It takes some time in church to hear things right. Most new attenders mishear the Aaronic Blessing as the Ironic Blessing. The Aaronic Blessing is a form of words given by God to Moses’ brother Aaron the priest, with which to bless the Israelites: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” It is a beautiful blessing, with trinitarian structure, and full of grace.

Funnily enough, there are a few Ironic Blessings in the Bible. One is where a nervous king has hired a rogue prophet to curse a protected people. Except what comes out of the wizard’s mouth is not a curse but a blessing, much to the chagrin of the king. Then there’s Esau who foolishly sells his precious birthright to his brother Jacob, but then tries to obtain some sort of compensation. That might better phrased as the Moronic Blessing.

But perhaps the worst blessing is the Sardonic one, where the proud king of Babylon descends to the realm of the dead, only for the inhabitants to rise up to mock him. ‘The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming… “You also have become weak, as we are… All your pomp has been brought down to the grave… maggots are spread out beneath you… How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!”’