Bible Helps and Tips Part 01

How to get around in the Bible

     If you've been in church for any length of time, you probably know your way around the Bible pretty well. Now it's time to familarize yourself with the Spanish Bible. I will be using the Reina Valera 1960 version for all of my study here. 

     One great thing about english and spanish is that there are alot of cognates. (words that sound similar) This is especially true when it cames to names of the books of the Bible. It is also true concerning many names of people and places. This lesson will help you to get familar with finding your way in the Bible.

The Books of the Bible – Los Libros de la Biblia

Let’s start by learning the Books of the Bible in Spanish and their divisions.

THE OLD TESTAMENT - EL ANTIGUO TESTAMENTO

The Pentateuch – El Pentateuco

Genesis                                              Génesis

Exodus                                               Éxodo

Leviticus                                             Levítico

Numbers                                            Números

Deuteronomy                                     Deuteronomio

History – Libros Históricos

Joshua                                               Josué

Judges                                               Jueces

Ruth                                                  Rut

I Samuel                                            I Samuel

II Samuel                                           II Samuel

I Kings                                              I Reyes

II Kings                                             II Reyes

I Chronicles                                       I Crónicas

II Chronicles                                      II Crónicas

Ezra                                                   Esdras

Nehemiah                                          Nehemías

Esther                                                Ester

Poetry – Libros Poéticos

Job                                                    Job

Psalms                                               Salmos

Proverbs                                            Proverbios

Ecclesiastes                                       Eclesiastés

Song of Solomon                               Cantar de los cantares

Major Prophets – Profetas Mayores

Isaiah                                                Isaías

Jeremiah                                           Jeremías

Lamentations                                    Lamentaciones

Ezekiel                                             Ezequiel

Daniel                                              Daniel

Minor Prophets – Profetas Menores

Hosea                                              Oseas

Joel                                                  Joel

Amos                                               Amós

Obadiah                                           Abdías

Jonah                                               Jonás

Micah                                              Miqueas

Nahum                                             Nahúm

Habakkuk                                        Habacuc

Zephaniah                                        Sofanías

Haggai                                             Hageo

Zechariah                                         Zacarías

Malachi                                           Malaquías

THE NEW TESTAMENT - EL NUEVO TESTAMENTO

The Gospels – Los Evangelios

Matthew                                        Mateo

Mark                                             Marcos

Luke                                              Lucas

John                                               Juan

History – El Libro Histórico

Acts                                               Hechos

Pauline Epistles – Las Epístolas de Pablo

Romans                                          Romanos

I Corinthians                                   I Corintios

II Corinthians                                  II Corintios

Galations                                        Gálatas

Ephesians                                       Efesios           

Philippians                                      Pilipenses

Colossians                                      Colosenses

I Thessalonians                               I Tesalonicenses

II Thessalonians                              II Tesalonicenses

I Timothy                                        I Timeteo

II Timothy                                      II Timeteo

Titus                                               Tito

Philemon                                         Filemón

Hebrews                                         Hebreos

General Epistles – Las Epístolas Generales

James                                             Santiago

I Peter                                            I Pedro

II Peter                                           II Pedro

I John                                             I Juan

II John                                            II Juan

III John                                           III Juan

Jude                                                Judas

Prophecy – El Libro Profético

Revelation                                       Apocalipsis

See if you can translate the following:

            Profetas Menores

            Los Evangelios

            Sofanías

            II Corintios

Can you say the following in Spanish?

            Deuteronomy

            Revelation

            I Thessalonians

Note: When referring to books of the Bible that begin with first, second or third you will say el primer, el segundo or el tercer libro de. For example:

            El primer libro de Samuel. First Samuel

            El segundo libro de Timeteo. Second Timothy

           

            When referring to the gospels, it is common to use San in front of the name. San Mateo, San Marcos, San Luke, San Juan

Biblical Terms

Here are some useful words when referring to the Bible:

            author(s)                                  autor(es)

            chapter(s)                                capítulo(s)

            verse(s)                                    versículo(s)

            page(s)                                     página(s)

Scripture of the Day 11-26-10

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KJV
San Juan 3:16 Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna. RV1960

     Useful words and phrases
amar - to love
el mundo - the world
hijo - son
creer - to believe
todo - all
unigénito(a) - only begotten
de tal manera - in such a manner
dar - to give
     ha dado - has given
Hijo unigénito - only begotten Son 
      Remember, that in spanish, the adjective comes after the noun. Most of the time.

