The grass dries up,
Isaiah 40:8 F.O.G
The flower withers,
Yet the Word of our Elohim,
Stands forever!
From: The desk of Jean Paul Joseph,
To: My fellow believers in King Jesus and His Kingdom come.
I am writing to you today, after a dramatic and personal encounter in which יהוה (Yahweh) ישוע (Yeshua) visited me during the early hours over coffee. Dramatic, I know and one of the most tangible things that happened—aside from falling flat on my face in worship—was an insatiable appetite for His Word, the Bible.
To be honest, it was a completely unnatural appetite. I wasn’t just reading one Bible, but seven, for hours on end! I just couldn’t get enough of His Word and the almost ‘too good to be true’ good news, which I thought I already knew. But man was I wrong! I had been a Christian since age seven, but looking back, I realize that for the most part, it was just religious ‘do’s’ and ‘don’t do’s,’ with no personal, “I know you” type of relationship.
But that all changed after encountering Him. Now I could read the King James Bible and be touched, then immediately pick up another translation and be touched all over again in a completely different way. This process would repeat with each subsequent Bible. His beautiful loving touch grew stronger and stronger as He spoke directly and personally to my heart about our glorious hope and future together.
And this kept happening daily so that it became abundantly clear to me that the whole “Which Bible is best?” debate is, for the most part, silly! From my personal experience, the more you read from the work of thousands of faithful scribes who created our Bibles, the more He, reveals Himself to you. He does this through the Sacred Holy Spirit (רוּחַ Ruach HaKodesh), who searches the deep and hidden things of the Father to then reveal layer upon layer of truth to bless your unique heart. He does this in a special way for each of His children using a language and words you can easily understand.
Now don’t get me wrong
I’m not saying you have to read every Bible, but at least start reading a second version, especially if all you’ve read so far is the King James. It will change your life for the good!
To this day, my insatiable appetite for His Word continues. It’s not uncommon for me to be thinking about, reading, or translating the Bible for up to 18 hours a day! To say this is a supernatural gift of favor and hunger seems perfectly appropriate to me, because before my encounter, I had hardly touched my “dust-ridden” Bible for 18 years!
The 18-year famine for the Word of God in my life has now become regular 18-hour daily feasts, and boy, was I hungry and thirsty, and still am! Biblical rainbows like this suddenly started appearing all over my Bibles! #BibleRainbows
After so many years, the core message of the Bible—and how it all points to King Jesus—became incredibly real, tangible, and far more astonishing to me.
This revelation was even more profound because nine months before this encounter, He came to me in a dream and made it very clear that He’s returning soon! To be honest, I wasn’t ready for His return when I had that dream. Even though I prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer,” almost weekly, I knew deep down that my heart had grown hard and disillusioned towards Him.
Yet He is Love Personified!
In His mercy and grace, God chose to reach out and touch me again! I believe it was because He saw how religion and the faithless traditions of man had stained my heart and clouded my spirit.
In His compassion, God seemed to declare, “Enough is enough.”
It was then that I felt His touch, and the beautiful, awe-inspiring fear of God (F.O.G) entered me! I fell face down in worship and thanks, and through my grateful sobbing, it became crystal clear that I was back on His side again, the best place in the world. Being in His presence now, I realized that all I knew of Him before that day were mere rumors and riddles of His power and Shekinah glory, which always fills His Temple (you and I). His glory is so overwhelming that one cannot stand in His all encompassing presence with a mere mortal body—it’s why He promises us new glorified bodies!
Reflecting on my life before this encounter, I believe I was like one of the five foolish virgins Jesus spoke of. It’s my heartfelt prayer that your lamp, dear reader, is full of Holy Spirit oil and burning brightly for Him when He returns to gather His Bride—the Unified Church Assembly—for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Jesus).
After meeting my Maker and experiencing His loving and merciful heart, I am now filled with a desire for everyone to taste and see this freedom in Jesus, The Anointed One (a.k.a Christ).
The King’s Commission to Me
Whenever there is a visitation from the King, there comes a divine commission. The first and most important is the Great Commission, but there is also a personal calling—a unique purpose that God has created for you and you alone. For me, it became clear that my commission was tied to my academic mind, which has always loved the pursuit of knowledge.
As a child, I devoured encyclopedias, and all the kids wanted my help with their homework, but now my focus was to be on His Word—the Bible. What followed was, and continues to be, a supernatural ability to dive deeply into Scripture, using the best in class Biblical software called Logos to cross-check over 10 Bible translations and dictionaries. But Logos is not just for academics, I recommend it for all who want to see what the original languages reveal to us about God. You will be stunned at times.
Now when you study the Word in such depth for an extended period, you naturally begin to notice the strengths and “areas of improvement” in each English Bible translation that has been derived from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts.
