Version 2
Last update: 2006-03-04
Note: In the quasi-literal translation, every word is translated in place, using underscores to join English words where necessary to ensure a one-to-one match. Some words are translated differently in different contexts. Italic is used for "best fit" words that don't really have an English counterpart. Words that just don't have a "best fit" are translated in italic and square brackets.
Ilomi |
Quasi-literal translation |
Modern English | |
| axike ibebala | story Babel | The Story of Babel | |
| 1. | oseswe a, atelu anfo emi ay'me awatwi alosa. | past_much eh, world all have one mere language. | Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. |
| 2. | i ata ame enyutuswe atoli e elo akanpaswe uma ixinara e ekepu aso. | so person many travel east and find plain at Shinar and inhabit it. | As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. |
| 3. | i axa anfo epa uyu "amite o efa atunyefa e o ekuko oyonyanfo aso" uyumwa. i axa elisu atunyefa unyalu atu e akolo unyalu akolonyatu. | so they all say [begin_quote] "we let's make brick and let's cook completely them" [end_quote]. so they use brick instead_of stone and tar instead_of mortar. | They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. |
| 4. | i axa epa uyu "amite o efa asiti a, emi akule a, elimo anki a, uso ata anfo u exo eke amite a e amite u exo iye u efusi utu atelu anfo" uyumwa. | so they say [begin_quote] "we let's make city eh have tower eh reach sky eh so_that person all be obliged know us eh and we be obliged not be_scattered to world all" [end_quote]. | Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." |
| 5. | i ewo inyatame enyufe anki uso esi asiti e akule a, ata efa. | so but God come_from sky in_order_to see city and tower, eh, person make. | But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. |
| 6. | i inyatame epa uyu "ata anfo eyo alenyata a, epa ula ay'me alosa e eye axa emata efu antisa. i eye ay'lo antisakwi a, axa entente efu a, eyo onyepomwa uka axa" uyumwa. | so God say [begin_quote] "person all be people eh, speak using one language and therefore they begin do this_thing. so therefore zero other_thing eh, they intend do eh, be impossible with-respect-to them [end_quote]. | The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." |
| 7. | uyu "ami entente enyutu atelu e enyofomwa alosa u axa uso axa ekila iye anxonyanpi" uyumwa. | [begin_quote] I intend go_to world and confuse language of them so_that they understand not each_other [end_quote]. | Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." |
| 8. | eye inyatame efusi axa ufe alu alo utu atelu anfo a e axa ematamwa efa asiti. | therefore God scatter them from place this to all of world eh they stop make city. | So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. |
| 9. | eye afe enyaxama ibebala uxo asiti unxi inyatame enyofomwa alosa u atelu anfo uma alu alo. i inyatame efusi axa ufe alu alo utu atelu anfo. | therefore one name Babel for city because God confuse language of world all at place this. so God scatter them from place this to world all. | That is why it was called Babel — because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. |