Along with Joe Quesada, former Marvel publisher Bill Jemas was one of the principle architects of the revitalization of the House of Ideas back at the turn of the century. His tenure led the way to some big successes — like the Ultimate line–and some big flops — remember Marville? He certainly made a strong impression. After leaving Marvel he started his own branding/marketing company 360eps, but what is he up to now? Well, believe it or not, he’s translating the Bible:

Each morning before sunrise, for the last three years, the Rutgers and Harvard Law School graduate has labored over the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis in Hebrew, the language in which it was first written.

His goal is to write an English translation of Genesis that is truer to the Hebrew text than are widely used English translations like the famed King James Version. He already has completed the first chapter, available online and in his book “Genesis Rejuvenated.”

By presenting alternative English definitions for Hebrew words to those chosen by KJV translators in 1611, he hopes that his internet-accessible “Freeware Bible,” as he calls his translation, will show readers that widely accepted Bible translations are inherently imperfect.


You can read Mr. Jemas’s Bible translation here. The article goes on to state that although his work is controversial among Bible scholars (given his lack of background in the field) some are finding it worthwhile.

7 COMMENTS

  1. This is actually not as insane as it sounds. Bill Jemas is probably not the world’s most qualified person to translate the Bible (and there are other literal translations out there – most scholars acknowledge that the KJV has a lot of baggage), but he’s also cross-indexing every word used and its every possible meaning, which I think is highly useful and is only partly done in any number of doorstop-sized “study” Bibles.

  2. Just spent a decent amount of time reading there, when I only clicked over to look out of curiosity. Sam Thielman is right, the cross-indexing of every word is fascinating and the open nature of the translation process if very, I don’t know, sort of thrilling.

    I mean, he gives you all the meanings he can find for each of the words, tells you the way he thinks the lines should read and why. He seems to be going for likely actual meaning for a reader contemporary to the time the words were actually written down, and not translating with an established religious agenda bending interpretation in support of itself.

    His transparency invites you to second guess him and think about what the words actually mean.

    It’s a really interesting project, looks like.

  3. Great idea…I don’t get it.

    So this is what he came up with for the translation of the first 32 words of the Bible, “In principles powers that be unto the skywaters and unto the earth and the earth being wilderness and virgin and dark over face deep and breath powers that be flowing blow upon faces the water”

    How many years has he spent translating this? Sounds like gibberish to me. Does that make sense to anybody? I think I’ll stick to my translation of the Bible…the Word of God.

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