After identifying these “areas of improvement,” Yeshua directed me to write a Bible commentary and answer Biblical Questions.
I thought, “Okay, great—this is what I was born for!” But as I began the task, I realized I needed a literal, ancient context Bible—what many call a “Word-for-Word Bible,” which by the way is a misnomer as no language perfectly translates word for word. Especially ancient languages! So during one of my early morning coffee devotions, He surprised me with the unthinkable:
He said, “You do it! You create this version of My Word.”
My immediate reaction was one of disbelief: “The whole Bible…?”
I can’t remember if He answered that directly, but the message to me was clear.
After my initial astonishment and a lot of internal debate, I am excited to share that He has guided me in creating two accurate and unique Bibles. One will be a literal translation called the F.O.G Bible, and the other will be a paraphrase known as the F.O.G Message, which blends ancient and modern-day language. Both versions will faithfully preserve the Jewish context and retain the original names and titles of the Elohim, Yahweh. The One True God who reigns over all others who call themselves gods, including many men.
This is undoubtedly a God-sized task, and I greatly appreciate your prayers, support, and, of course coffee! Many Christians who receive a calling like this often joke, “If you think you can do it, God didn’t tell you to do it!” I find comfort in that thought as I continually seek His strength and wisdom each day.
With all this in mind, the work on the Fear of God (F.O.G) Bible officially began in September 2023—marking the one-year anniversary of my encounter with Him over coffee. The first book drafted was Ruth, and the entire New Testament was drafted on February 10, 2024 (10-02-2024 for my American friends). Just four days later, on Valentine’s Day, I launched this brand-new social learning website—fittingly, because God is Love. ❤️
I am now working on the new F.O.G Greek Lexicon, so as to refine my draft translation of the Greek New Testament, which should be ready for review and public comment by November 2024. I invite you to join this journey with me, to explore His Word more deeply, and to experience the richness of its original ancient context.
But let me be clear now
Every reputable English Bible translation agrees on the core truths of the glory and majesty of the risen Lord Jesus, the Messiah, or as I like to call Him, יהוה (Yahweh) ישוע Yeshua. He is the King of kings, and will soon return to establish a literal “on earth as it is in Heaven” Kingdom. That day will be the best day of our lives, and I can’t wait! Come Lord Jesus!
However, the only truly perfect “word-for-word” Bible, free from any scribal “issues” or biases, is found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts in which His words were recorded. This is simply a fact, as any translator or native speaker would confirm.
So let’s talk about what the F.O.G is based on and the translation process.
introducing the The nine aims of:
The F.O.G Study Bible & Commentary
To Embrace the Revealed Names
of the Elohim (God) called
יהוה (Yahweh)
The sacred name יהוה (YHWH) appears 6,720 times in the Hebrew Bible, almost three times more often than the word אֱלֹהִים (Elohim, God). In English, it is written as YHWH, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew יהוה (Yahweh).
According to rabbinic tradition, this name is pronounced in a soft, breathy way. In Hebrew, this conveys the profound meaning of “the Breath of Life Himself.”
Most English Bibles translate this name as “THE LORD.” However, I prefer to use “יהוה (Yahweh)” because our אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) is a loving Father who wants His children to know Him by all His names.
What greater proof of this love could there be than Him sending Himself in the flesh and blood of ישוע (Yeshua) to die for our deviations from His perfect way, so that all who believe in Him will be saved?
To honor these New Covenant marriage vows between God and a purified humanity, I will use Hebrew-to-English transliteration to help readers pronounce the original names of God. These names and titles include El-Shaddai (God Almighty or The All-Sustaining One) and יהוה (Yahweh) Tsidqenu (Yahweh our Righteousness). Praise God!
To Embrace the Jewish
Roots of our Salvation and
the Mystery of ישוע (Yeshua)
My heart deeply longs for the Jewish people to believe in their Messiah, ישוע (Yeshua)! This desire must be supernatural because, after all, I’m a British English-speaking Frenchman, born in South Africa, and now living in New Zealand—I’m not Jewish! Quite a story, I know!
The Fear of God (F.O.G) Bible is designed to speak directly to my Jewish friends, showing them that God is indeed their loving Abba who wants to be known personally through ישוע (Yeshua) and His רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ (Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit) within them. Yes, the rabbis were right in saying the Messiah was expected 2,000 years ago. But no, you didn’t miss Him because of any unworthiness. He did come, but His own people didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah because they were expecting a political leader to overthrow Rome. His first mission, however, was spiritual—to overthrow the Adversary. Rest assured, His second coming will bring the political rule you desire, with His iron scepter guiding the nations. What an incredible day it will be when the King governs the world!
