From the Greek Septuagint text as was used by First Century Christians

Chapter 1

¹ These are the words of Amos [which tell] of things that took place [while he was at] Kiriath JaIrim in Tekoa, and of the things he saw concerning Jerusalem in the days of UzziJah the king of Judah, and in the days of JeroBoam (son of JoAsh) the king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

² [The Lord] said: ‘Jehovah spoke out of Zion, and from Jerusalem He sent out His voice. For, over the pastures of the shepherds He mourned, and for the drought on [Mount] Carmel.’

³ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of Damascus (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For, they used iron saws to saw open, those in Gilead with [babies] in their wombs. ⁴ So, I will send fire to the house of HazaEl, and the foundations of the sons of Hadad they’ll consume. ⁵ I’ll break the bars [of the gates] of Damascus, and those in the Planes of On I’ll destroy. The tribe of the men of Edem I’ll cut to pieces, and the best men of Assyria will be captured, says Jehovah.’

⁶ And the Lord said: ‘For three godless deeds of Gaza (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. Because they captured descendants of Solomon, and locked them away in Edom. ⁷ So, to the walls of Gaza I’ll send fire, and it will devour her foundations. ⁸ I’ll also destroy the inhabitants of AshDod, and from AshKelon remove a whole tribe. I will bring My hand against Ekron, and destroy the rest of the Philistines, says Jehovah.’

⁹ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of Tyre (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. Because of their capturing [the descendants] of Solomon, and locking them away in Edom. For, they forgot their treaty with their brothers. ¹⁰ So, to the walls of Tyre I’ll send fire, and it will devour her foundations.’

¹¹ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of Edom (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For, they pursued their brothers with swords, and [cut down] the mothers in the land. They seized them by force, as proof of the awesome terror they brought, and were moved to do this ‘til they won. ¹² So, I will send fire against Teman, and it will consume her foundations.’

¹³ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of Ammon’s sons (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For those of Gilead they ripped open, who had [babies] in their wombs, just so they could widen their borders. ¹⁴ Thus, on the walls of RabBah I’ll light a fire, and it will devour her foundations, with a cry in the day of their war, and it will be shaken in the day she’s consumed. ¹⁵ And into captivity I’ll send her king, along with her rulers and priests, says Jehovah.’

Chapter 2

¹ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of Moab (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For, the king of Edom’s bones they burned into dust. ² So, I’ll send fire upon Moab, and it will devour the foundations of their cities. Then Moab will be left without strength, in the time of cries and the blowing of trumpets. ³ I’ll destroy her judges and all of her rulers… yes I’ll kill them, says Jehovah.’

⁴ And the Lord said: ‘Because of three godless deeds of sons of Judah (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For, they pushed [aside] the Law of Jehovah, and His orders they didn’t follow. So, I will cause them to wander, behind all the vain idols they have made… those which they’ve followed [since the time of] their fathers. ⁵ Then I will send fire upon Judah, and the foundations of Jerusalem I’ll destroy.’

⁶ And the Lord said: ‘Because of Israel’s three godless deeds (and even four), I won’t turn [My] attention from them. For, to buy sandals they wanted silver, from the righteous and needy… ⁷ things [they needed] to walk on the dust of the ground. They slapped the heads of the poor, and [twisted] the ways of the humble. Why, with the same slaves, both fathers and sons had relations, so they could profane the Name of their God. ⁸ Then they used their clothes and rough cords, to set up canopies next to the Altar. And there they drank the wine they extorted, inside the [Temple] of their God.

⁹ ‘For I lifted the Amorites from before them, as high as the cedars are tall, because he became as strong as an oak… but I removed all his fruit from their tops, and his roots from underneath him. ¹⁰ And then from the land of Egypt I led you… for forty years I led you on through the desert, so you could inherit the Amorite’s land. ¹¹ Then I took your sons as [My] Prophets, and your young men to be holy. O sons of Israel; Aren’t these things so, asks Jehovah?

¹² ‘But you gave wine to the holy to drink, and told the Prophets not to foretell! ¹³ So, because of this, I’ll roll over you, just like a wagon filled with stubble. ¹⁴ Then all hope of flight into exile, by those who can run will be lost; the strong will not keep their strength; and there’s no way that a warrior will save his own life. ¹⁵ The bowmen will not be able to stand, and those fleet of foot won’t be saved. The horseman won’t save his own life, ¹⁶ and the strong won’t find any strength in their hearts… they’ll be chased naked in that day, says Jehovah.’

Chapter 3

¹ Hear these words that the Lord spoke concerning you, O house of Israel, and against every tribe that He led from the land of Egypt. For [He] said, ² ‘Only you have I known from all tribes of the earth, and because of this (because of your sins), I’ll take vengeance upon you.

³ ‘Could two walk together and not make themselves known? No!
⁴ Will a lion roar from the woods, if he hasn’t [caught] any game? No!
Will a cub call out from his lair, if he’s been unable to capture prey? No!
⁵ Will a bird fall to earth, without [being shot by] a hunter? No!
Will a snare on the ground close and not catch? No!
⁶ Will the sound of the trumpet be heard in the city, without bringing terror to the people? No!
Will harm come to a city, if it’s not done by Jehovah? No!

⁷ ‘There’s nothing that God Jehovah will do, unless it’s revealed to His servants the Prophets. ⁸ As a lion roars and all who hear fear it; when Jehovah God speaks who’ll fail to prophesy?

⁹ ‘Announce it among the Assyrians, and to the places down in Egypt! Tell them to gather on the mountains of Samaria, and see the many wonders within her, as well as the tyranny in her midst! ¹⁰ Yet, they don’t [see] what will befall her, says Jehovah, for injustice and misery are treasured in that place.

¹¹ ‘It’s because of this, says God Jehovah, Tyre and all around it will become desolation. For, I’ll remove all their strength, and tear all their regions to pieces.

¹² ‘Jehovah says: As a shepherd will pull from the mouth of a lion, two legs or part of an ear, so the sons of Israel will be ripped (those dwelling in Samaria and [the city of] Damascus), before a tribe that is foreign.

