| 1. | And all the land was one language and few words. | eìša ra þa uven a þa uleìne And all eìca(=land) ra(=be.past) one uven(=language) a(=and) common uleìne(=speech). |
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| 1D! | Yes, it literally says that the *land* was one language, not that it had one or that on it was one. True, Hebrew has no verb "to have", but there isn't the usual prepostion that would indicate possession ("to the land there was one language..."). What the above translation gives as "common speech" is, near as I can translate "few words." At least, that's the modern meaning of the word. The word I translate as "few" is syntactically a plural form of the word "one," so "common" may be implied. You can really drive yourself nuts when you consider that "word" also means "thing," but we'll let that alone. | As Taruven isn't an earthen language, and as all that took place in the Bible, took place on earth, I've chosen to indicate this throughout with using the Taruven word for our earth, terra, each time the entire planet is meant. If this could have (did) happen(ed) anywhere, eìca, world, would have been used. |
| 2. | And it was when [they] travelled from Qedem/the east, [they] found a plain in the land [of] Shin`ar and [they] dwelt there. | tsar yn džinra lyèhsvu ; fen šaỳamruaþ šinariaaþes aò fen tšēras ryes And during the time of vai(=wandering) [east]ve(=east.away_from) And it(~when) be.past when [they] travel.past kedemve(=Qedem)/the east, [they] find.past [plain]aþ(=plain.patient) cinariaaþal(=in the land of Shin`ar) and [they] dwell.past there. qedem = east/past, history |
| 3. | And [one] man said to his friend, "Come! We'll brick bricks and burn to a burning." And the brick was to them (to) stone, and the clay was to them (to) material. | aò yn uleìnetšara; oáh areìn aò ryádmān ; a ryádmān mān a nār fann And they uleìnera(=say.past) one to another, "Suggestion: make.imperative.suggestive brick.set a(=and_then) harden.imperative.suggestive them.agr[brick] burning.with." And brick be.past their stone, and clay be.past their material. |
| 3D! | "One man to his friend" is the Biblical Hebrew idiom for "one to another." "Come!" is a word (havah) that's used pretty much only in invitation to do something. It really does make "brick" into a verb, talking about "bricking bricks" and "burning (to) a burning" to discuss firing them. There are some extra prepositions which I've put into parens, but it basically says that the bricks were stones for them, and the "cheimar" was "chomer" to them. "Cheimar" is "clay" in Modern Hebrew (and likely was close then too); "Chomer" means "material" in Modern Hebrew, and almost surely does NOT mean that here. Note that the two words are closely related (same consonants). It presumably means that the "cheimar" was used as mortar. | |
| 4. | And they said, "Come! We'll build for us a city and a skyreaching tower, and we'll make for us a name, lest we be scattered on the face of all the earth." | aò sō uleìne ; oáh gaìn a tani ; sō ; eìša And they said, "Come! We build.future.subjunctive for us city a(=and) skyreaching tani(=tower), and we'll make for us reputation, lest we be scatter.past on face of all eìca (=earth)." |
| 4D! | A "name" is Hebrew idiom for "fame" or "reputation," as it is in English. | A "name" in English carries connotations of fame and reputation... This is not the case in Taruven, where you might earn a special form of name, the 'tag'. As a 'tag' can only be earned by a sentient entity, I've resorted to using a word for 'reputation' here. |
| 5. | And YHWH descended to see the city and the tower which the sons of Man (had) built. | aò jah xušvura tšahra gaìn-tanioì terraaìna And Y(=YHWH) xucvura(=descended) see.purpose city a(=and) tani(=tower) which terraaìna(=humankind) build.past.perfective. |
| 5D! | Hebrew's "past" tense is technically perfective, though it may have been shifting to simple past even in biblical times, but the Bible uses another tense (used nowhere else) for simple past most of the time. | |
| 6. | And YHWH said, "Behold, one nation, and [there is] one language for all of them, and this they have begun to do. And now, it will not be denied from them, all which they [will] plot to do. | aò jah uleìnera; tšah þaaìesið a þa uvenruið; a yn ïryeì ; fen And Y(=YHWH) said: " Look.imperative.suggestive; one nation of one uven(=tongue), and this is what they have begun, and now nothing prevent.future.conditional them from doing whatever they might imagine to do. |
| 6D! | "Behold" is not properly a command, like in English, just a word like "jen" in Esperanto. I'm a little shaky on some of these. "They have begun" is "hachilam," and it should be "heicheilu" (in Modern Hebrew, hitchilu). I don't really know about the grammar form offhand; I'll look into it. I'm also not familiar with the verb I've translated as "deny," I admit that's from context. I'll look it up also. | |
| 7. | "Come! We will descend and we will confuse their language there, that [they] will not hear [one] man the language [of] his friend." | oáh xušvu a uven ; uven "Come.imperative.suggestive! We will descend and we will confuse their language there, that [they] will not understand one another." |
| 8. | And YHWH scattered them from there on the face of all the earth, and they ceased to build the city. | aò jah eìša ; gaìnydh And Y(=YHWH) scattered them from there on face of all eìca(=earth), and they ceased to build city. |
| 9. | Therefore called its name "Babel," because there YHWH confused the language of all the earth, and from there YHWH scattered them on the face of all the earth. | babel; jah uven eìša; a jah eìša Therefore called its name babel(="Babel,") because there Y(=YHWH) confused language of all eìca(=earth), and from there Y(=YHWH) scattered them on face of all eìca(=earth). |