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Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς Συμεὼν καὶ Λευὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ Δείνας, οὐ δυνησόμεθα ποιῆσαι τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο, δοῦναι τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἡμῶν ἀνθρώπῳ, ὃς ἔχει ἀκροβυστίαν· ἔστι γὰρ ὄνειδος ἡμῖν. (Kai eipan autois Sumeōn kai Leui hoi adelfoi Deinas, ou dunaʸsometha poiaʸsai to ɽaʸma touto, dounai taʸn adelfaʸn haʸmōn anthrōpōi, hos eⱪei akrobustian; esti gar oneidos haʸmin. )
BrTrAnd Symeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, said to them, We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us.
ULTAnd they said to them, “We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who has a foreskin, because that is a disgrace to us!
USTThey said to them, “It would not be acceptable for us to let our sister marry a man like you who is not circumcised, because that would dishonor our family!
BSB“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
OEB‘We cannot do this. We cannot give our sister to someone who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
WEBBEand said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.
NETThey said to them, “We cannot give our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace to us.
LSVand say to them, “We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to one who has a foreskin, for it [is] a reproach to us.
FBVThey told them, “We can't do this! We can't allow our sister to marry a man who's not circumcised. That would bring disgrace on us.
T4Tby saying to them, “No, we cannot do that. We cannot give our sister to be the wife of a man who is not circumcised, because that would be a shameful thing for us to do.
LEBAnd they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace for us.
BBEAnd they said, It is not possible for us to give our sister to one who is without circumcision, for that would be a cause of shame to us:
JPSand said unto them: 'We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.
ASVand said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.
DRAWe cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, which with us is unlawful and abominable.
YLTand say unto them, 'We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to one who hath a foreskin: for it [is] a reproach to us.
Drbyand said to them, We cannot do this, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that [were] a reproach to us.
RVand said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
WbstrAnd they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised: for that would be a reproach to us:
KJB-1769And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
KJB-1611And they saide vnto them, wee cannot doe this thing, to giue our sister to one that is vncircumcised: for that were a reproch vnto vs. (And they said unto them, we cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised: for that were a reproch unto us.)
BshpsAnd they sayde vnto them: we can not do this thing, that we shoulde geue our sister to one that is vncircumcised, for that were an abomination vnto vs. (And they said unto them: we cannot do this thing, that we should give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for that were an abomination unto us.)
GnvaAnd they said vnto them, We can not do this thing, to giue our sister to an vncircumcised man: for that were a reproofe vnto vs. (And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to an uncircumcised man: for that were a reproofe unto us. )
Cvdl& sayde vnto them: That can we not do, to geue oure sister to an vncircumcided man: for that were a shame vnto vs. (& said unto them: That can we not do, to give our sister to an uncircumcided man: for that were a shame unto us.)
WyclWe moun not do this that ye axen, nether we moun yyue oure sistir to a man vncircumcidid, which thing is vnleueful and abhomynable anentis vs. (We moun not do this that ye/you_all axen, neither we moun give our sister to a man uncircumcidid, which thing is unleueful and abhomynable anentis us.)
Luthund sprachen zu ihnen: Wir können das nicht tun, daß wir unsere Schwester einem unbeschnittenen Mann geben; denn das wäre uns eine Schande. (and said to to_them: We können the not do/put, that we/us unsere Schwester one unbeschnittenen man geben; because the wäre us/to_us/ourselves one Schande.)
ClVgNon possumus facere quod petitis, nec dare sororem nostram homini incircumciso: quod illicitum et nefarium est apud nos. (Non possumus facere that petitis, but_not dare sororem nostram homini incircumciso: that illicitum and nefarium it_is apud nos. )
34:1-31 Once Jacob and his family settled in the land, the Canaanite presence became a threat. This account is a stern warning to the Israelites about the possibility of their being defiled by the Canaanites. The nation of Israel was later commanded not to intermarry or make treaties with them, for they were a corrupt and corrupting people. This chapter implicitly warns against becoming familiar with the way they lived (34:1-2). It also taught Israel that in dealing with the Canaanites, they were to keep their integrity and not use the holy things of the covenant for deception and slaughter (34:13); Israel’s reputation was at stake in the land (34:30). For their ruthless violence, Simeon and Levi were passed over in the birthright blessing (49:5-7).
Consider whether it is best in your language to begin a new sentence here or to continue the sentence that started in verse 13. Alternate translation: “and said to them,”
לֹ֤א נוּכַל֙ לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה
not we_can for=doing the,thing the=this
Alternate translation: “We are not able to do such a thing as” or “It would be not be right for us”
to,give DOM sister,our to,man which/who to=him/it uncircumcised
Translate who has a foreskin in a way that will not offend or embarrass people, especially when hearing your translation read aloud. Alternate translation: “to let our sister marry a man like you who has not had his foreskin removed,” or “to allow a man like you who is not circumcised to marry our sister,”
Consider whether or not it is better in your language to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “because that would humiliate our family!” or “That would cause great shame to our family!”
