In Progress:

• The Book of Ephesians: Translated from the Berean Greek Bible based on Nestle 1904 Greek New Testament.

• The Book of Philippians: Translated from the Berean Greek Bible based on Nestle 1904 Greek New Testament.

Like the LXX Project, I am letting the text speak for itself and creating a Modern English translation that stays as close to the literal meaning as possible while maintaining readability.

You may ask, why—when there are so many translations available in the English language—do another one?

The answer lies in 2 Timothy 2:7 (my translation): Paul tells Timothy, "Engage your mind with what I am saying, for the Lord will grant you understanding in all things."

Paul emphasizes what he is saying. We know that what Paul wrote in his letters is the word of God. Therefore, Paul is telling Timothy that it is necessary to engage his mind deeply with Paul’s writings and, by extension, the entire Bible. 

This means, if you want to know God, His ways, His desires, His likes and dislikes, don’t just read the Bible and let it go in one eyeball and out the other—think about what is written, connect the dots, and pay attention to the structure and context. When translating, if it is to be done correctly, engaging with the text in this manner is essential, and God honors this very promise. 

Through this process, because of God's promise, I have come to know Him and His ways in ways I could never have imagined.

These translations will be added to the LXX-MET module upon completion. I am tentatively calling this project TNT (The New Testament), though I will likely rename the module to LXX-TNT once these are included.

I am using AI to assist in translating the Book of Jubilees, also known as The Little Genesis, from its original Ethiopic Ge’ez text.

Why undertake this project?

The New Testament contains three key references to angels administering the Law:

1. Acts 7:53, where Stephen declares, "you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it" (ESV);

2. Galatians 3:19, which states, "Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary" (ESV);

3. Hebrews 2:2, noting, "For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution" (ESV).

Outside of these New Testament citations, the concept of angels administering the Law is rare, not found at all in the Old Testament, but it is prominently featured in the Book of Jubilees. Recognizing this connection, I realized the significant influence Jubilees had on New Testament thought.

There’s more:

Have you ever wondered why Hebrews calls Esau a fornicator or sexually immoral in Hebrews 12:16? While Genesis leaves this unclear, Jubilees provides a detailed explanation.

Additionally:

Jubilees aligns closely with 1 Enoch in describing the pre-Noahic flood rebellion of angels marrying women and producing Nephilim Genesis 6—a narrative quoted in Jude 1:14-15 and possibly alluded to in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6.

Jubilees also provides a more detailed account of the Patriarchs’ lives, from Adam to Moses, with a stronger covenant-centric focus than Genesis, and fragments of at least 15 Hebrew manuscripts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran highlight its importance in Second Temple Judaism, influencing New Testament writers and the early church.

Dissatisfied with existing translations, I am creating a modern English version that remains as faithful as possible to the literal Ge’ez text while ensuring readability for today’s audience.