Analytical-Literal Translation of the OT - Volume Three

The Analytical-Literal Translation of the Old Testament (ALT: OT) is available in five volumes. This Old Testament is based on the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The LXX is a third century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. This ALT: OT will enable the reader to come as close to the Greek text as possible without having to be proficient in Greek.

This third volume contains the Poetic Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon). These books contain praises to the LORD, honest expressions of personal struggles, wisdom sayings, and a romantic story.

Paperback: 118 pages (8-1/2”x11”). $8.95. Order from the publisher via their website: Amazon.

Hardback: 118 pages (8-1/2”x11”). $16.50. Order from the publisher via their website: Amazon.

PDF (Acrobat Reader) eBook: 194 pages (6”x9”). 2,069 KB. $3.50. Order and download from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

ePUB (for iPad, Nook, etc.) eBook: $3.75. Order and download from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

Paperback: 118 pages (8-1/2”x11”). $8.75. Order from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

Hardback: 118 pages (8-1/2”x11”). $16.95. Order from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

The “Regular” paperback and hardback versions of the ALT: OT listed above are printed on 8-1/2”x11” pages in double columns using Times New Roman 10-point font. However, there is also available a Personal Size Version. It is printed on 6” x 9” pages in single columns using the same font size, Times 10. Many requested this smaller page size, so I am making it available. However, due to the smaller page size, the number of pages and thus the cost of the book is greater.

Paperback: 206 pages. $9.50. Order from the publisher via their website: Amazon.

Hardback: 206 pages. $17.25. Order from the publisher via their website: Amazon.

Paperback: 206 pages. $9.25. Order from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

Hardback: 206 pages. $17.25. Order from the publisher via their website: Lulu Publishing.

Notes: Different formats and publishers might have different covers, but the content is the same in all of them. The newest version of the ALT: OT published in 2023 is a corrected text not a full new edition. Only minor corrections have been made, plus the appendixes and covers have been updated. Look for “2023” in the copyright notices on pages 2 and 4 for the latest version.

The Kindle versions of the ALT listed on both Amazon pages are identical. It has just been duplicated on each page.

Also, I've been asked about reducing the number of volumes of the ALT by combining some of the volumes. That would not be possible due to page limitations with my current method of publishing my books and technical difficulties of working with what would be very large files.

The links to Amazon are advertising links, for which I receive a commission in addition to my royalty if a product is purchased after following the link.

Note: The paperback and hardback versions of the ALT are in double columns. But it is not possible to reproduce that format here.

The Analytical-Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (ALT) is translated by Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org). The ALT consists of seven volumes. They are.

Volumes I to IV contain the Old Testament (OT). All 39 of these books are considered canonical by Jews and all Christian groups. The word “canon” means list of authoritative books, so canonical books are those which are included in this list. They are believed to be inspired by God and reliable for basing doctrine and practice upon. As such, all 39 of these OT books are a trustworthy guide to correct faith and practice and to spiritual enrichment.

Volume V is the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical (A/D) Books. These are the “extra” books found in the OTs of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles as compared to Jewish Bibles and the OTs of Protestant Bibles. There is much debate over if these books are canonical or not. They were all written in the period between the end of the OT and the beginning of the New Testament (NT). They are thus included in the ALT as, inspired or not, they are worth reading and provide background to the NT.

Volume VI contains the NT. All 27 of these books are considered canonical by all Christian groups. They are thus the bedrock on which Christian doctrine and practice are built upon and provide much spiritual benefit.

Volume VII of the ALT contains the Apostolic Fathers (APF). These are the writings of Church leaders of the late first to mid-second centuries, most of whom were direct disciples of the apostles. Some of these books were seriously considered for inclusion in the canon of the NT. These are marked with an asterisk on the Table of Contents. They were ultimately rejected for the canon, but all of these APF books were popular in the early centuries of the Church. They give insight into the mindset of the early Church shortly after the apostles and provide background to the NT. As such, they are very much worth reading.