¹³ ‘Hear O priests, then to the house of Jacob proclaim it, says Jehovah God the Almighty. ¹⁴ For, in the day of My vengeance on Israel, for all their irreverent deeds, I’ll also bring vengeance on the altar at BethEl… the horns of the altar will be razed, and it will fall to the ground.

¹⁵ ‘I’ll confuse them and strike the turrets on the barns, where their harvests are stored, and destroy all their ivory houses, as well as the homes [that surround them], says Jehovah.’

Chapter 4

¹ ‘Hear these words, O heifers of Bashan; those in the mountains of Samaria; those who tyrannize the poor, and trample upon all the needy… those needy who must ask of their masters, Please give us something to drink! ² For by all He holds holy, God has sworn this oath: Look! The days will soon come, when they’ll grab you and your families, and throw you into hot cauldrons. ³ You’ll be led away naked in lines, and they’ll throw [your bones] on Mount Hermon, says Jehovah.

⁴ ‘For, whenever you went up to BethEl, you did so in irreverent ways. And at GilGal you showed even greater irreverence, for you brought your sacrifices in the morning, and on the third day brought in your tithes. ⁵ Then they read outside of the Law, and called for an offering of confession. So, you must now announce this: that because sons of Israel loved such things, says Jehovah, ⁶ toothaches I’ll send to your cities; I’ll send shortages of bread to all of your places, for you left Me and did not return, says Jehovah.

⁷ ‘I’ll hold back the rain on your crops for three months, then I will [send] rain to one city, but there’ll be no rain on another. I will send rain on one portion, but no rain on another and it will be dry. ⁸ So, the residents of two or three cities, will come to one city to drink their water, but there’s no way that they will be filled. For, to Me you did not return, says Jehovah.

⁹ ‘So, I struck you with jaundice and fire, and though you multiplied your gardens and vineyards, as well as your groves of olives and figs, by caterpillars they were devoured. Yet, to Me you did not return, says Jehovah.

¹⁰ ‘From Egypt I sent you a plague; I killed your young men by the sword, and took away all your horses. Because of your rage I sent fire to your camps, yet to Me you did not return, says Jehovah.

¹¹ ‘I wiped you away [like] Sodom and GomorRah, and you became as coals that are pulled from the flames, yet to Me you did not return, says Jehovah.

¹² ‘Because of such things, O Israel; both this and that I’ll do to you, until you prepare to call on your God!

¹³ ‘{Look!} I brought the thunder and I made the wind; and I report to men of His caring. For He produces the dawn and the fog, and is mounted on the heights of the earth… His Name is Jehovah God the Almighty!’

Chapter 5

¹ Hear the word of Jehovah, for He has this lamentation against you:

‘The house of Israel fell,
And never again will it rise.
² The virgin of Israel tripped on her land,
And no one is able to raise her.

³ ‘For, thus says Jehovah [her] God:

‘From the city that a thousand had left,
Only a hundred [will return];
And the one from which left a hundred,
Ten from the house of Israel will return.

⁴ ‘For, thus says Jehovah to the house of Israel:

⁵ ‘Inquire of Me and you’ll live!
Do not seek after BethEl;
Into GilGal don’t enter,
And do not [walk to] the Well of the Oath!
For, those in GilGal will be captured,
And BethEl will no longer exist.

⁶ ‘So, inquire of Jehovah and live (as did the house of Joseph), so you will not be burned! For, it will come and consume him, and there’ll be no one to douse Israel’s fire.

⁷ ‘It is He who determines what’s right in the heights, and He who sets earth’s righteous [standards]. ⁸ He’s the One who made it all, and it’s He who made everything different. It’s He who turns shadows into morning, and the day into darkness of night; It is He who calls the water of the seas, and pours them upon the face of the ground… Jehovah God the Almighty is His Name.

⁹ ‘It is He who divides the conflicts and strengths, and He who brings misery to their forts.

¹⁰ ‘But; There are those who scolded at the gates, and abhorred those who brought sacred words, ¹¹ as they struck the poor with their fists, and stole from them their choice gifts… [I] see the houses of wood panels that you’ve built, but there’s no way you’ll be able to live there. [I] see the desirable vineyards that you’ve planted, but there’s no way that you’ll drink their wine. ¹² For, I know of your irreverent deeds, and the mighty ways that you’ve trampled the righteous… how you’ve inflated all your prices, and turned the needy away from your gates. ¹³ Because of this (during that time), He will perceive and stay silent, for an evil time it will be.

¹⁴ ‘So now; Ask for the good not the bad, that you will be able to live, and Jehovah the Almighty will be with you! He’ll provide the things you ask when you say: ¹⁵ We detest all the bad things, and we love all the good things.

‘So, at the gates restore justice, that Jehovah God the Almighty, may show mercy on the remnants of Joseph.

¹⁶ ‘It’s because of this, says Jehovah God the Almighty; In all your squares you’ll be beating your chests, and saying in your streets Woe [is me]! The farmers will be called to do mourning… they’ll beat on their chests and they’ll wail. ¹⁷ For they’ll know all the ways to beat on their chests, because I will go through your midst, says Jehovah.

¹⁸ ‘Woe to those wanting the Day of Jehovah, for they’ll say: What does this mean… the Day of the Lord? Why, it brought us darkness not light!

¹⁹ ‘[It’ll come in the same way as this]: As when a man flees the face of a lion, or when he’s attacked by a bear… as when he should rush inside his house, and then grab hold of its walls, just to be bitten by a snake. ²⁰ So the Day of Jehovah brings darkness not light… it will bring dimness not brightness!

²¹ ‘I have detested and I’ve pushed away, all of your holiday feasts; and in your festivals I [find no delight]. ²² For; If to Me you should bring whole burnt-offerings, as well as other sacrifices, I’ll not favorably receive them, or look at the grandeur of offerings for salvation.

²³ ‘Remove from Me the sounds of your hymns, for I don’t care to hear the tunes of your psalms! ²⁴ Because; The waters of judgment will pour down upon you, and the river of righteousness you’ll never cross.

²⁵ ‘O house of Israel; You brought Me victims for sacrifice and slaughter, for forty years in the desert. ²⁶ But then you chose the tent of Molech, and the star of Raiphan as your god, and images of them you made for yourselves. ²⁷ So, beyond Damascus I’ll displace you says Jehovah… the Almighty God is His Name.’