Thanksgiving Day Spanish Words and Phrases

Happy Thanksgiving all. I hope that you are having a wonderful time. I thought that today would be a great time to bring you some words and phrases related to Thanksgiving.

corn - maíz
corn on the cob - elote
cranberry sauce - salsa de arándanos
Happy Thanksgiving - Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias
     There are a couple of funny phrases that are said more as a joke.
          Feliz Día del pavo - Happy Turkey Day
          Feliz Día del Guajolote - Happy Turkey Day
harvest - cosecha
indian - indio
pilgrim - peregrino(a)
pork - cerdo, puerco
stuffing - relleno
sweet potatoes, yams - batatas
turkey - pavo, guajolote

Scripture of the Day 11-24-10

Psalms 106:1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. KJV
Salmos 106:1 Alabad a Jehová, porque él es bueno; Porque para siempre es su misericordia. RV1960

     Useful words and phrases
siempre - forever, always
para siempre - for ever, for always
como siempre - as usual     I threw this one in so you could see another use for siempre.
misericordia - mercy
durar para siempre - to last forever, to endure
alabar, elogiar - to praise     
alabanzas - praises

Scripture of the Day 11-23-10

Psalms 105:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name:
                          make known his deeds among the people. KJV
Salmos 105:1 Alabad a Jehová, invocad su nombre;
                          Dad a conocer sus obras en los pueblos. RV1960

     Useful word and phrases
invocar - to invoke, to call
obras - deeds, works
dar a conocer - to release (a notice), to make an announcement

Scripture of the Day 11-22-10

Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. KJV
Salmos 23:1 Jehová es mi pastor; nada me faltará. RV1960

I know that this scripture is known by most, but with Thanksgiving a couple days away, I felt it appropiate. With the Lord as our shepherd, we'll have all we need. Maybe not all we want, but all we need.
 
     Useful words and phrases
Jehová - the Lord, Jehova
     Remember that the "J" is pronounced like "H". And the "H" is silent. Jehová sounds like Hee oh vah.
pastor - shepherd, also pastor
     Sounds like pah storh

Scripture of the Day 11-21-10

Colossins 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. KJV
Colosenses 3:17 Y todo lo que hacéis, sea de palabra o de hecho, hacedlo todo en el nomdre del Señor Jesús, dando gracias a Dios Padre por medio de él. RV1960

     Useful words and phrases
Padre - father
dando gracias - giving thanks
del - of the
     del is a conjugation of the words de and el. El is used before words that are masculine. La is used before words that are feminine. De la will always stay two words. While de el becomes del. De la palabra. Of the word. Del Señor. Of the Lord.
todo - all
hecho - deed, act, or feat

10 Great Phrases to use in the Church Service

There are so many one liners and phrases that can be used during a church service. It is almost an injustice to try to narrow them down to just ten. But, when you're just starting out, ten may be all you can handle. By no means are the following phrases the top ten. I just feel that they are a great start and will be recognized by almost any spanish speaker. So here goes

1. Paz de Cristo. Literally 'Peace of Christ.'
     This is the equivelent of saying 'Praise the Lord' in english. It can be used when greeting a congregation. Paz de Cristo, hermanos. Praise the Lord brothers and sisters.  It can also be used when greeting or shaking the hand of an individual. Paz de Cristo, hermano(a). You can add a blessing on the end when departing someone. Paz de Cristo, que Dios le bendiga. Praise the lord, may God bless you. You would not use it when praising or glorifying God for something. Rather, you would use 'Gloria a Dios'. Glory to God.