[the] – Words added for clarity are bracketed (e.g., Job 1:1). But note, very often the definite article (“the”) is not used in the LXX with the word kurios (“LORD” or “Lord”). But the added article is not bracketed in this case only as its frequency made it prohibitive to do so.

[Heb 2:6-8] – Reference for when the OT is quoted in the NT or the OT in the OT (e.g., Psalm 8:4-6).

“trouble” – Meaning of a proper name, placed in quotation marks (Not used in Poetic Books).

about – Modern-day equivalent for measurements and monetary units (e.g., Job 42:11).

and elsewhere in – The bracketed information applies to other occurrences of the preceding word or phrase in the given range, but not necessarily to all occurrences (e.g., Job 1:6).

and throughout/ and in – The bracketed information applies to all occurrences of the preceding word or phrase throughout the given range (e.g., Psalm 2:1).

fig. – Figurative. Possible figurative meaning or paraphrase of preceding literal translation (e.g., Psalm 2:1).

Gr. – Greek. The Greek word previously translated, with the Greek letters transliterated (changed) into English letters (e.g., Psalm 9:17).

Heb. – Hebrew. Indicates the reading of the Hebrew OT when there is a notable difference between it and the LXX. But note, no attempt is made to indicate all differences between these two texts (e.g., Job 1:6).

i.e. – Explanatory note (“that is” or “in explanation”) (e.g., Job 8:11).

lit. – Literal. Indicates the literal rendering when the text uses a less than literal rendering (e.g., Job 1:6).

LXX – Septuagint. Very often, the spelling of proper names in the LXX differs from how the name is commonly spelled. For notable names, the common spelling is used in the text, but the first time it appears in a book, the LXX spelling is also given (e.g., Job 1:1). But note, no attempt is made to give the common spelling for all names.

or – Alternative, traditional, or slightly less literal translation (e.g., Job 1:4).

But – Indicates the use of the Greek strong adversative (alla – e.g., Job 1:11) instead of the weak adversative (de, translated as “but” when used in an adversative sense – e.g., Job 2:3).

LORD – Lord – The former indicates the Hebrew OT has Yahweh (the Hebrew proper name for God – Job 1:6). The latter indicates the Hebrew OT has adonai (the general word for “lord”) or that there is no equivalent in the Hebrew OT for the LXX’s use of “Lord” (Gr., kurios – e.g., Job 1:22). When the LXX has “God” (Gr., theos) where the Hebrew has Yahweh, “GOD” is used (e.g., Psalm 71:1).

you – Indicates the pronoun is emphasized in the Greek text (also, he, she, etc. – e.g., Job 4:5).

you* – Indicates the original is plural (also, your* – e.g., Josh 1:3). With no asterisk the second person pronoun is singular (e.g., Job 6:21).

There was a certain man in [the] land of Uz [LXX, Ausitidi], whose name [was] Job. And that man was true, blameless, righteous, fearing God, abstaining from every evil thing. ²Now there became to him seven sons and three daughters. ³And his livestock was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, [and] five hundred female-donkeys in the pastures, also a very great household. And great works were to him. And upon the earth that man was [most] noble of the [men] from [the] sun rising [fig., east].

⁴Now his sons coming together to [or, visiting] one another, were preparing a banquet according to each day [fig., every day], taking with them at the same time also their three sisters to be eating and to be drinking with them. ⁵And when the days of the banquet were completed, Job was sending and purifying them, having risen up in the morning, and was offering sacrifices for them, according to their number, and one calf for a sin-offering for their souls. For Job was saying, “Perhaps my sons thought evil [things] in their mind against God.” Thus, then Job was doing all the days [fig., continually].

⁶And as it happened this day, that [lit., and, and elsewhere in book] behold, the angels [Heb., sons] of God came to stand before the LORD, and the devil [Heb., Satan, and through next chapter] came with them. ⁷And the LORD said to the devil, “From where have you come?” And having answered, the devil said to the LORD, “Having traveled about the earth, and having walked about the [earth] under heaven, I am present.”

