Froward vs Untoward

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation, Acts 2:40.

What kind of a generation was Peter describing?

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in its ability to trace a word through the centuries defines untoward: Of persons (or animals), their disposition, etc.: Difficult to manage, restrain, or control; intractable, unruly, perverse.

In frequent use from c1580 to c1700. In fact one of the sample sentences given is from Tyndale's Bible; Save youre selves from this vntowarde generacion.

Bible (Tyndale) Acts ii. 40.

Peter has warned his audience that they are a part of a generation that God sees as difficult to manage, difficult to restrain, and difficult to control. He warns them to save themselves from that generation and the judgment about to be unleashed on them.

Untoward is almost the opposite of toward which in our King James Bible indicates "in the direction of". It can be used to indicate the direction of travel, the direction an object or person faces, or the inclination of the heart in a direction. Untoward goes to the root of why a person is not directed towards an object. It explains why their hearts are not directed towards God.

Whereas untoward is only used once in our King James Bible, froward is used many times. God hates frowardness; The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate, Proverbs 8:13. To be froward is to be "Disposed to go counter to what is demanded or what is reasonable" (OED). It is further defined as, perverse, difficult to deal with, hard to please; refractory, ungovernable.

As an interesting note about the King James Bible, the OED quotes the Coverdale Bible as an example of that word; With the frowarde thou shalt be frowarde.

Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xvii[i]. 26.

Our King James Bible wisely cleaned that up; with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward, Psalm 18:26. God will never be froward. He hates froward. What he will do is purposely show himself as going counter to what froward people want. Froward people find God to be perverse (according to their desires), difficult to deal with, and hard to please.

God is not froward but he certainly knows how to feed the froward with their own medicine. A friend of mine in the ministry is laboring over a family who take a hidden pride in their frowardness. One of the perverse effects of a person who grows up being abused by someone in authority is that they develop an inward disinclination to obey anyone.

It takes a great patience to lead such persons or families out of their self imposed inclination to disobey. All too often, such people are miserable in their unhappiness but they attribute their inability to get ahead to personal or family bad luck. No, they are miserable in their lives because a just and holy God who loves them has personally set them apart to show himself froward to their prayers and wants.

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?, Romans 2:4.