The Hebrew assonance tohu wa-bohu is often translated in English as “formless void” or some equivalent, but in some translations and languages attempts have been made to recreate some of its literary flavor:

• English: wild and waste (Everett Fox 1995); welter and waste (Robert Alter 2004); void and vacant (James Moffatt 1935); complete chaos (NRSVue 2021)
• German: Irrsal und Wirrsal (Buber / Rosenzweig 1976); wüst und wirr (Einheitsübersetzung, 1980/2016)
• French: vide et vague (La Bible de Jérusalem, 1975)
• Ancient Greek: aóratos kaí akataskévastos (ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος) (Septuagint)

A number of modern languages have also adopted form of tohu wa-bohu as an idiom for a state of chaos. These include:

• French: tohu-bohu
• Modern Hebrew תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu va-vohu)
• Dutch / German: tohuwabohu

See also formless void.