⁸Then the LORD said to him, “Did your mind pay close attention to my servant Job, that there is none according to [or, like] him on the earth, a man, blameless, true, fearing God, abstaining from every evil thing?” ⁹Then the devil answered and said before the LORD, “Job does not worship God for nothing, does he? ¹⁰You [have] made a hedge around the [things] outside of him, and the [things] inside his house, and the [things] outside, all the [things] being to him [fig., his possessions] round about, have You not? You [have] blessed the works of his hands, and made many [fig., multiplied] his livestock upon the land, have You not? ¹¹But send [or, stretch] out Your hand, and touch all which he has; surely, he will bless [fig., curse] You to [Your] face!”

¹²Then the LORD said to the devil, “Behold, all, as many [things] as are to him I give to your hand, but do not touch him.” So the devil went out from the LORD. ¹³And as it was this day, the sons of Job and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother. ¹⁴And, behold, a messenger came to Job, and said to him, “The yokes of the oxen were plowing, and the female-donkeys were feeding near them; ¹⁵and the ones taking captive [Heb., the Sabeans], having come, captured them, and killed the servants with [the] sword; and I having escaped alone came to tell you!”

¹⁶This [one] still speaking, another messenger came, and said to Job, “Fire fell from heaven, and burned up the sheep, and devoured the shepherds likewise; and I having escaped alone came to tell you!”

¹⁷This [one] still speaking, another messenger came, and said to Job, “The horsemen [Heb., Chaldeans] formed three heads [fig., raiding parties] against us, and surrounded the camels, and captured them, and killed the servants with [the] sword; and I only escaped, and came to tell you!”

¹⁸This [one] still speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, “Your sons and your daughters eating and drinking with their elder brother, ¹⁹suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died; and I escaped alone, and came to tell you!”

²⁰So Job having risen, tore his clothes, and shaved the hair of his head, and having fallen to the ground, prostrated in worship, and said, ²¹“[I] myself came forth naked from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart there. The LORD gave; the LORD took away, as it seemed thus [or, good] to the Lord, so it happened. May the name of the LORD be having been blessed!” ²²In all these [things] having happened to him, Job did not sin at all before the Lord, and did not impute folly to God.

And as it happened this day, that the angels [Heb., sons] of God came to stand before the LORD, and the devil came in the midst of them to stand before the LORD. ²And the LORD said to the devil, “From where do you come?” Then the devil said before the LORD, “Having journeyed through the [earth] under heaven, and having walked about the whole [of it], I am present.”

³Then the LORD said to the devil, “Did you pay close attention then to my servant Job, that there is none according to [or, like] him on the earth, a man, innocent, true, blameless, fearing God, abstaining from every evil? And he yet holds integrity, but you said to destroy the [things] existing of him [fig., his possessions] through no purpose [or, without result].”

⁴So having taken up [the word] [fig., replying], the devil said to the LORD, “Skin for skin! As many [things] as exist to a person [fig., All that a person has] he will pay in full for his life. ⁵But not indeed, but having sent [or, stretched] out Your hand, touch his bones and his flesh, surely indeed he will bless [fig., curse] You to [Your] face!” ⁶So the LORD said to the devil, “Behold, I deliver him up to you; only preserve his life.” ⁷Then the devil went out from the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from [his] feet to [his] head. ⁸And he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape away the discharge, and he was sitting upon the manure-pile outside the city.

⁹{Now much time having advanced [fig., passed], his wife said to him, “How long [lit., Until when, and throughout book] will you persevere, saying, ‘Behold, I wait yet a little time, expecting the hope of my deliverance?’ For, behold, your memorial has perished from the earth, [your] sons and daughters, [the] birth pains of my womb and which labor I labored to no purpose with hardships. And you yourself sit down with rottenness of worms, spending the nights in open air. And I [am] a wanderer and a hired servant place from place, traveling about, and house from house, waiting for when the sun will set, that I should rest from the labors and the pains which now surround me. But say some word against the Lord, and die!”} [Heb., ⁹Then [his] wife said to [him], “Do you still hold firm to your integrity? Bless [fig., Curse] God and die!”]

