--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In his Bible that day or the next…" description: "\"“In his Bible that day or the next, Bonhoeffer was reading Psalm 74. This was the text he happened to be meditating upon. What he read startled him, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/eric-metaxas-1651_bible_in-his-bible-that-day-or-the-next-bonhoe_860581.png" --- # In his Bible that day or the next, Bonhoeffer was reading… ![“In his Bible that day or the next, Bonhoeffer was reading Psalm 74. This was the text he happened to be meditating upon. What he read startled him, and with his pencil he put a vertical line in the margin to mark it, with an exclamation point next to the line. He also underlined the second half of…” quote by Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/eric-metaxas-1651_bible_in-his-bible-that-day-or-the-next-bonhoe_860581.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/eric-metaxas-1651_bible_in-his-bible-that-day-or-the-next-bonhoe_860581.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/eric-metaxas-1651_bible_in-his-bible-that-day-or-the-next-bonhoe_860581.png) > ““In his Bible that day or the next, Bonhoeffer was reading Psalm 74. This was the text he happened to be meditating upon. What he read startled him, and with his pencil he put a vertical line in the margin to mark it, with an exclamation point next to the line. He also underlined the second half of verse 8: “Sie verbrennen alle Häuser Gottes im Lande.” (“They burn all of God’s houses in the land.”) Next to the verse he wrote: “9.11.38.” Bonhoeffer saw this as an example of God speaking to him, and to the Christians in Germany. God was telling him something through his Word that day, and as he meditated and prayed, Bonhoeffer realized that the synagogues that had been burned in Germany were God’s own. This was when Bonhoeffer most clearly saw the connection: to lift one’s hand against the Jews was to lift one’s hand against God himself. The Nazis were attacking God by attacking his people. The Jews in Germany were not only not God’s enemies; they were his beloved children. Quite literally, this was a revelation.”” [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bonhoeffer interpreted a biblical passage as a divine warning that persecuting Jews was equivalent to attacking God, deepening his moral conviction against Nazi cruelty. **In simple terms:** Persecuting Jews equals attacking God. Key Takeaway Recognize the sacredness of all people. Themes faith morality resistance humanity Mood solemn reflective Type historical theological inspirational When to use this quote - WWII resistance - interfaith dialogue - personal reflection - moral decision making Key Concepts theology prophetic insight ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing the divine in others change your actions? - What responsibilities arise from seeing all humans as sacred? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be subjective and may not reflect universal truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) ## Related quotes > [“(Bonhoeffer's) change was not an ungainly, embarrassing leap from which he would have to retreat slightly when he gained more maturity and perspective. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-s-change-was-not-an-ungainly-embarrassing-leap-from-which/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Bonhoeffer himself knew that in all of it, he was being utterly obedient to God. For him, that was the cantus firmus that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-himself-knew-that-in-all-of-it-he-was-being-utterly/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Bonhoeffer thought of death as the last station on the road to freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-thought-of-death-as-the-last-station-on-the-road-to-freedom/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Bonhoeffer’s rule never to speak about a brother in his absence. Bonhoeffer knew that living according to what Jesus taught in the Sermon on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-s-rule-never-to-speak-about-a-brother-in-his-absence/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Death reveals that the world is not as it should be but that it stands in need of redemption. Christ alone is the conquering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/death-reveals-that-the-world-is-not-as-it-should-be-but-that-it-2/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“We will have to move through a very deep valley, I believe much deeper than we can sense now, before we will be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/we-will-have-to-move-through-a-very-deep-valley-i-believe-much-deeper/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic. Do not defend God's word, but testify to it. Trust to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/do-not-try-to-make-the-bible-relevant-its-relevance-is-axiomatic-do/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Wilberforce, because of his faith, stood up for African slaves. Bonhoeffer, because of his faith, stood up for Jews. That's Christianity to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/wilberforce-because-of-his-faith-stood-up-for-african-slaves/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Bonhoeffer knew that twisting the Truth to sell it more effectively was inexcusable. 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It gave him a certainty of judgment and manner that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/the-rich-world-of-his-ancestors-set-the-standards-for-dietrich/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“If you board the wrong train it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction. —DIETRICH BONHOEFFER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/if-you-board-the-wrong-train-it-is-no-use-running-along-the-corridor/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“Bonhoeffer’s theology had always leaned toward the incarnational view that did not eschew “the world,” but that saw it as God’s good creation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/bonhoeffer-s-theology-had-always-leaned-toward-the-incarnational-view/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## More by Eric Metaxas > [“If we believe miracles cannot happen today but happened to our distant ancestors, what we really seem to be saying is not that miracles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/if-we-believe-miracles-cannot-happen-today-but-happened-to-our/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“(Bonhoeffer's) change was not an ungainly, embarrassing leap from which he would have to retreat slightly when he gained more maturity and perspective. 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God was telling him something through his Word that day, and as he meditated and prayed, Bonhoeffer realized that the synagogues that had been burned in Germany were God’s own. This was when Bonhoeffer most clearly saw the connection: to lift one’s hand against the Jews was to lift one’s hand against God himself. The Nazis were attacking God by attacking his people. The Jews in Germany were not only not God’s enemies; they were his beloved children. 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