Chapter 6

¹ ‘Woe to those treating Zion with contempt, and those who put trust in Samaria’s hills. For they harvested the heads of the nations, and they entered the house of Israel. ² Now, pass through them all and take a look; go from there to Hamath RabBah, and from there go to Gath of Philistia [the best out of all of these kingdoms]. Are your borders greater than theirs are?

³ ‘An evil day is approaching, those who hang onto false Sabbaths. ⁴ On ivory beds they lie down, andwastefully live upon their divans. They eat the kids of the flocks, and the suckling young calves from the midst of the herds. ⁵ They clap along as [music] is played, and think themselves well established (not as fleeting). ⁶ They drink [the best] filtered wine, wear the best of colognes, and the destruction of Joseph doesn’t concern them. ⁷ And because of this they’ll be captured, by a company of the mighty, and for EphraIm the snorting of their horses will be done.

⁸ ‘Jehovah swore an oath by Himself, and He said; Because I abhor all the insults of Jacob, and I have detested all his places, his city I’ll lift away, along with all who are in her. ⁹ And if ten should survive in a house, they will also [soon] die. ¹⁰ They will leave behind their own families, and not retrieve their bones from their homes. They will ask those in charge of their homes, Is anyone left there among them? And they will answer No longer. And then another will say, Be quiet… don’t mention the Name of the Lord. ¹¹ For {Look!) it was Jehovah who gave the orders, and He struck the mansions with fractures, while small houses were torn into pieces.

¹² ‘Will horses run in the rocks? No! Will they remain silent around females? No! Yet you turned justice into rage, and the fruit of righteousness into what’s bitter. ¹³ For, it was you who were glad [when you heard] no good words, and said: Was it not due to our strength that we [grew] horns?

¹⁴ ‘So now; Look O house of Israel… I’ll arouse a nation against you, and they’ll squeeze you and keep you from fleeing to Hamath, or from running to the river in the west.’

Chapter 7

¹ Then the Lord [came and] showed me {Look!} a breed of locusts that were coming early in the morning, led by Gog the grasshopper king. ² And after they had completed devouring all the grass in the land, I said, ‘O Lord, please be kind! Who will raise Jacob again, for now there are so few remaining… ³ O Lord; Change Your mind about doing this!’

But the Lord replied ‘That won’t happen.’

⁴ Then the Lord took me and showed me, and {Look!} he called for their punishment by fire, and it devoured the great abyss, as well as a portion [of the land]. ⁵ And I said, ‘O Lord God, please stop! Who will raise Jacob again, for now there are so few remaining? O Lord; Change your mind about doing this!’

⁶ But the Lord replied ‘That won’t happen.’

⁷ Then the Lord [took me] and showed me, and {Look!} there was Jehovah standing upon a straight wall holding a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’

And I replied, ‘A plumb line.’

Then the Lord said to me, ‘{Look!} In the midst of Israel my people, I will now set a plumb line, and then I’ll no longer go there. ⁹ Their shrines to laughter will be wiped away; sites of Israel’s mystic rites will lie waste; and against the house of JeroBoam, I will rise with a broadsword.’

¹⁰ Thereafter, AmaziJah (the priest of BethEl) sent [a message] to JeroBoam (the king of Israel) saying, ‘Amos is plotting against you in the midst of the house of Israel, and there’s no way that the land will be able to endure his words. ¹¹ For, Amos is saying, JeroBoam will come to an end by the broadsword, and Israel will be led from his land as captives.’

¹² Then AmaziJah said to Amos, there in front of everyone: ‘Get out of here! Go to the land of Judah! Spend the rest of your life there and prophecy there! ¹³ You may not prophecy in BethEl any longer, for this is the sanctuary of the king and the place of his royal palace.’

¹⁴ But Amos told AmaziJah, ‘I was not a Prophet or the son of a Prophet; I was just a herder of sheep and someone who picked the fruit of mulberry trees. ¹⁵ Then the Lord took me away from the sheep and said to me, Go and prophesy over My people Israel! ¹⁶ So now, hear the word of Jehovah! You’ve told me not to prophecy over Israel, and that there’s no way that mobs will be led against the house of Jacob. ¹⁷ And it’s because of this that Jehovah said, Your wife will become a city whore, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Then your land will be measured with a plumb line, and you’ll come to your end in a land that’s unclean. Then Israel will be led as captives from his land.’

Chapter 8

¹ Then {Look!} the Lord came and showed me the cage of a bird hunter, ² and He asked, ‘What do you see, Amos?’

And I replied, ‘A bird cage.’

Then the Lord said to me: ‘My people Israel have come to their end, for no longer will I overlook them. ³ So, there will be screaming in the stock pens, in their temple in that day, says Jehovah. There many will fall… then everywhere I will bring silence.

⁴ ‘Hear these things, O you who’re destroying the needy, and you who tyrannize the poor… ⁵ yes, all of you who are saying, When will the [New Moon] be over, so we can resume all our trading? When will the Sabbaths be over, so we can open our treasury, then measure out small and [unfairly], by adding to the weights of our scales, and using balance scales that aren’t fair; ⁶ so we can take silver from the needy and poor, in return for sandals and things that we trade?’

⁷ ‘Jehovah swore this oath about Jacob’s pride: Will all of this be forgotten? Will all that they’ve done be victorious? No! ⁸ And [He said] concerning these things: Won’t the land be disturbed, and won’t those who live there all mourn? Their consumption will rise like a river, and they’ll sink as they would in Egypt’s river.

⁹ ‘And it will be in that day, says Jehovah, that the sun will set at midday, and the land will be darkened in daylight. ¹⁰ Then your holiday feasts I’ll turn into mourning, and all your songs into wailing. Upon every loin I’ll bring sackcloth, and baldness upon every head. I’ll appoint them as those who’re mourning a loved one, and a day of grief for those who are with them.

¹¹ ‘{Look!} The days are coming, says Jehovah, when I will send famine to the land. It won’t be a famine of bread loaves, nor a famine of water, but a famine of hearing the word of Jehovah. ¹² Then from sea to sea the waters will shake. And from the north to the east they will run, seeking the word of Jehovah, but in no way will it be found.