¹⁰But having looked at [her], he said to her, “You [have] spoken just as one of the foolish women. If we received the good [things] from [the] hand of the Lord, will we not endure the evil [things]?” In all these [things] having happened to him, Job did not sin not at all with his lips before God.

Psalm 23

A Psalm by David.

The LORD shepherds me, and nothing will lack [to] me. ²In a place of green grass, there He caused me to dwell; He nourished me by [the] water of rest. ³He turned back my soul; He guided me upon paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake. ⁴For even if I should walk in the midst of [the] shadow of death, I will not be afraid of evil [things], for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, these comforted me. ⁵You prepared a table before me from opposite of the ones afflicting me; You anointed my head with oil; and Your cup [is] giving [me] to drink like good [drink]. ⁶And Your mercy will pursue me all the days of my life; and I [will] be dwelling in [the] house of the LORD for a length of days [fig., forever]!

Psalm 119:1-16

119

{Alleluia!}

[Note: In the Hebrew text of this Psalm, each verse in each eight-verse paragraph begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. At the beginning of each paragraph, the LXX numbers and spells out the name of each of these 22 letters.]

{1, Aleph [or, Alef]} Blessed [are] the blameless in [their] way, the ones walking in [the] Law of the LORD! ²Blessed [are] the ones searching out His testimonies; they will diligently seek Him with [the] whole heart. ³For the ones not working the iniquity were walked in His ways. ⁴You commanded [us] to diligently keep Your commandments. ⁵O that my ways may be directed to keep Your ordinances! ⁶Then by no means shall I be ashamed, when I am looking upon all Your commandments. ⁷I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with uprightness of heart, when I have learned the judgments of Your righteousness [or, Your righteous judgments]. ⁸I will keep Your ordinances; do not utterly forsake me!

⁹{2, Beth [or, Bet]} By what [fig., How] will the young [person] keep his way straight? By the keeping of Your words. ¹⁰With my whole heart I diligently sought You; do not push me aside [Heb., let me wander] from Your commandments. ¹¹I hid Your oracles in my heart, in order that I shall not sin against You. ¹²Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your ordinances. ¹³With my lips I declared all the judgments of Your mouth. ¹⁴I was delighted in the way of Your testimonies, as over all wealth. ¹⁵I will meditate on Your commandments, and consider Your ways. ¹⁶I will ponder on [Heb., delight myself in] Your ordinances; I will not forget Your words.

Song of Solomon 1:1-16

[The] Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

²[The Shulamite:] “Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth; for your breasts [are] [Heb., love [is]] better [lit., good, and throughout book] than wine. ³And [the] fragrance of your ointments [is better] than all the spices; your name [is] ointment having been poured out; therefore young women loved you.”

⁴[Daughters of Jerusalem:] “They drew you; we will run after you, for [the] fragrance of your ointments.”

[The Shulamite:] “The king brought me into his secret room.”

[Daughters of Jerusalem:] “Let us rejoice and be glad in you; we will love your breasts [Heb., remember your love] more than wine; righteousness loved you.”

⁵[The Shulamite:] “I am dark, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as [the] tents of Kedar, as [the] curtains of Solomon. ⁶Do not look upon me, because I am having been darkened, because the sun looked upon me; my mother’s sons quarreled with me; they made me keeper in [the] vineyards; I did not keep my [own] vineyard.”

⁷[To her beloved:] “Tell me, whom my soul loved, where you shepherd, where you rest [them] at noon, lest I become as one clothing [or, veiling] herself by [the] herds of your companions.”

⁸[The beloved:] “If you do not know yourself, the beautiful [one] among women; you go forth by [the] heels [or, footsteps] of the flocks, and be shepherding your goats by [the] tents of the shepherds. ⁹I compared you, my companion [lit., neighbor, and throughout book], to my horse in [the] chariots of Pharaoh. ¹⁰How are your cheeks beautified as [those] of doves, your neck as necklaces!”