As with many of the stories of the Bible, the events of Jacob’s life are often misunderstood by readers as disjointed pericopes arranged primarily for theological and cultural purposes. Because of this, readers often fail to see that these stories follow a clear geographical progression of the patriarch throughout the land of Canaan. This realistic and coherent geographical framework behind the stories gives strong support to the belief that these stories are authentic, historical accounts of the experiences of Jacob and his ancestors. The overall framework for virtually all of Jacob’s stories is very simple: Jacob is born and raised in southern Canaan but comes into conflict with his twin brother Esau, so he flees to Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia (Genesis 25-28; see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). There he builds a large family and great wealth (Genesis 29-30) and eventually returns to southern Canaan, likely retracing the exact steps he followed when he fled (Genesis 31-35; see also “Jacob Returns to Canaan” map). During this time, Esau moves to the hill country of Seir, likely just south of southern Canaan (“Edom and the Land of Seir” map), and establishes his own family there, giving rise to the nation of Edom (Genesis 36). Though the primary intent of Jacob’s return was no doubt to resettle in Canaan, comments made during his reunion with Esau near Peniel may reveal that he also intended to travel even further to Seir to visit his brother there (Genesis 33:12-14). After crossing from Mahanaim to Peniel in Gilead, Jacob reunites with Esau and settles in Succoth for a time and builds a house for himself and booths for his cattle. He eventually crosses the Jordan River and enters Canaan, stopping first at the ancient city of Shechem. There Jacob’s daughter Dinah is defiled by the son of the region’s leader, and her brothers take revenge by killing all the men of the city. Thus, Jacob is forced to leave, but first he calls upon all his household to purify themselves. He collects their idols and rings and buries them beneath a tree in Shechem. Upon reaching Bethel, Jacob builds an altar and calls it El-bethel. The nurse of Jacob’s mother Rebekah also dies at Bethel and is buried under an oak below the town, leading them to call the place Allon-bacuth (“oak of weeping”). Jacob and his family leave for Bethlehem, but very soon after they start the journey Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and then dies. Jacob buries her along the way, apparently near a place called Zelzah (or perhaps Elzah; see 1 Samuel 10 and “Saul Search for His Donkeys” map). Jacob continues on and camps beyond the tower of Eder, perhaps near Bethlehem, since that seems to have been his original destination. Finally Jacob reaches Mamre and Hebron. Soon after this Isaac dies, and Esau and Jacob bury him. The story of Jacob’s journey ends at Genesis 35, and we are not explicitly told if Jacob traveled even further to Seir. Genesis 36, however, catalogs the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, perhaps indicating that Jacob did indeed fulfill the intentions he stated in Genesis 33:12-14.
Though the patriarch Isaac moved from place to place several times within southern Canaan, compared to his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac appears to have been a bit of a homebody. In fact, unless Isaac resettled in places not recorded in Scripture, the farthest extent he ever traveled appears to have been only about 90 miles (113 km). Yet, as the child of God’s promise to Abraham to build a great nation from his descendants, Isaac’s relatively simple life served as a critical bridge from Abraham to the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were descended from Isaac’s son Jacob. It is likely that Isaac was born at Beersheba (see Genesis 21:1-24), and later Abraham offered him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (located at Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Abraham, Isaac, and those with them returned to Beersheba (Genesis 22:1-19). When Isaac reached adulthood, his father sent a servant to bring back a bride for him from Aram-naharaim, far north of Canaan. When his bride, Rebekah, arrived, Isaac had just come from Beer-lahai-roi and settled in the Negev (Genesis 24:62). Later Isaac resettled with Rebekah in Beer-lahai-roi, and this may have been where their twins son Esau and Jacob were born. A famine forced Isaac to go to Gerar (Genesis 26:1-6) in “the land of the Philistines.” The distinct people group known as the Philistines in later books of the Bible did not arrive until the time of the Judges, so the term here must have referred to another people group living in this region, and this is supported by the fact that King Abimelech’s name is Semitic, not Aegean (the likely origin of the later Philistines). While Isaac was there, he repeated his father’s error (Genesis 20) by lying to the king that his wife was only his sister. Isaac also became increasingly prosperous at Gerar, so the Philistines told him to leave their region. Isaac moved away from the town of Gerar and settled further away in the valley of Gerar. There he dug a well, but the Philistines claimed it for themselves, so he called it Esek, meaning “argument.” So Isaac’s men dug another well and called it Sitnah (meaning “hostility”), but it led to more quarreling, so he dug yet another well and called it Rehoboth (meaning “open space”). The locations of these two later wells are not certain, but they may have been located near Ruheibeh as shown on this map. Then Isaac moved to Beersheba and built an altar. He also dug a well there, and King Abimelech of the Philistines came and exchanged oaths of peace with him. It was likely at Beersheba that Isaac blessed his sons Esau and Jacob, and both sons eventually left Canaan (see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). When Jacob later returned, he traveled to Mamre near Hebron and reunited with Isaac. Sometime after this Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau buried him there.
