The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Sarai” and “Sarah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign depicting coins on a headband, referring to women from the Middle East and North Africa who wear a headband decorated with small coins. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
2:1 God had finished creating the heavens and the earth and everything in them. This took seven days, so God worked for seven days creating the heavens and the earth and all the things He placed in them.
2:2 On the seventh day God rested.
2:3 God blessed the seventh day as His own special day. Why? Because he had completed His work creating the heavens and the earth and on this day He rested.
2:4 So that is it.
The heavens and the earth were created by Yahweh a very long time ago. This story is about what happened afterwards.
2:5 The earth had not yet grown green grass or trees. Why? Because Yahweh had not yet made it rain on the earth. There was also no one to sow the land and take care of the plants.
2:6 From deep within the earth, water sprang up and spread over the ground [mud]. This was used to create human.
2:7 Yahweh took this mud from the ground and formed a human. And Yahweh breathed life into the human and he inhaled and became living.
2:8 In the east, Yahweh planted a garden, He named this garden Eden. Then Yahweh took the human he created and placed him in the garden.
2:9 In the garden there were beautiful trees of every different kind that all produced fruits that were good to eat. Among all these trees stood one tree in the middle of the garden that was the tree of life. Next to it was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If someone eats from the tree of life, they will live forever. If they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they will come to know good and evil.
2:10 A river flowed out of the garden of Eden that nourished the trees. It parted and became four rivers.
2:11 The first river was called Pishon which flowed out into the land called Havilah. Havilah had these three things: a lot of gold,
2:12 Bdellium [gum from a tree that is used to make fragrance] and onyx [a shiny black stone].
2:13 The second river Gihon, which flowed out into the land called Cush.
2:14 The third river called Tigris, flowed out into the land called Assyria in the east. And the fourth river was called Euphrates
2:15 Yahweh placed the human in the garden of Eden to work and take care of it.
2:16 Yahweh commanded the human, “You may eat from any tree in this garden.
2:17 But the tree in the middle- the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat from this tree. If you disobey me and eat from this tree your life will be ruined and you will die.”
2:18 Yahweh looked at the human and said, “He is lonely, this is not good. I will create another person to help him.”
2:19 Yahweh had already created all the animals. He called all the animals to the man, all the four-legged beasts, the crawling creatures and winged animals, He called them to the man.
2:20 And the man gave names to all the animals. The man gave names to all the animals, to the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the forest, he named them all. The man saw that there were many, many animals but none was human like him.
2:21 So Yahweh caused the man to fall into a very deep sleep. As he slept, Yahweh took one of his ribs from his body and then healed his skin.
2:22 Then Yahweh used the man’s rib to create a woman. He sent her to the man. The man awoke and saw the woman.
2:23 He said, “Finally! A person like me. We are both bone and flesh. We are the same. She was created from my rib. She is ‘woman,’ my companion.”
2:24 This is why a man leaves his mother, his father and family to find a woman who will become his wife and they two will become one.
2:25 The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not ashamed.
Back-translation by Amakedia Wallen, coordinated by Tashi Widmer
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 2:17:
Kankanaey: “except the one tree from-which-you (sing.) would-come-to-know the good and bad, because on the day when- you (sing.) -eat from it, certainly you (sing.) will-be-condemned to die and you (sing.) will also be-separated from me.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “It is not all right, however, to eat even a little of the fruit of the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat, you will die that very day.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “except only the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and bad/evil. For/Because the moment you eat it, very surely you will-die.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But Yahweh said to him, ‘You must not eat the fruit of the tree that will enable you to know what actions are good to do and what actions are evil to do. If you eat any fruit from that tree, on that day your relationship with me will end. But I will permit you to eat the fruit of any of the other trees in the park/garden.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: but translates the common Hebrew linking term, which here leads to an exception to the permission to eat given in verse 16. For the full expression see verse 9.
You shall not eat: this may also be rendered “you must not….” Some languages may make use of the idea of taboo here; for example, “There is only one tree which it is taboo for you to eat its fruit….”
For in the day that you eat of it is literally “for on the day [of] your eating from it”; that is, “the very day you eat from it,” or “straight away.”
You shall die is the same Hebrew double verb construction as is translated “freely eat” in verse 16, and here the meaning is “you will certainly die,” “you will die for sure.” The emphatic statement may also be translated “you will die on the day you eat it.”
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 .
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