¹¹[Daughters of Jerusalem:] “We will make for you likenesses of gold with marks [fig., studs] of silver.”

¹²[The Shulamite:] “Until which [time] the king [was] in his leaning back [fig., at his table], my spikenard gave its fragrance. ¹³My beloved [is] to me a bundle of myrrh; it will be laid between my breasts. ¹⁴My beloved [is] to me a bunch of grapes of a shrub in [the] vineyards of Engaddi.”

¹⁵[The beloved:] “Behold, you are beautiful, my companion; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes [are] doves.”

¹⁶[The Shulamite:] “Behold, you are handsome, my beloved, and indeed, beautiful; our bed [is] shaded. ¹⁷[The] beams of our house [are] cedars; our ceilings [are] cypress.

Translator’s Note

Occasionally, the LXX includes extended “extra” passages that are not found in the Hebrew text. It is a matter of debate whether these extra passages are inspired or not. As such, I wasn’t sure how to handle these passages in Volumes One and Two of the ALT: OT. There were few such passages in Volume One (e.g., Gen 46:20). But in Volume Two, there were several such passages, especially in 1Kings and Esther. I did not include the extra passages in 1Kings as they were mostly just repetitious of material found elsewhere in 1Kings. But I did include the passages in Esther. I did so as they included mainly “new” material.

This extra material can be identified in Volumes One and Two as they are generally included at the end of numbered verses, making those verses rather long, sometimes up to several paragraphs. In Esther, the passages are found in 1:1; 3:13; 4:17; 5:1; 8:12; 10:3. Starting with Volume Three, I will include these extra passages but enclose them in brace brackets. But, unfortunately, I did not think of enclosing such materials in brace brackets until after Volumes One and Two were published.

Similarly, the LXX includes books that are not found in the Hebrew text. These are called apocryphal or deuterocanonical books. There again is debate whether these “extra” books are inspired or not. None of them are included in Jewish or Protestant Bibles, but many are included in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles. As such, Volume V of this ALT: OT will contain these apocryphal/ deuterocanonical books.

Translator’s Note for Online Bookstores Paperback

The following note appears only in the paperback version of Volume Three available from Amazon and other online bookstores"

Occasionally, the LXX includes “extra” words, phrases, and even entire paragraphs that are not found in the Hebrew text. Starting with this third volume of the ALT: OT, all of these extra passages are included, but the longer and more important passages are enclosed by brace brackets, i.e., {…} (e.g., Job 2:9). However, no attempt is made to bracket every single “extra” word.

It is a matter of debate whether these extra passages are inspired or not, that is why longer and more important ones are being enclosed by brace brackets. But they are being included as they are part of the LXX and make for interesting reading.

There are some minor differences between this 2014 edition of Volume Three versus the 2013 edition. As I was working on the additional volumes, I was making changes throughout the OT to be as consistent as possible in my translations. But the changes are mostly minor, so this is not a second edition. It is Edition 1.1.

To explain, when I first published Volume One, I made it available in all of the formats indicated at the top of this page and in paperback format to be sold at online bookstores, but no one purchased that version, probably because it is more expensive than the Lulu paperback and far more expensive than the digital versions. As such, I did not bother to make Volumes Two to Five available in paperback format at online bookstores. But after Volume Five was published, I checked my revenue report and saw that several copies of Volume One in that format had sold by that time, so I figured it was worthwhile to make the rest of the volumes available in that format as well. But by then I had made the indicated changes to the texts of Volumes Two to Four. And since those would contain the updated text, I figured I might as well update Volume One in that format as well. But the amount of work to update all of the volumes in all of the formats would be prohibitive.

The online bookstores paperback version also uses a higher quality paper than the Lulu paperback version. Only the reader can decide if the these slight differences between the Lulu versus the bookstores paperback justifies the higher price. But if you wish to purchase the bookstores versions, they are available at online bookstores like Amazon.