¹³ ‘In that day pretty virgins and young men, will wilt and [be dying] from thirst… ¹⁴ those who swear oaths by Samaria’s Redeemer; those who say, Your god lives O Dan, as does yours O BeerSheba… they will fall and not rise again.’

Chapter 9

¹ I saw the Lord standing at the Altar, and he said, ‘Strike the Propitiatory and shake all the gates. Cut off all of the heads, and kill those remaining with the broadsword! There’s no way you can evade them by fleeing, and there’s no way you’ll be rescued and saved!

² ‘If they should [hide] in their graves, from there My hand will pull them. And if they should ascend to the sky, from there I will lead them back down. ³ If they should hide on top of [Mount] of Carmel, there I will search and I’ll take them. If they hide from My eyes in the depths of the seas, I’ll tell the beasts there to bite them. ⁴ If their enemies take them as captives, I’ll instruct their broadswords to kill them… yes, for bad things not good, I’ve set My eyes upon them.

⁵ ‘The Lord God Jehovah the Almighty, has grabbed the land in order to shake it. Then all who dwell there will mourn, for it will rise and fall like the Nile.

⁶ ‘Says He who built His ascent in the skies, and who gave a promise at the founding of the earth… He who calls to the waters of the sea, and then pours them out on the land… Jehovah [God] is His Name: ⁷ Are you like the sons of Ethiopians to Me, O the sons of Israel, asks Jehovah? Did I not lead Israel out of Egypt, or the Philistines out of Cappadocia, and the Syrians from out of the pit?

⁸ ‘{Look!} Jehovah’s eyes watch the kingdoms of sinners, and I’ll remove them from the face of the earth. But the ones I won’t completely remove, is the house of Jacob, says Jehovah.

⁹ ‘For {Look!} I will then give My orders, and the house of Israel will be threshed, among all of the nations, the same as you’d winnow grain with a shovel… and there’s no way a broken piece will fall to the ground. ¹⁰ By the broadsword the sinners among all My people, will then come to their end… those who say Evil won’t approach us… no, it won’t come upon us!

¹¹ ‘And in that day; I’ll resurrect the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild all its fallen things. The things I cut down I will raise, and rebuild it as was in the days of the ages, ¹² so the remaining men and all of the nations, may inquire of those who have called on My Name, says Jehovah… He who will do all these things.

¹³ ‘{Look!} The days are coming, says Jehovah, when the harvest will overtake the threshing, and the grapes will [ripen] during planting. Sweetness will trickle down from the mountains, and all the hills will be planted.

¹⁴ ‘Then I’ll return My people (the captured of Israel), and they’ll rebuild their cities and live there… they will plant vineyards and they’ll drink their wine; they will plant gardens and they’ll eat their fruit!

¹⁵ ‘In their own land I will plant them, and they won’t be plucked from the land that I gave them, says Jehovah [our] God.’

Notes

The Heavens or Sky, the Earth or the Land?

In both the Ancient Scriptures of Israel and the Christian Era Scriptures, we find all the realm of creation divided into three entities; the heavens (or sky), the earth (the land or ground), and the seas (the waters). Now, in contemporary English, we understand that there is a difference between the heavens and the sky, the earth and the land (or ground), and the seas and waters. However, in both Hebrew and Greek, these fine distinctions that we accept because of our modern technology, can’t be found. So, Genesis 1:1 could literally be translated as, ‘In the beginning God created the sky and the ground.’

This is accurate, because this was the view of man from the earth. There was the land that he stood on, the sky above, and the water over there. There was no technical understanding of the earth as a planet, because men didn’t view the earth as we do today, as a ball in space… it just wasn’t necessary at the time. However, because of these distinctions that we understand so well today, translators must choose the proper words to provide the right nuances in English, so readers can grasp the proper meaning of each text.

This is why you’ll find the Greek word ourano translated as both heaven(s) and sky herein, depending on the context. You’ll also find the Greek words ge and ges translated as earth, ground, or land, depending on the context. So, the symbolic words at 2 Peter 3:5, 6, for example, are translated herein as, ‘The thing that they don’t want to understand is this: That the ancient earth and sky were out of the water, but (in obedience to God’s instructions) they stood together between the waters.’ (For an example of the problems created by the wrong use of the words ge and ges, see the linked document Isaiah 24 - Is It Speaking of Armageddon?).

Notice that the ‘earth and sky’ were located ‘between the water.’ So, although other Bibles translated this verse as speaking of the ‘heavens and earth,’ the reference is to that portion of the heavens which is close to the earth… to the sky. Likewise, at Matthew 5:5, where Jesus spoke of the ‘meek’ as inheriting the earth; since he was talking about people receiving an ‘allotment’ on the earth, we have chosen to translate ges as earth, not land or ground.

And finally, when it comes to the seas (gr. thalassa), there are already distinctions as to different types of waters in the Greek text. For instance, seas are called thalassa and rivers are called potamos (or ‘flowing’). However, notice (in Revelation 20: 13) how the resurrection of the dead is divided between those who died on land and those who were lost in the water, ‘The sea gave up its dead, death and the grave gave up those dead in them, and they were all judged by the things that they did.’

We again find all three of these realms of creation brought together symbolically at Revelation 21:1, where it says, ‘Then I saw a new earth and sky, because the previous earth and sky had disappeared, as did the sea.’

In the case of where EliJah was taken in a celestial chariot, most people think he was taken to (as their Bibles put it) ‘heaven,’ where he went to live with God. This isn’t true, because King JehoRam later received a letter from Elijah (see 2 Chronicles 21:12). So God had apparently used the celestial chariot to take him into the sky (the proper translation here), where he was then taken to another place here on the earth. For more information on this, see the linked document, The Hereafter.

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Hades: Hell or the Grave?

The Greek word Hades (they pronounced it hah-des) has been translated both as Hell (which is thought of as a place of torture) and as the Grave in other Bible versions (such as the King James). Since one word can’t mean two very different things, which translation is correct?

Hades (like the English word Hell) actually means the place of the dead. However, as pagan Greek philosophy started to develop and creep into Christianity, the later-day Greek view of Hades (a place of torture) was applied to it. Was this a correct application?

An insight into how the ancient Hebrews and the early Christians understood the word can be gained by looking at how it was applied in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (the ‘Old Testament’ Bible of Jesus’ day). There, the Hebrew word Sheol is translated into Greek as Hades in every instance, yet in each case, these are obvious references to the grave (the place of the dead), not to a place of conscious torture (see Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10).

Another revealing application of the word Hades is found at Revelation the 20:13. It says there, ‘The sea (gr. he thalassa) gave up its dead, death and the grave (gr. thanatos kai ho hades) gave up those dead in them, and they were all judged by the things they did.’

Notice that those who die at sea are differentiated from those who are buried in graves (Hades) and in other places (thanatos). So Hades is better translated as grave.

In the book of Job, another word that is used once in the Christian-era Scriptures and often translated as Hell, is found in two places. That Greek word is Tartarus, which refers to the place where evil gods or angels are sent. For more information, see the linked document; Is There a Burning Hell?

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Breath

The Greek word pneuma (as in pneumonia, a breathing disease) means breath or wind – the movement of air. In other Bible translations, this word is often translated as spirit or ghost, as in Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. However, spirit is just a shortened form of the Latin word spiritu, which just means breath in Latin. And ghost conveys another meaning altogether.

The most common use of the word pneuma in the Bible is to imply an unseen force (such as breath or wind). And the problem with translating it as spirit or ghost is that many people have started believing that the unseen force that is called [God’s] Holy Breath herein, is another God-like person and part of a Divine ‘Trinity.’ This can’t be true, because the only scripture that can be used to support this theory (that is, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Breath’ are spoken of together) is found at Matthew 28:19, which appears to be spurious (See the Note in Matthew). All other scriptures that are used to prove the Trinity theory fail to mention the Holy Breath as part of that group. And the King James wording of 1 John 5:7 (which was used for years to attempt to prove the Trinity) is also spurious (something that was added to the Bible). So, then there are no actual Bible references that mention God’s Holy Breath along with the Father and the Son.

So to prevent confusion, the Greek word pneuma is frequently translated as breath herein. However, there are exceptions, as in instances where the Bible refers to demons as ‘spirits.’ Translating pneuma as breath in these cases, although correct, might just be confusing. There are also places where we have left pneuma translated as spirit, when the word implies a person's tendency (or spirit). And, since the nuance implied by the word Spirit in the English language (an unseen power) is correct, we recently changed back to translating pneuma as Spirit in several places, when referring to God’s Holy Spirit. However, recognize that pneuma is often best defined by calling it [God’s] Holy Breath. For an example, see the Note Worshiping God In Spirit and Truth.

Another important use of the word pneuma is in the phrase, ‘Breath of Life.’ This phrase means more than just breathing; it refers to the entire mechanics of life itself. It’s the unseen force of life for all creatures… it’s what makes each cell alive. However, nowhere does the Bible describe the ‘pneuma’ as immortal, nor is it the same as the soul (a breathing thing), so it can (figuratively) ‘return to God’ at death,’ because all hope of future life depends on God and His promise of a resurrection.

Note in particular how the term Breath is used at Job 27:3, where Job spoke of God’s Breath or Spirit. For there he asked, ‘Does the Breath of the Divine One remain in my nose?’ As you can see from his application of this word, pneuma obviously referred to God’s Breath in this case, not to a person or to an unseen force. He was talking about that which comes from God and caused him (Job) to breathe… the Breath of Life.

It is interesting that at Genesis 6:3 God says, ‘I won’t allow My Breath to stay with these men through the the age, for they are fleshly.’ In Greek that reads, ‘Ou me katameine to pneuma mou en tois anthropois toutoiseis ton aiona, dia ai einai autous sarka,’ or, ‘Not not should stay the Breath Mine with these men the age through, their being flesh.’

While the words Breath Mine (pneuma mou) here can refer to God’s Holy Breath, it seems more likely that He is referring to the breath of life that He gave Adam. So it appears as though what God was saying here is that the breath of life (of the people of that age) would be removed prematurely. However, since God referred to it as ‘My Breath,’ there may be a link implied between God’s Holy Breath and the breath of life.
For more information, see the attached link ‘The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.’

However, when Jesus died (as the words recorded at John 19:30 say), ‘he hung his head and gave up the breath’ (gr. kai klinas ten kephalen paredoken to pneuma, or, and inclined his head giving/up the breath). In this case, the obvious reference is to ‘the breath of life,’ or that force which gave him life as a human.

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Why the Name Changes?

You have likely noticed that we are putting some of the letters in Bible names in capital letters. For example, we’ve started spelling such names as Jonathan as JoNathan, Isaiah as IsaiJah, and Eliezer as EliEzer. Why? Well, partly to help with the correct pronunciations of the names, and partly to show some translating consistency.

We all know that the common English pronunciation of Jonathan (for example) is Jon-uh-thun. But did you know that the first part of the name (Io in Greek, Ieho in Hebrew) refers to the name Jehovah, and the second part of the Name (Nathan) means Gift? So the name was originally pronounced Ye-hoh-nuh-thahn.

In the case of names that end with an iah, as in Isaiah, the last part of the name often includes the name of God. Isaiah, for example, means Salvation [of] Jehovah, and it was originally pronounced Ee-sai-Yah. So, why have we substituted a capital ‘J’ for the letters ‘ie’ in both of the above cases? Well, we recognize that there is an inconsistency here, because there was no letter ‘J’ in Hebrew or Greek alphabets. However, we have the choice of changing all names that start with ‘J’ (such as Jesus, John, Jonah, Joshua, Jeremiah, etc.) to start with the letters ‘Ie’, or for consistency, we can change all the ‘Ies’ into ‘Js’, which is what we have done. Realize that several other Hebrew consenants are commonly mispronounced in English, which no one objects to, so this minor deviation should not be objectionable to the thinking.

Does this mean then that we are setting out a new rule for name spelling? Absolutely not, for centuries ago a Bible translator first established this rule when he spelled the name Eliou (Greek spelling, pronounced ay-lee-ou) and wrote it as EliJah, because this name is regarded as meaning ‘My God is Jehovah.’

Also notice that where a name ends with an iah, as in Jeremiah (Jehovah exalts), we have often spelled it as iJah, because the i would typically be pronounced as a long e followed by a Y in Hebrew, and writing it without the i (as in JeremJah) misses this nuance. So we have rendered it JeremiJah, which is similar to the way it is often pronounced by modern-day Hebrew-speaking Jews, YeremiYah.

Another important word in names that we usually capitalize is ‘El’ (from the Hebrew Elohe, or God). So EliEzer (which people commonly pronounce Eelai-eezer and means God [has] Helped) should actually be pronounced El-ee-eh- zer. The same is true for the letters Ai, especially in the names of cities, because Ai in Hebrew refers to the word city. So AiLam probably meant the City of Lam.

Similar words, such as Bel (as in BelShazzar), Baal, and Beel, refer to ‘the Lord’ or ‘the God.’ Also, the letters ‘Ben’ and ‘Bar’ mean ‘the son of.’ ‘Beth’ means ‘the house of,’ ‘Beer’ refers to a ‘well,’ ‘Is’ or ‘Ish’ means ‘Man,’ etc.

Does this mean that we have put all the capitals in the right places? No, for we make no claim to Hebrew scholarship (all our translating here has been from Greek). So, what we are trying to do is provide a better understanding to how these names were pronounced by First-Century Christians.

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Age, Eternal, Perpetual, Everlasting, Immortal, or Forever?

Two words imply infinite states in the Bible; one is the Greek word athanasia (undying), which is only found in two places, 1 Corinthians 15:53, where it mentions resurrected ones as clothing themselves with immortality, and at 1 Timothy 6:16, where Paul speaks of Jesus as having received it. The other Greek word is aidios, which is used at Romans 1:20 to describe God’s Power and Might as eternal, and at Jude 6 when speaking of the perpetual state of gloomy darkness that rebellious angels have been confined to.

However, the Greek word aionos (pronounced ai-on-oss), which is used throughout the Bible and is often translated as forever and everlasting, is what the English word eon is derived from. It means an indefinite period, and there is no exact English word to translate it. The best equivalents are age(s) or era(s). Where the plural form of the word (ages) is used, it refers to a long time… at least multiple generations. However, where the singular form is used (age or era), this appears to mean a much shorter period, such as a lifetime, generation, or era. And where the term ages of ages is used (such as at Ephesians 3:21), which is usually said in reference to The God, we would assume that this truly means forever.

It is noteworthy that aionos is the word that is used in the Greek Septuagint in place of the Hebrew word ohlam, which is also translated as forever and time indefinite in popular versions of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel. So this one word (aionos) is translated as forever, everlasting, eternal, system of things, time indefinite, [end of] the world, long ago, from of old, etc. Obviously, something is very wrong here, because the word can’t mean a period having a definite end in one place and infinity in another.

Take for example, the unique way that aionos is used in the question that Jesus’ Apostles asked him, which is found at Matthew 24:3, ‘What will be the signs when you are near and this age will come to its conclusion?’ You can see that the word aionos obviously doesn’t mean forever, everlasting, or eternal in this case, nor did it mean world or system of things. It simply meant the age or, the time before the end would come. And for them, that meant the age when God’s Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed, because that’s what Jesus had just told them.

The word aionos (which we have translated as age here) is also translated as world (KJ) and as system of things (NW) in other Bibles. However, if the Apostles had meant any of those words, they would have used the Greek word cosmos, not aionos, for world or system of things.

The ancient Hebrews viewed everything (and rightly so) as having a beginning and an end. For that reason, you will only find three places in the Bible where words are used that imply no end and none that imply no beginning. An interesting possible insight on the reason for this can be found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and your hands made the heavens. They will destroy themselves, but you will remain. They will grow old just like clothes do. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them like clothes. Yes, you are the one, and your years will never expire.’

The problem with most Bible translations is that when they encounter the word aionos in all its different tenses, they interpret it according to accepted doctrine, not according to the way that Jesus and his disciples used it. So the common renderings forever, eternal, and everlasting are used even when the word is in its singular forms (aioni, aiona, aionos, aionion, aionian, aionios, aioniou), and this totally distorts the meaning of the text.

Take for example, the scripture at John 5:24, where Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth; the one who hears what I say and believes in the One that sent me will have life in this age. He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

Most Bibles translate Jesus as saying that those who believe in the One who sent him will have everlasting life (or the equivalent). However, the words that Jesus used there were, zoe aionos (life age – singular), not zoe aionion (life ages – plural).

Notice how Jesus explained the meaning of these words with his next statement, ‘He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

So what Jesus was saying here, wasn’t that they would have everlasting life, but that they in their current life would be considered among the living, not among the dead (see Revelation 20:12).

This doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t live forever… it’s just that Jesus wasn’t really saying that. What we find (from consideration of the evidence found in the bulk of Jesus’ words about life) is that he never taught the hope of ‘life eternal,’ ‘everlasting life,’ or ‘immortality,’ in those specific words. However, the concept is still there. What he taught was that righteous people will receive ‘life in the age,’ or be considered worthy of (possibly everlasting) life by God during their current lifetimes… that their names would be written in ‘the scroll of life,’ and that they would not have to be judged, but will have already ‘crossed over from death to life,’ as Jesus said at John 5:24.

Yes, we know that this is a difficult concept to understand, but it’s what Jesus actually said.

For more information, select the linked documents, The Hereafter and Does the Bible Promise Everlasting Life?

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The Star of David or the Star of Raiphan?

We have often wondered about the origin of the star of David that holds such a prominent place in its representation of the nation of Israel, for it seems unusual that a nation that was to have no images would select a star as its symbol. But when we came across the words of Amos 5:26 while translating that book from the Septuagint, something became very clear.

Now, the origination of the star of David is said to come from the prophecy found at Numbers 24:17, which says, ‘A star must rise from Jacob, and a man must spring from Israel. He will crush the leaders of Moab and plunder all the sons of Seth.’ And it is thought that this prophecy was fulfilled in King David. Thus, the star of David was apparently born.

However, notice the mention of another star that was worshiped by Israel at Amos 5:26, where we read, ‘But then you chose the tent of Molech, and the star of Raiphan as your god, and images of them you made for yourselves.’

