This verse deals with provision being made for the birds and animals. Some understand verse 30 to be in contrast to verse 29, while others take the two verses to be saying much the same. Revised Standard Version takes the second view: And to every beast of the earth. Bible en français courant is similar, with “In the same way I give the green plants….” Good News Translation, on the other hand, assumes a contrast: “But for all the wild animals.”

Beast of the earth is the same as in verses 24-25 and refers to the wild animals or all kind of animals that have not been domesticated.

Every bird of the air: see verse 26.

Everything that creeps: see comments on verses 24-26.

Good News Translation has included wild animals and small animals in “for all the wild animals.” However, most translations prefer to keep the three groups separate; for example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, which understands the verse to be in contrast to verse 29, says “but for the wild animals, for all those that crawl along the ground and the birds….”

Everything that has the breath of life: breath of life translates the same expression rendered “living creature” in verses 21 and 24. This expression is a summation of all groups of animal life; Bible en français courant, in contrast with Good News Translation, retains it in full by translating “in brief, everything that lives.”

I have given every green plant for food: the words I have given are supplied by Revised Standard Version. New English Bible and others have “all green plants”; but Good News Translation and others focus on the green of the plant, meaning the leafy parts or the foliage, and so Good News Translation has “grass and leafy plants.” For comments on plant see verse 11.

And it was so: see verse 7.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In this verse the woman recognizes three advantages in the forbidden tree: the fruit is good, the tree is beautiful, and eating would make her wise. So without further discussion with the snake she takes some fruit and eats it.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food: So marks the following clause as introducing a consequence. Revised Standard Version structures the first part of verse 6 as a “when” clause with three “that” clauses, which in English stylistically overload the front end of the long sentence. Good News Translation, on the other hand, makes three sentences. Translators may find that verse 6 needs to be further restructured into shorter sentences. For example,

• The woman saw how beautiful the tree was, and how good the fruit would be to eat. She thought, “How wonderful it would be to become wise.” Because she was thinking this, she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it.

Good News Translation is like this model in switching the order of the first two clauses to give a better English style.

The tree was good for food refers to the fruit of the tree, as in 2.9. For delight to the eyes see the similar “pleasant to the sight” in 2.9, which is also another way of saying “beautiful” (Good News Translation).

The tree was to be desired to make one wise is a close literal translation of the Hebrew, in which was to be desired represents a passive participle. In some languages this will be more clearly rendered “a person desires the fruit of the tree because [eating] it makes that person become wise.” New English Bible says “tempting to contemplate,” and Bible en français courant “and they [the fruits] gave [the person] an urge to eat in order to acquire a broader knowledge.” Wise translates a word meaning “insight, understanding.”

After the woman had eaten she also gave some to her husband. Husband translates the word for “man” in 2.23 and is here grammatically possessed.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse is a lament or complaint. Cain directs his complaint against God, a complaint about the punishment imposed on him, and against his potential enemy. Translators should try to use whatever features their own language has to bring a complaining or whining tone into their rendering of Cain’s words. Behold is the same term as used in 3.22, but in this context it is one of the features that mark the words that follow as a lament. One recent translation has focused on this feature and used an equivalent local expression “You look!” to make Cain’s words easy for all readers to recognize as a complaint.

Thou hast driven me this day …: driven translates a verb meaning “to send away, banish, expel” and is the same verb used in 3.24, “drove out.” This day refers to the time when Cain is lamenting; that is, “today.” Good News Translation “you are driving me…” makes the action present time, and so “today” can be omitted. Away from the ground refers back to the words of the curse in verse 11, “cursed from the ground.” See verse 11 for comments. In translation this expression should point clearly to the land that is worked to produce food. In English “off the land” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible) expresses this well. We may also say, for example, “away from the fields [or, gardens] where we grow food” or “away from being a farmer.”

And from thy face I shall be hidden: face [of God] is an idiomatic expression meaning “from God’s presence” or “from the place where God is.” Some scholars have argued that Cain refers here to the home of the Kenite tribe, and that the ground refers to the land of Canaan. However, this view presupposes that the narrative is set in Canaan when the people of Israel are settled there. This is very unlikely.

Some interpreters understand that face [of God] in from thy face I shall be hidden refers to God’s anger; but in the context of a lament, it is more likely that Cain is complaining that he will be cut off from God’s blessing and kindness, or that he is being banished from God’s protecting presence, and so exposed to death by revenge. Good News Translation has “away from your presence.” Bible en français courant says “I shall have to hide myself far from you,” which is a good translation model.

A fugitive and a wanderer on the earth are the same words as in verse 12. Whoever finds me does not suggest that people will be actively pursuing or looking for Cain, but rather that people will happen to meet him wherever he is wandering. The New English Bible rendering “Anyone who meets me” gives the sense. Good News Translation has “anyone who finds me” here, but “anyone who met him” where the same verb is used in verse 15. This has also been translated “if someone sees me…” in the sense of the person recognizing Cain as a fugitive from justice. In one other translation Cain’s emotion and the tone of lament are brought out at this point by saying “I am afraid, lest anyone who meets me….”

