My Textual Criticism of "Pisseth Against the Wall" and Steven Anderson's Out-of-Context Usage of the Term
One good reason not to support Steven Anderson is how ridiculously dangerous this guy can get. Christians should not be listening to Alex Jones' conspiracy theorist programs or be reading Jesus-is-Savior.com. I used to read Jesus-is-Savior by David J. Stewart a lot without realizing that the guy was having a lot of weird doctrines (such as gap theory which should've been a red flag for me to avoid the site), flip-flopping (such as saying a believer can live like the rest of the world then flips his stance on the next), and conspiracy theories. Stewart even made me doubt my salvation reading his site because I believed in repentance of sin from the song "Victory in Jesus". Now, back to Anderson, who can really forget this ridiculous sermon of "pisseth against the wall".
The KJV has the phrase "pisseth against the wall" mentioned six times. It's amazing that every time the phrase is mentioned, it's connected to the judgment of people. Notice that the first time it's written that the judgment fell on the enemies of David (1 Samuel 25:22). The second time it's mentioned is in 1 Samuel 25:34 which is the judgment against the House of Nabal. The third time it's mentioned is in 1 Kings 14:10 and the judgment of the House of Jeroboam. The fourth time it's mentioned is in 1 Kings 16:11 which is the judgment against the House of Baasha, who fell from Zimri's rebellion. The fifth time it's mentioned is in 1 Kings 21:21 which is the judgment against the House of Ahab. The sixth time it's mentioned is in 2 Kings 9:8 which is again, against the House of Ahab. Modern versions render it as "every male person" since such a language can be rather embarrassing for some.
I wonder if Anderson has ever seen signs like this posted on the walls. It seems that the KJV translators were referring to disgusting conduct. Why do you think signs on the wall are put asking people not to urinate in those areas? It's because you definitely don't want to spread germs. Yet, Anderson interprets it as that men must pee standing up. I wonder if Anderson has noticed that those who are referred to as "to them that piss against the wall" refers to the wicked male people in every verse in the KJV that contains such verses. It's highly possible that the men in those wicked households had a conduct so disgusting that the KJV translators chose the phrase "pisseth against the wall" to describe their wickedness. Their wickedness is as contagious as misplaced urine. Yet, Anderson has misread the six verses in the KJV that contain such words. John Calvin's commentary puts it as "every male person" which is probably why modern translators don't write it as such. I guess Anderson might deliberately violate such rules by urinating against the wall with such a sign, therefore disqualifying him further from the pastorate!
My thoughts are that maybe, just maybe, the best translation for "pisseth against the wall" is "every wicked male person". Besides, some language in the Bible describes sin in such a repulsive way. I think pisseth against the wall describes the spiritual condition of the wicked men in those houses. However, I think the KJV translators could've been a little more careful with their choice of words even when I think those wicked men deserved such a term.