So, there seems to have been a star of a false god that was worshiped and worn as a sign (possibly around the neck) by apostate Israelites.

Yet, it could be argued that the Bible never mentioned anything like the star of Raiphan, for the Hebrew texts actually reads (NW), ‘And will actually carry Sukkuth your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your god, whom you made for yourselves.’ So, the meaning of this text is quite unclear. Which rendering is right?

Notice that the Greek text was what Stephen quoted just before he was killed. For he said at Acts 7:43, ‘Rather, you took the images that you made for worship to the tent of Moloch and to the star of the god Rephan.’

So, although the spelling is a bit different, Stephen obviously spoke of the star of Rephan (or Raiphan).

What was this star? According to A Student’s Guide to New Testament Textual Variants ( http://web.ovc.edu/terry/tc/lay11act.htm), ‘Other spellings found in manuscripts (of Acts) are Repha, Rempha, and Rephphan. The Greek Old Testament spells the name Raiphan. All of these are variations of the Egyptian name Repa for the god Saturn.’

So, a conclusion might be made that the star of David actually came from a worship of the star god Saturn, since there is no Bible record of the star being used as a symbol of either David or Israel, and since God specifically banned the use of such images.

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Propitiatory

We have searched hard for a modern English synonym for this difficult and obscure word, and have found none. Sure, it was just a cover for the sacred Chest, but cover wouldn’t properly reflect the full meaning.

The Greek word that we are struggling with is ilasterion. Other Bibles have translated it as Propitiatory, Expiation, and Mercy Seat. Yet, the first two words are unfamiliar and Mercy Seat doesn’t accurately describe what it was, because nobody was to sit on it. It was actually an Altar where the Priests sprinkled the blood of Propitiation on the Day of Atonement. And what does Propitiation mean? It refers to something that is done to sooth God’s feelings and to improve relations with Him.

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Dragon

That the Bible speaks about what is translated as dragons (gr. drakonta) several times, raises some interesting questions. The dragon (although supposedly a mythical animal) is one of the world’s most widely recognized creatures. It is highly regarded in the Buddhist religion and is seen in ancient religious carvings from around the world. This testifies that people have believed in the existence of dragons for as far back as human records go. Why?

Note that dragons are thought of as animals with the bodies of snakes (gr. orphis), but they also have feet and legs.

What was the dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells us, when it says, ‘So, the huge dragon was thrown out. He is the first snake, the one who is called the Slanderer and Opposer, who is misleading the whole earth.’

So, from the above, we see that the vision identifies the dragon as ‘the Opposer’ and ‘the Slanderer,’ and it says that he was the first snake, the one who seduced Eve in the ‘Paradise of Delights’ (see Genesis 3:2).

The fact that the dragon is viewed as a snake with legs in religious legends throughout the world, testifies to the fact that people everywhere once believed in the Bible account in Genesis, and they also believed that when God cursed the snake to ‘travel on its chest and belly,’ it lost its legs.

It is interesting that dragons are also part of the folklore of Europe, for who hasn’t heard the story of St. George and the dragon. Yet, if you read that story, you’ll see that it is actually an allegory about man’s fight against sin and the Slanderer. So in that case, it refers to the original dragon, or the first creature of terror.

Notice that Job 7:12 asks, ‘Am I the sea or the dragon that guards it?’ This view that a dragon guarded the edges of the seas was common throughout Europe until after the Sixteenth Century, for dragons were usually drawn at the edges of maps of seas during that time. Yet, as we can see, the actual reference may have been to animals and fish that men feared and didn’t understand, not snakes with legs.

However, notice how vividly Job described the Slanderer as the dragon at Job 26:12, 13, where we read, ‘By His strength He has settled the sea in its bed, and in His wisdom He’s filled it with whales. The bolts from the skies stand in awe of Him, and He’s ordered the death of the dragon that rebelled.’

We find a whole Chapter in Job (Chapter 41) that is obviously a description of the evil one, but has gone mistranslated for centuries, simply because its meaning has been misunderstood. Other Bibles speak of a leviathan or a behemoth here, and some of a crocodile. And in the Septuagint, we find no name at all or any explanation, leaving us to guess what is being described.

It is unusual that some translators have thought that this creature was a crocodile, for crocodile is a Greek word that is easily recognized, since it is spelled almost the same as in English. There is one place where that word is found in the Law of Moses, at Leviticus 11:25, when listing animals that shouldn’t be eaten, and in that place most Bibles also translate the word crocodile wrong.

If you read the text of Job 41, you’ll see an obvious reference to a fire-breathing dragon. For notice how verses 18-21 describe it: ‘His sneezing brings about brightness, and his eyes are like the morning star. From out of his mouth comes burning lamps, like the scattered grates of a fire. From out of his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace, burning with the fire from coals. His life is much like live coals, and flames shoot from his mouth. ’

At this point, critics could say the Bible was talking about a mythical dragon, and others would say that God is describing a wild ox. Yet, notice the further description in verses 31, 32: ‘He breaks from the abyss as though a brass cauldron; he thinks of the sea as his own ointment jar, and the abyss of Tartarus as his captive. For, to him the abyss just a promenade.’

If you examine these verses, you’ll see that God is using cryptic text to explain to Job just who is to blame for his problems. Yet, the use of the words Tartarus (the place where evil gods are sent) isn’t found again in the Bible until the reference at 2 Peter 2:4, and the only mention of his coming out of his prison (pit or abyss) is found at Revelation 20:7.

Clearly, this second-to-the-last Chapter in Job, as in any good writing, brings back into play all the characters that the book started with.

Then, why did Jewish scribes and translators have so much trouble understanding this Chapter that there are obvious deletions? There are four likely reasons:

· They didn’t believe in fire-breathing dragons

· They didn’t know that the Slanderer was the dragon

· They didn’t know of the Slanderer’s position in Tartarus or the pit

· A correct understanding would have linked the Book of Job to the Scriptures of the Christian era.

It is interesting that we again find mention of a dragon at Isaiah 27:1, where we read: ‘In that day, God will bring His great, holy, and strong sword against the dragon – the crooked and fleeing snake – and He will do away with the dragon, the one in the sea.’ This is an obvious reference to the destruction of the same dragon mentioned at Revelation 12:9 above, but it goes unnoticed in Hebrew texts, where the word leviathan is once more misunderstood. Of course, the word dragon is of Greek origin, so it came after the Hebrew text was written; and regardless of popular (mis)conceptions, leviathan is probably its Hebrew equivalent.