With this in mind, the F.O.G Bible incorporates Hebrew terms and sometimes even script to communicate these truths to my Jewish friends while also revealing the fascinating mysteries of Jewish context to non-Jews.
To Simplify Religious ‘Lingo’
Our modern Bibles have gone through many layers of translation—from the original Hebrew and Aramaic to Greek, then Latin, and finally to English. While the essential message of salvation has been wonderfully preserved, some of the deeper mysteries concerning spiritual authority and closeness to God’s throne have become clouded. This is especially true with the introduction of Latin religious terms that made sense over a millennium ago but can be confusing today.
When a simpler and more accurate word or phrase exists that better conveys the meaning of a “religious word,” it will either replace the original term or have an explanatory note (in brackets) next to it. For example, the term “saints” is often misunderstood. To maintain the original Jewish understanding—where “holy ones” are those declared holy by the Holy One—we replace “saints” with “holy ones.” You will find many such adjustments throughout the F.O.G. Bible to bring clarity and understanding to readers.
To Remove and Condense English Words added to our Bibles.
When translating ancient texts into English, certain words need to be added to make the text understandable to our modern ears. If you compare the KJV or even the ‘gold standard’ NASB with the original Hebrew and Greek texts, including their word order, you might be surprised by the differences! In fact, you might even be tempted to view these highly accurate “Word-for-Word” translations as paraphrases. This is simply the nature of translation, even between modern languages—let alone translating an ancient text that lacks punctuation!
Rest assured, this does not change the core message of truth in our Bibles. However, the Fear of God (F.O.G.) Bible will sometimes use a more “ancient” style by reducing the number of added English words. Unnecessary words will also be removed; for example, the KJV’s “an hundred and forty-four thousand” becomes simply “144,000.” The goal is to create a text that feels both authentic in its ancient style and easy to read.
To use Modern Dates and Measurements
By using modern dates and measurements, readers can better visualize and follow what is happening in the text. For example, when Ruth receives a generous provision from Boaz while gleaning in his field, it is described as an “ephah.” In the F.O.G Bible, this will be presented as “ephah (22L)” using UK measurements to clearly illustrate how abundant her provision was.
In the F.O.G. Message, the same will be shown using US measurements, such as “ephah (5.81 gallons),” to cater to different readers. This dual approach ensures the Bible is accessible and understandable to both UK and US audiences.
To Reduce the Need for More than
three Versions of the Bible
To be completely honest, this is a personal goal of mine. I understand that regularly reading more than seven versions of the Bible isn’t practical in the long run. My aim, יהוה (Yahweh) willing, is to create one of the most accurate, contextually faithful “Word-for-Word” study Bibles.
This would allow me to compare it with just one or two other versions, making Bible study more manageable. While this is a personal goal, I believe it will also resonate with many of you who enjoy exploring multiple versions of His Word.
To Embrace Transparency
One morning, I was overwhelmed with a deep reverence for Yahweh, which made me realize the immense responsibility I carry as His “reborn scribe.” In response to this calling, every verse in this Bible translation is open for your comments—a feature that is likely a first in Bible translations. Whether you’re an expert in ancient languages or simply someone who loves Jesus and wants to share how a verse impacted you, all your thoughts are valued and appreciated.
To Embrace Ancient
Poetic Metaphor
Did you know that biblical scholars estimate that up to 40% of the Bible is poetry? And it’s not just any poetry—it’s יהוה (Yahweh)-inspired, ancient poetry that is both unique and, at times, quite mysterious. This translation seeks to preserve some of these distinctive expressions, especially in the wisdom and prophetic books, while offering explanations in brackets or footnotes when needed.
However, not every phrase will be explained. The King James Version has shown us that lines like “The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters” can still resonate deeply with us today without additional clarification.
To Embrace
‘Echoes’ of Agape!
(True Sacrificial Love.
I conclude with this key aim because it is the most important after #1: it honors יהוה (Yahweh’s) ❤️ heart of love for you. Understanding this will open the doors and floodgates of revelation in your Bible reading. When you truly “grasp this,” a whole new world of understanding—and the Bible’s core message from beginning to end—will begin to transform your mind.
In the Hebrew Bible, certain keywords and phrases are deliberately repeated to make you recall other parts of Scripture. When you notice these recurring phrases, you’ve found a golden nugget or gemstone that can lead to a deeper understanding of יהוה (Yahweh)’s righteousness and justice.
Our goal is to preserve these consistent words and phrases as much as possible, not only in the Hebrew texts but also in the ‘Greek-westernized’ New Testament (Covenant). This approach will serve as a powerful study tool for comparing the ‘old’ and ‘new’ covenant vows that God has made with humanity through Jesus.
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