2. Gloria a Dios. Glory to God.
     Many times when an english speaker is first exposed to this phrase, they wonder why the preacher or saint is saying 'Glory Bye Bye'. This is because what they're hearing is 'Glory Adiós'. They know what 'glory' is and most know that 'adiós' is 'goodbye or see you later' so their mind is translating it as 'Glory Bye Bye'. Lets break this phrase down:
Gloria glory
a to 
Dios God.
Many times in spanish when one word ends in a vowel and the next word begins with the same vowel the sound blends. So Gloria a Dios really sounds like Gloria Dios. You can use this phrase as a stand alone phrase. It can also be used to add emphasis. Estoy agradecido estar en la casa del Señor. Gloria a Dios. I'm thankful to be in the house of the Lord. Glory to God.

3. Aleluya. Hallelujah
     This would be used just like you would use it in the english language. Technically it's not a phrase but it's just as useful. Just drop the beginning "H" when saying it and it will sound authentic. You will still be understood if you forget and use the "H" out of habit.

4. Dios es bueno. God is good.
      This is a great phrase all by itself. When used in the pupit, many times it will generate alot of amens. You can also combine it with the two previous words. Dios es bueno, gloria a Dios. Dios es bueno, aleluya. If you want to sound authentic, pronounce the "D" like the english "thee". So Dios sounds like Thee-ose. You can substitue the following for Dios:
     Cristo. Christ
     El Señor. The Lord

5. ¿Quién vive? Who lives?
     This is another great phrase that is heard in many hispanic churches. It has a great question and reponse effect. The whole thing goes like this. ¿Quién vive? Cristo. ¿A su nombre? Gloria.
¿Quién vive? Who's alive? 
Cristo. Chris
¿A su nombre? And to his name?
Gloria. Glory
Many times the speaker will add a little something to the end like:
Vamos a darle un aplauso a Dios. Let's clap our hands to God. 

6. ¿Cuántos creen que...? How many believe that ...?
     Here is great phrase to use when you want to involve your congregation some. There are a number of endings that go well with this phrase. Here are a few to get you started.
¿... Cristo vive?  ...Jesus lives?
¿... es bueno estar en la casa de Dios? ... it's good to be in the house of God?
¿... Dios esta aqui? ...God is here?

Scripture of the Day 11-20-10

I Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands. KJV
I Samuel 17:47 Y sabrá toda esta congregación que Jehová no salve con espada y con lanza; porque de Jehová es la batalla, y él os entregará en nuestros manos. RV1960

This scripture means alot to me because it seems many time we try to fight our own battles instead of giving them over to the Lord. God's weapons are not made by man's hand. When your battles seem tough or your giants big why not let God fight the battle for you. Goliath had no idea when he faced David that day, that his true adversary was much bigger than the young man standing before him.

     Useful words and phrases
assembly - congregación may also be used when referring to your own congregation or assembly
save, to - salvar
sword - espada
spear - lanza
battle - batalla
war, warfare - guerra
weapon - arma
Goliath - Goliat
giant - gigante It's interesting to note that the word 'giant' is not found once in this story.

Scripture of the Day 11-19-10

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; KJV
Efesios 5:20 dando siempre gracias por todo al Dios y Padre, en el nombre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. RV1960

As human beings, it is easy to take things for granted. We live in a society where many people have a "give me" attitude. It gets easy to take things for granted. But god reminds us to always be thankful. Job said that we come into this world with nothing and when we leave we will take nothing with us.

     Useful words and phrases
thanks - gracias
thank you - gracias
thank you very much - muchas gracias o muchisimas gracias
give thanks - dar gracias
thankful - agradecido
to be thankful - estar agradecido
I'm thankful - estoy agradecido

Scripture of the Day 11-18-10

Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. KJV
Salmo 100:4 Entrad por sus puertas con acción de gracias, Por sus atrios con alabanza: Alabadle, bendecid su nombre. RV1960

I chose this scripture today because Thanksgiving is just a week away. Whenever I think of Thanksgiving this is one of the first scriptures that comes to my mind. God wants us to be thankful.

     Useful words and phrases
Thanksgiving - acción de gracias
Thanksgiving Day - el Día de Acción de Gracias
Eat, to - comer
Let's eat - vamos a comer