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Genesis 9:23 – NASB vs. HCSB vs. ESV
Genesis 9:23 NASB But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Genesis 9:23 HCSB Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backwards, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.
Genesis 9:23 ESV Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Of these three, only the ESV keeps the original wording “backward” twice, to refer to both how they walked, and their faces. The sons walked backward and kept their face turned backward. While the ESV might sound awkward since the meaning obviously is “turned away,” still the ESV is the most accurate in this verse.
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