What is particularly interesting about this scripture, is that it speaks of the dragon from the sea in the same words as found at Ezekiel 32:2, where the reference is obviously to the land of Egypt and to its destruction. And you will also find references to the land of Egypt in the song of Isaiah 26, 27. However, this song seems to speak of some future time when God’s people (Israel) are released from a symbolic Egypt at Armageddon , for notice the words of the prophecy found at Isaiah 26:18-21, which say:

‘We won’t fall, though all others who live on earth will fall, but the dead will be raised from their tombs. Then all on the earth will be joyful, for, as dew You’ll send them a cure, while the land of the godless will fall. Proceed, O my people, to enter your bedrooms! Go inside, lock your doors, and hide a little while! For, this will happen, then that, and the rage of Jehovah will pass. {Look!} From His Holy Place Jehovah sends His rage, upon all those living on earth. He’ll unveil all the blood on the earth… and He won’t cover up those He destroys anymore.’

So, Egypt seems to be used here as a symbol of the godless nations that are destroyed in the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) and the dragon that represents them, appears to be the Opposer.

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Gog the Grasshopper King

At Amos 7:1 in the Septuagint we find Gog the Grasshopper King, which is mentioned apparently in reference to the king of Assyria (who would attack the northern 10-tribe kingdom of Israel), or possibly in reference to the unseen force behind that great world power. For it says there: ‘Then the Lord [came and] showed me {Look!} a breed of locusts that were coming early in the morning, led by Gog the grasshopper king.’

In Greek he is described as βρουχος εις γωγ ο βασιλευς or, grasshoppers they/are of Gog the king.

This term isn’t found in modern Hebrew texts, which read: ‘This is what the Almighty LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts when the second crop was being harvested. It was the harvest that followed the harvest for the king.’ (GW)

Which is correct? We simply don’t know.

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Edem

Don’t confuse this name (Ed-em) with Edom (Ed-om), although they both have similar meanings, referring to something that is red. For Edom is the name of the land that belonged to Isaac’s son Esau, and Edem is the name of the land in the east where the Garden of God was located, and from which we get the name Eden.

Notice that, different from the Hebrew text which refers to the Garden of Eden, the Greek text says the garden was called the Paradise of Delights, and that it was just located on the east side of the land of Edem. This description, which is more involved than what is found in the Hebrew text, is one of several that give these translators the opinion that the Greek texts are likely more accurate than the existing Hebrew texts.

Some think that the Greek text is in error when it describes one of the rivers of Edem as flowing around the land of Ethiopia, where the Hebrew text says that it flowed from the land of Cush. However, there is no error here, for Cush means Black, and Ethiopia is just the Greek word for the Land of Blacks. So when the Bible says that the headwater of the Geon were in Ethiopia, it isn’t necessarily referring to the same land east of Egypt that we call Ethiopia today. Rather, it refers to the land of the descendants of Cush, wherever they were living at the time.

Notice that; it appears as though Moses gave the location of pre-Downpour lands by using post-Downpour locations and peoples (such as the Assyrians). So, describing the ‘Paradise of Delights’ as being located on the east side of the land of Edem provides us a physical location, and that location must still have been something that was known after the Downpour. Where is that?

A people called the Sons of Edem are mentioned in other scriptures, such as 2 Kings 19:12 (4 Kings 19:12 Sept.), where the Assyrians were taunting the people of Jerusalem by bragging about the cities they had conquered. In the Septuagint, it says the Sons of Edem were conquered at ‘Thaesthen’ (‘Tel Assar’ in Hebrew), meaning, the Hill of Blacks. This is consistent with the Bible’s description of the people who lived in that land as being the descendants of Cush.

Since this conquest of Edem is mentioned along with the conquests of Golan, Haran, and Rezeph (cities of MesoPotamia), it can be assumed that this land is located somewhere west of Assyria. And recent research indicates that the land of Edem (or Eden) may well have been north of where most people think of it as being (in southern Iraq). For, its location is likely where you’ll find the headwaters of the Tigris, Euphrates, and two other rivers (that are probably the Geon and the Phison, since they have similar names today), near the foot of Mt. Ararat in modern Iran, SW of Tabriz in Azerbaijan, a place that was inhabited by the Medes in the 7th Century B.C.E.

Notice that the Bible account does speak of the ‘heads’ of these rivers all coming together in Edem (or Eden, which most people think of as being the garden), but a geographical map shows that this has never been true. And the Hebrew words that are usually translated as saying that the rivers come together in four heads, may also be translated as saying that the headwaters of these four rivers are found in the land in which the Garden was located (Edem), so we have translated it that way.

Then, is the present country of Ethiopia the original location of the headwaters of the River Geon that flowed into Edem (Eden)? Not only is that unlikely geologically and geographically, but the Bible’s account about the sons of Edem and the location of the Hill of Blacks indicates that the descendants of Cush who live there today originally settled in areas of modern Iran and Iraq, and they were then relocated to Ethiopia, perhaps after their defeat by the Assyrians. The fact that Cush’s son Nimrod founded many cities in that area bears this thought out.

Was there a man named Edem, from whom the land in Iran at the foot of Mt. Ararat derives its name? That could be, but since Edem appears to mean red earth, the term sons of Edem could also mean sons of the red earth, after the bright red ochre soil, which is found in that area. It is interesting that the name Adam also seems to imply Red Earth, so the Septuagint spelling of the land (Edem) appears to be correct, and soil from that area (SW of Ararat) could also be the dust of the ground from which Adam was made.

By the way; There may also be another mention of the land of Edem (in the Septuagint) at Amos 1:5, which reads, ‘The tribe of the men of Edem I’ll cut to pieces, and the best men of Assyria will be captured, says Jehovah.’

However; although the Hebrew texts somewhat agree by describing the people there as the House of Eden, other Septuagint versions speak of them as being the men of Charran.

For more information, see the attached document, ‘The Bible’ s Internal Proof of Its Authentic History.’

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