« | Genesis 9 | » |
1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.
2 Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered.
3 Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.
4 Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.
5 For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.
6 If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made.
7 Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it."
8 God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
9 "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you
10 and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.
11 I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
12 God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you:
13 I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds,
15 I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.
16 As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings-- all mortal creatures that are on earth."
17 God told Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth."
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was peopled.
20 Now Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard.
21 When he drank some of the wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.
22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside about it.
23 Shem and Japheth, however, took a robe, and holding it on their backs, they walked backward and covered their father's nakedness; since their faces were turned the other way, they did not see their father's nakedness.
24 When Noah woke up from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him,
25 he said: "Cursed be Caanan! The lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers."
26 He also said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave.
27 May God expand Japheth, so that he dwells among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave."
28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.
29 The whole lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years; then he died.
The New American Standard Updated Version (NASU)
The New American Standard Updated Version (NASU) is a highly respected English translation of the Bible known for its rigorous adherence to the original languages of Scripture. First published in 1995 by the Lockman Foundation, the NASU is an update of the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which was originally completed in 1971. The NASU seeks to improve upon the NASB by enhancing readability and modernizing the language while maintaining the translation’s reputation for being one of the most literal translations available. This makes the NASU a preferred choice for serious Bible study, preaching, and teaching.
A key feature of the NASU is its commitment to formal equivalence, or a word-for-word translation philosophy. The translators aimed to produce a text that is as close as possible to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts. This approach ensures that the NASU captures the precise meaning and structure of the original texts, providing readers with a highly accurate and reliable representation of the Scriptures. The use of formal equivalence makes the NASU particularly valuable for those who desire a deep and detailed understanding of the Bible, including scholars, theologians, and students of the Word.
In updating the NASB, the NASU made several important changes to improve clarity and readability. While maintaining the accuracy and literalness of the translation, the NASU incorporates modern English expressions and smoother sentence structures. This makes the text more accessible to contemporary readers without compromising the precision that the NASB is known for. The NASU also includes updated cross-references and footnotes, which provide additional context and insights, further aiding in the study and understanding of the biblical text.
Despite its many strengths, the NASU has faced some criticism. Some readers and scholars argue that the translation’s emphasis on literalness can sometimes result in a text that feels stiff or less fluid than more dynamic translations. Additionally, while the NASU’s updated language makes it more accessible, some feel that it could go further in adapting to contemporary usage without losing its accuracy. Nevertheless, the New American Standard Updated Version remains a highly esteemed translation, valued for its fidelity to the original texts and its usefulness for in-depth study and precise interpretation of the Bible.