Slay me translates the same verb used in Gen 4.8. The narrator is not concerned that, according to the information so far in his story, there is no one else around who could murder Cain.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Now the earth was corrupt: Now translates the Hebrew linking word that in this case helps to show a contrast or opposition between the corrupt earth (human beings) and the good man, Noah. Good News Translation expresses this as “but everyone else was evil in God’s sight,” and Bible en français courant has “but in the eyes of God humanity was corrupt.” In translation this opposition may have to be made very clear, and something like “everyone else” may be required. We may say, for example, “all the rest of the world,” or “all others.” Earth does not mean the physical earth here but rather its inhabitants, that is, human beings, or people. Corrupt translates a passive verb meaning “to be damaged, spoiled, ruined,” and the application to humanity means moral corruption. Human beings are considered as having departed from right or correct conduct and so are following the wrong way. Good News Translation says “was evil” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “were full of evil….” In some languages corrupt may be rendered “and everyone else had gone astray” or “all others were doing what they should not do.”

In God’s sight (literally “to the face of”) may also be expressed “in the eyes of God.” This expression is the same in meaning as “God saw” in verse 12, and some translators may wish to express it in that way here. For example, one translation begins this verse with “But God saw the conduct of everyone else that it was very bad….”

And the earth was filled with violence: earth now means the physical world where people live and do their violence. Violence translates a word meaning “injustice, wrong, lawlessness.” The English word “violence” suggests forceful, physical acts and may be too restricted in its meaning in this context. We may translate “everywhere people paid no attention to what was right and wrong” or “people treated others cruelly and unjustly.” One translation has “they were engaged in fighting and arrogant behavior.” Another says in very general terms “their bad conduct.”

The expression was filled with is figurative, and in some languages it is not possible to use this with an abstract noun such as violence. There are a number of different ways of expressing what it conveys; for instance, one translation has “… had covered every place,” and another begins “In every part of the world they….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

He blotted out every living thing: He refers to God, who was last mentioned in 7.16. In translation it may be necessary, as in Good News Translation, to replace He with “The LORD.” Living thing translates the same Hebrew word used in Gen 7.4. See there for discussion. For blotted out see 6.7 and 7.4.

Face of the ground is as in 2.6 and Gen 7.4. The sense is “from the earth,” “off the face of the earth,” or as New English Bible says, “everything that existed on earth.” The order of living creatures given here follows that in 6.7 and is identical in wording. Translators should follow their translation of 6.7.

They were blotted out from the earth repeats and emphasizes that the LORD’s purpose has been accomplished. Some versions do not repeat this. Translators should follow the devices for emphasis that are natural in their own language. One approach that has been followed here is to give more detail in the second sentence, instead of repeating the same general statement twice; for example, “… all people with every living thing, he destroyed them. He drowned them all, until they were all dead.”

Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark: left here means remained alive, survived, lived, did not die. Only translates a Hebrew adverb that focuses and restricts attention to a particular subject. The sense is equivalent to “No one else except Noah” or “No one but Noah.” The Hebrew begins with the verb, which is singular, but it does not separate Noah from and those that were with him. Most modern English translations, like Good News Translation, keep “Noah and those who were with him” together as the subject.

Those that were with him probably refers to Noah’s family but may also be understood to include the animals that were in the boat. The first interpretation is seen in Good News Translation “Noah and those who were with him.” New English Bible and Moffatt seem to favor the second, “Noah and his company.” This may be made clearer with “Noah, his family, and all the animals in the boat.” The two possibilities may be seen expressed in two recent translations: (1) “Only Noah, with everyone who was with him in the big boat, only those ones stayed alive.” (2) “One group only was not hurt in the flood; that was Noah with his family and all the birds and animals inside the boat.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

These he delivered into the hands of his servants, every drove by itself: after selecting the animals, Jacob put his servants in charge of them. The text expresses this as “He gave every herd by itself into the hands of his servants.” What Jacob does is to form several small droves or herds (there were five hundred and fifty animals altogether plus the young camels). He puts servants in charge of them to guide or herd them as they go out to meet Esau. The wording of Good News Translation is a good model to follow.

Jacob then instructs his herdsmen Pass on before me; that is, “Go ahead of me,” “Go in front of me.” The Hebrew translated Pass on can also mean “cross over”; it is therefore possible in this context that Jacob is saying “Cross the river ahead of me.” If the sense is “cross the river,” the river refers to the Jabbok. For further discussion of the route they traveled, see the comments introducing the text of 32.22-32. King James Version has “Pass over before me”; and some other translations have similar renderings.

Put a space between drove and drove: that is to say, “Leave a space between each of the herds.” The idea is that the gift herds are to reach Esau in intervals, part of Jacob’s plan to impress on Esau the extent of his tribute. The idea of a space between cannot be rendered literally in some languages. Two different ways this may be handled are “Don’t let any group of animals travel close to another group” and “Go ahead of me, but not all together; the goats are to go first, then the sheep will wait for a while and then follow, and the three other groups are to do the same.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir: as in verse 11, Esau silently gives way to his brother’s objections. Revised Standard Version is again very literal here. The meaning is “That same day Esau returned to Seir” or “That very day Esau started back to Seir.” Note Good News Translation “Edom,” as in verse 14.

Jacob and Esau now go their separate ways, but they will come together again to bury their father in chapter 35.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .