Genesis 1 in Jamaican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Genesis 1 into Jamaican Sign Language:


Source: Jamaican Sign Language Bible Translation

1:1 A very, very long time ago, God created the heavens and the earth.

1:2 The earth was not yet formed and contained nothing, it was completely void. Water flowed endlessly and the entire earth was completely dark. God looked over all this. The Spirit of God, [like a bird], hovered over the water.

1:3 God spoke, saying, “Let there be light.” And the darkness became light.

1:4 God looked at the darkness and the light and saw that it was good.

1:5 God called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness ‘Night.’ Evening passed and morning came and that was day one.

1:6 Then God said, “Let there be a great dome to separate the waters above from the waters below.”

1:7 So God made a great dome to keep the waters above separate from the waters below.

1:8 God called the dome above ‘Heaven.’ Evening passed and morning came and that was day two.

1:9 God said, “Let there be dry land.” And the water gathered and dry land appeared.

1:10 God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the waters He called ‘seas.’ God looked at the earth and seas and saw that it was good.

1:11 God said “Let the earth produce plants of every kind. Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. Let these plants grow on the earth.”

1:12 And it happened; the earth produced plants of all different kinds. Grass sprang up abundantly across the land, stalks with grains of all types [corn, rice, wheat, oat], trees of all varieties sprang up yielding fruits of all different kinds [orange, mango, banana, plums, guavas, guinep] everywhere [tomatoes, pineapple, strawberries, watermelon] [of all different sizes and shapes]. These plants sprang over all across the land, reproducing themselves through seeds. God looked over this and saw that it was good.

1:13 Evening passed and morning came and that was day three.

1:14 God spoke to the heavens, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. These lights will indicate the seasons, days and years.

1:15 The lights from heaven will give light to the earth.”

1:16 God made two great lights: the greater [brighter] light to rule the day, and the lesser [dimmed] light to rule the night, along with the stars.

1:17 God placed these lights in the sky to give light to the earth.

1:18 The greater [brighter] light ruled over the day and the lesser [dimmed] light ruled over the night and separated light and darkness. God looked at this and saw that it was good.

1:19 Evening passed and morning came and that was day four.

1:20 God spoke to the waters below and the heavens above, “Let the seas be filled with living creatures and let birds fly above in the heavens.”

1:21 God created huge sea creatures and many different animals swarmed the waters [shrimp, lobster, octopus, turtles, crocodile, whales] the sky was filled with different winged animals of its own kind [great and small- dove, crow, eagle, parrot, hummingbird]. God looked at this and saw that it was good.

1:22 God looked at the heavens and the earth and blessed them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the seas, let the birds multiply across the earth.”

1:23 Evening passed and morning came and that was day five.

1:24 God spoke to the earth “Let there be living creatures of different kinds: farm animals [cows, sheep, goat], crawling insects [bugs, worms, snakes], and wild animals of different kind [lion, leopard, elephant, ostrich, kangaroo, alligator]

1:25 So God created all these different types of animals. God looked at this and saw that it was good.

1:26 Then God thought of creating man [human]. Why? To be stewards [responsible] for the earth. To take care of birds in the sky, the animals in the sea and the creatures all over the earth.

1:27 God created man and woman in His own image and likeness.

1:28 God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth. Let man and woman rule over the earth, over the fishes in the sea and the birds in the sky, and the animals on the land. Be stewards of the earth.”

1:29 God said to the man and the woman, “Look at all the plants and trees, I give you all the plants that bear fruits and grains to eat freely.

1:30 All green grass, grains and fruit trees I give to all the animals, every bird and crawling insect, to eat from freely. Every plant is theirs because they have the breath of life which I have given them.” And they all went ahead and ate freely.

1:31 God looked at all He created and saw that it was good. Evening passed and morning came and that was day six.

Back-translation by Amakedia Wallen, coordinated by Tashi Widmer

Creation Story Overview in Israeli Sign Language

The following is an overview of the creation story in Israeli Sign Language and its back-translation into English.

Genesis chapter 1 tells us how God created the world in the beginning.

In the beginning of all things there was deep water without boundaries. Darkness was everywhere. The Spirit of God moved over the waters.

On the first day God made light. God saw the light: it was good! God divided the light from the darkness.

The second day.

On the second day there was endless water everywhere. What did God do? He divided the waters up and down and put a strong arch in the middle. What did God call this arch? The sky. The waters are deep below, under the arch, and the waters are deep above, above the arch.

The third day.

What was the world like on the third day? Here is the firmament. Below it is the great expanse of water. What did God do? He gathered the waters together in one place. The place without water was dry land. God called the dry land ‘earth’. In sign language we make the gesture ‘EARTH’. God called the collection of water ‘seas’. In sign language we make the gesture ‘sea’.

And God made different plants grow from the dry land — herbs, flowers, fruit trees.

The fourth day.

On the fourth day, God made the sun, the moon and the stars. God put the sun and the moon on the firmament. And he put the stars all around the firmament. What are the sun, moon and stars for? They shine down on the earth. Because of the sun, moon and stars, we know when the days and nights are; the months and seasons change.

The fifth day.

On the fifth day, in the depths of the water, God made various sea creatures, large and small, and various fish. And on the earth God made all kinds of birds. The birds fly between the earth and the sky. God blessed the birds and the sea creatures and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply”.

The sixth day.

On the sixth day, God made various land animals on the earth — large animals, small animals, domestic animals, wild animals, reptiles and insects.

And on the sixth day God made man — male and female. God gave them His face. God blessed man and woman equally. God gave all animals to man. Man is God’s last and most important creation.

Video by Whole Word Institute , originally posted here . Back-translation by Luke Manevich.

complete verse (Genesis 1:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 1:30:

  • Kankanaey: “The food moreover of the birds and all the creatures that stay on the earth, (it is) all the kinds of green-things (same word as raw/uncooked) that grow.’ And it was accomplished/fulfilled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “To all the beings that live on the earth, the birds in the heavens and the beings that creep on the earth, I have given green [lit.: grass] plants to eat.’ And it happened just like that.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And I am-giving to all the animals all the grass and leaves for/as their food.’ And it happened.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I have given all the green plants to all the wild animals and to the birds and to all the creatures that scurry across the ground, to everything that breathes, for them to eat.’ And that is what happened.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 1:30

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 .