Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Literal Translation of Genesis 1-2:3 (from the Hebrew)

1 Genesis 1-2:3
1.1 1:1-5

In [the] Beginning, Elohim created the (two) Heavens and the Earth. And the earth became chaotic and empty, and darkness [was] over [the] surface of [the] deep water; but the brooding Spirit of Elohim [was] over [the] surface of the waters. Then Elohim said, “[There] shall be light” - and light was. And Elohim saw the light that [it was] good; and Elohim distinguished the light from the darkness. And Elohim called the [period of] light “Day”, and the [period of] darkness He called “Night”. So there was evening, then there was morning - a first day.

1.2 1:6-8

And Elohim said, “[There] shall be Space within the waters, and it shall be a dividing space between waters from waters.” So Elohim made Space and separated between the waters which [were] under the Space from the waters which [were] above the Space - and it was so. And Elohim called the Space “Sky”. So there was evening, then there was morning - a second day.

1.3 1:9-13

And Elohim said, “The waters under the sky shall be collected into one area, and the dry land shall appear” - and so it was. And Elohim named the dry land “Earth” and [the] collection of the waters He called “Seas”; and Elohim saw that [it was] good. Then Elohim said, “The earth shall sprout [the] sprout, [the] herb producing seed, [and the] fruit tree bearing fruit according to its kind (whose seed [is] within it)... upon the earth” - and it was so. So the earth brought out vegetation: [the] shrub seeding seed according to its kind and [the] tree bearing fruit (whose seed [is] within it). And Elohim saw that [it was] good. So there was evening, then there was morning - a third day.

1.4 1:14-19

And Elohim said, “[There] shall be a bodies of light in the heavenly sky to distinguish the day from the night. And they shall be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and they shall be for lights in the heavenly sky to shine upon the earth” - and it was so. And Elohim made the two great lights (the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night) and the stars. And Elohim set them in the heavenly sky to shine upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to distinguish the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that [it was] good. So there was evening, then there was morning - a fourth day.

1.5 1:20-23

And Elohim said, “The waters shall teem [with] a swarm of [the] living creature and [the] bird shall fly above the earth upon [the] surface of the heavenly sky.” And Elohim created the enormous long creatures and each living creature that swims about which the waters teem [with] according to their kind and every winged bird according to its kind; and Elohim saw that [it was] good. And Elohim blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and become many and fill the waters in the seas, and the bird shall multiply in the earth.” So there was evening, then there was morning - a fifth day.

1.6 1:24-31

And Elohim said, “The earth shall bring out [the] living animal according to its kind (beast and creeping thing and living creature of [the] earth) according to its kind” - and it was so. And Elohim made [the] creature of the earth according to its kind and the beast according to its kind and every creeping thing of the (red) ground according to its kind; and Elohim saw that [it was] good. And Elohim said, “We shall make man in Our image, according to Our likeness and they shall dominate over [the] fish of the sea and over [the] bird of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over each of the creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And Elohim created man in His image; in Elohim's image He created him; male and female He created them. And Elohim blessed them and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and dominate her and rule over [the] fish of the sea and over [the] bird of the sky and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And Elohim said, “Behold! I have given to you every herb seeding seed which [is] upon [the] surface of the earth and each (of the) tree (in which [is] [the] fruit of a tree seeding seed) to you it is for food. And to every living creature of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every creeping thing on the earth in which [is] life-breath, every green herb [is] for food” - and it was so. And Elohim saw all that He made and behold! [it was] very good! So there was evening, then there was morning - the sixth day.

1.7 2:1-3

So the heavens and the earth were finished and all their organized host. And Elohim had finished, on the seventh day, His work which He had done. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He did. And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart because during it He rested from all His work which Elohim created to make.

A review of Blue Letter Bible

http://www.blueletterbible.org/ is one of the best English Bible search engines around. I do not use all the features all of the time, but here are some pros and cons that I notice on a regular basis:

Strengths
  • Fast search times
  • Word-searches all translations simultaneously. (a rare find!)
  • Easy to use on multiple browser tabs.
  • Searches English and original languages with H/G + Strong's number.
  • Easy, full access to Greek and Hebrew lexicons. (more detailed and sophisticated than Strong's lexicon)
  • Can select a "Preferred Bible" translation to use every time you open the site from a personal computer.
Weaknesses
  • Cannot search Greek words within LXX (a Greek translation of Old Testament) - but what Bible search engine can? [The full version of Online Bible can...]
  • Word dictonaries have good potential but are not highly intuitive yet.