distinction between these two words not only in Hebrew but also in English. If not, then we are better off just sticking with the Hebrew words themselves.

Since both the words "Adonai" and "ba'al" are both in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is 100% unavoidable that if you're going to accurately translate the entire scriptures into English you will end up having the word Lord somewhere in the Bible.

Just to clarify, you should be aware the word "ba'al" is not just the name of some false thing; it is also a normal Hebrew word used in various places. Here are a few examples of the Hebrew and English:

Exodus 21:34 בַּעַל הַבּוֹר...
Exodus 21:34 ba'al HaBowr...
Exodus 21:34 The master of the pit…

Deuteronomy 22:22 כִּי־יִמָּצֵא אִישׁ שֹׁכֵב עִם־אִשָּׁה בְעֻלַת־בַּעַל…
Deuteronomy 22:22 Kiy-yim'matsei iysh shokheiv im-ishshah be'ulat-ba'al…
Deuteronomy 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a master…

Genesis 20:3

וַיָּבֹא אֱלֹהִים אֶל־אֲבִימֶלֶךְ בַּחֲלוֹם הַלָּיְלָה וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הִנְּךָ מֵת עַל־הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר־לָקַחְתָּ וְהִוא בְּעֻלַת בָּעַל׃

Genesis 20:3

Way'yavo Elohiym el-Aviymelekh bachlowm hal'laylah way'yomer lo hinnekha meit al-ha'ishshah asher-laqachta wehiw beulat-ba'al

Genesis 20:3

and Elohiym came to Aviymelekh in the dream in the night and he said to him, look at you, dying because of the woman which you took and she is the married of a master,

Exodus 22:8 (22:7 in WLC Hebrew Text) אִם־לֹא יִמָּצֵא הַגַּנָּב וְנִקְרַב בַּעַל־הַבַּיִת…
Exodus 22:8 Im-lo yim’matsei hag’gannav weniqrav ba’al-ha’bayyit…
Exodus 22:8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house…

So back to the question: Does Exodus 23:13 mean that we should remove the word "lord" from our Bibles entirely and replace it with another word? Well, no more than we should do so with the word "ba'al". Yahweh said not to add to or take away from His words, so if His words include the word "ba'al", and "ba'al" means Lord in English, then what is wrong with using the word "Lord" when reading the Bible?

Yahweh could have commanded Mosheh or the scribes at some point to remove the word "ba'al" from all these places in the Torah if he intended that we literally never speak this word, or other legitimate words which were sadly used for some false things that are not Elohiym. However, Yahweh did not give such commands. Therefore, I find that the doctrines requiring removal of all such words from English does not make any sense either.

So what is the proper interpretation of Exodus 23:13? Perhaps it should be taken just for what it says with the understanding that obvious exceptions are permitted for the reading of the Scriptures and communicating to others in order to share the truth with them. Did Yahweh intend that you would be prohibited from reading the Hebrew Scriptures themselves in the native Hebrew language by giving this command? Surely not! So it is nonsense to teach that this verse outlaws reading words out loud that appear in the Scriptures in the original Hebrew language they were written in. Similarly, it is obvious Yahweh did not intend this command to hinder our ability to share the truth with others just because a huge number of words in the English language sound like something when spoken that phonetically is similar to some false thing someone else believes in.

We can see from Zechariah 13:2 that when Yahweh‘s will is done on earth as it is in the shamayim (heavens – skies), He will cause it to be that the names of idols will not be remembered… … … So if Yahweh wants the names to not be remembered, then why do so many seem to want to remind us about these idols' names? Let's stop the madness already! If saying a name bothers your conscience, or you realize it may bother others, then do your best to avoid it for the sake of yours or their consciences'; but I do not promote this idea of banning every single word that someone took and used for the wrong purpose. In reality, if you apply that doctrine consistently, you will realize very soon through research that a large number of English words are unusable and you will have to be fluent in Hebrew.

In His timing, Yahweh willing, we all will be fluent in Hebrew in the resurrection when we are in our new spiritual bodies and all will have a perfect, pure clean language (Zephaniah 3:9). But for now, requiring fluency in Hebrew is more than what some are able to bear, and I do not believe Yahweh is expecting everybody to be fluent in Hebrew right now.

My current practice is to avoid words, where possible, around people that I think may be offended by them or which may bother my or their conscience. My conscience has been affected by learning various idols' names from various books, so now my practice is to not teach people anymore about pagan origins of words, but let them learn on their own those things, because I do not want to remind them about the names of idols if they do not already know about them.

I do teach people what the Hebrew words mean which I use, but I do not tell them they "must" use Hebrew also for every single word. I also explain how some may be offended by some words so that they are not as shocked when they encounter someone who teaches heavily about names of idols.

The Bottom Line Is This: The word "ba'al" was used to refer to someone who was a master of a pit, a master of a woman, a master of a house, etc.. You can't read the Hebrew Bible and avoid the word "ba'al" coming out of your mouth entirely. That alone is enough proof that forcing people to avoid a large number of English words in their Bible completely is not required, because it was never even required for those who were reading Hebrew to begin with even when it was known beyond a doubt that the word was being used for some false idol.