3:8

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

8a This will bring healing to your body

8b and refreshment to your bones.

This verse expresses the result of obeying the commands in 3:7b.

3:8a–b

healing…refreshment: The parallel terms that the Berean Standard Bible translates as healing and refreshment are literally “healing” and “drink.” In this context, healing probably refers not to recovery from an illness, but to restoration of full strength and well-being. “Drink” is a figure of speech (metonymy) that represents its result, namely, refreshment or strengthening.

to your body…to your bones: The parallel terms body and bones are figures of speech (synecdoche) that refer to the whole person. The bones are specified, because people in Old Testament times considered strong, healthy bones to be a sign of good health. Most scholars feel that this verse refers primarily to physical health and overall well-being. Thus, the New Living Translation (1996) has:

you will gain renewed health and vitality (New Living Translation (1996))

Here is another way to translate this:

This will make you healthy, and you will feel strong. (Contemporary English Version)

Be careful not to imply that the young man being spoken to was wounded and in pain.

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