Bible Listening App

I recently received an email titled "To All Users of 聴くドラマ聖書." The email announced that the PC version of 聴くドラマ聖書 will be fully merged into a global version available in multiple languages starting April 1, 2025. The new name will be ともに聴く聖書.

As a result, if you want to read or listen to the Bible on your PC, please visit the websites below. It remains free of charge.

• ともに聴く聖書 – Public Reading of Scripture
  https://prs.app/ja/bible/gen.1.jdb
  

• ともに聴く聖書 – Website
  https://www.prsi.org/ja
  

If you search for ともに聴く聖書 on your smartphone, you will find the corresponding app.

Previously, 聴くドラマ聖書 was only available in Japanese (新改訳), but ともに聴く聖書 now supports multiple languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Indonesian, French, and Arabic. Unfortunately, German is not available.

For English, two versions are available: NKJV (New King James Version) and NLT (New Living Translation). As expected, the dramatic versions offer a more immersive experience compared to simple narration.

Additionally, the iPhone app HOLY BIBLE provides access to an overwhelming variety of languages—including Classical Greek!

There are too many English versions to list them all, but here are some key ones, including narrated and dramatized versions:

• KJV (King James Version) – 1 narrated version

• NIV (New International Version) – 3 narrated versions, 1 dramatized version

• NKJV (New King James Version) – 2 narrated versions

• NLT (New Living Translation) – 1 narrated version, 4 dramatized versions

I usually use NIV for daily reading and NKJV when researching the original New Testament (Classical Greek). This time, I tried listening to NLT for the first time. It has several dramatized versions, and I feel the English leans more toward American English compared to other dramatized versions.

The Japanese Bible in this app is the 口語訳 (Kougoyaku). If you are familiar with 新改訳 (Shinkaiyaku), you might prefer using ともに聴く聖書 instead.

にほんブログ村

にほんブログ村

Ein Werbelied war ein Kirchenlied

Neulich habe ich eine Werbung von JR Ostjapan im Fernsehen gesehen.
Ich dachte, das Lied klingt bekannt.

Dann habe ich gemerkt, dass es ein Kirchenlied ist: „I Come to the Garden Alone“. Aber in meinem Gesangbuch steht es nicht. Ich frage mich, wie der Titel auf Japanisch heißt.

Ich habe nachgesehen. „I Come to the Garden Alone“ ist nur der Anfang der Liedzeile. Der richtige Titel ist „In the Garden“. Ich erinnere mich, dass es in einem englischen Gesangbuch war, das ich vor mehr als 30 Jahren gekauft habe. Es war auch auf einer CD von Sandi Patti.

Hier ist ein YouTube-Video. 

 

Es ist von Rosemary Siemens, einer Sängerin aus Kanada, die ich neulich kennengelernt habe. Sie hat eine sanfte und flüsternde Stimme, die sehr entspannend ist.

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にほんブログ村

"Classical Greek Grammar for Beginners" @ Meiji Gakuin University, Starting April 19th

Meiji Gakuin University’s 2025 reading group has been announced. It runs in spring and fall, with a summer break. Details are available in the link below.

https://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/gengobunka/reading_circles/

The "Classical Greek Grammar for Beginners(古典ギリシア語初歩文法)" class will be held every Saturday from 13:00 to 14:30 at the Shirokane campus. Each 90-minute session is full of content, and best of all, it’s free. Registration is now available on the official website.

I joined it in April 2023 but had to quit in June due to illness. In April 2024, I couldn't attend because of surgery. This year, I decided not to join as I might struggle to keep up. 😅

The textbook is "古典ギリシア語初歩". Though I had learned some Greek conversation more than 10 years ago, Classical Greek was new to me and quite challenging. The lecture moved fast, and the homework was incredibly difficult for beginners.

If you're new to Greek, I recommend starting with an easier grammar book. Also, the course focuses on Greek philosophy and mythology, but since I want to read the original New Testament, it wasn’t the best fit for me. 😅

Modern Greek and Classical Greek have some differences in the alphabet and pronunciation. My Modern Greek dictionary wasn’t helpful, so I bought the Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary, which is compact and useful.

Although I won’t be joining this year, I’m sharing this in case anyone is interested.

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にほんブログ村

Le Violette

Sono più di vent’anni che ho iniziato a studiare il canto lirico. All’inizio ho studiato le canzoni giapponesi, poi le canzoni italiane e dopo mi sono concentrata sulle arie d’opera italiane. Mi piacciono le opere di Puccini, Verdi e Mozart.

A causa della pandemia e della mia malattia, non ho potuto prendere lezioni per alcuni anni, ma dall'anno scorso ho ripreso. Amo l'opera italiana, ma mi piacciono molto anche le canzoni italiane perché ce ne sono tante belle.  Di recente, sono tornata alle origini e sto esercitandomi con le canzoni italiane. 

Ho imparato Le Violette vent’anni fa, ma siccome non riesco a cantarla bene, la sto riprendendo dopo tanto tempo.

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にほんブログ村

Mein Neustart mit Deutsch

Bald endet der März, und das neue Geschäftsjahr beginnt im April. In den letzten zwei Jahren konnte ich wegen meiner Krankheit nicht viel Deutsch lernen. Deshalb möchte ich in diesem Jahr nach langer Zeit wieder „Mainichi Doitsu-go“ vom NHK-Radio hören.





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Watching My Bucket List

The day before yesterday, I went with an elderly friend to see the musical My Bucket List, starring KwangSoo from the Korean dance and vocal group Supernova（超新星）. The performance took place at Asakusa Kagekijo, located behind Sensoji Temple, next to Hanayashiki amusement park. It was a two-hour, two-person stage play.

KwangSoo, who is Korean, could barely speak Japanese a little over ten years ago. But in this musical, he performed entirely in Japanese—both songs and dialogue—for two hours, which truly amazed me. I believe he is an incredibly hard worker. 😌

This musical, originally from Korea, tells the story of Kang, a delinquent, and Hae-gi, a terminally ill boy. Despite being complete opposites, they work together to fulfill Hae-gi’s list of 100 things he wants to do before he dies. The show has been performed not only in Korea but also in Japan, where it seems to be quite popular.

After returning home, I looked up My Bucket List and found that there’s an app with the same title. Here it is: ↓↓

When I thought about what 100 things I’d want to do before I die, I realized that I’d already done most of the things I wanted to. Of course, there are still some left, but at most, I could probably name around 20.

Two years ago, I had emergency surgery for perforated peritonitis（穿孔腹膜炎）. When I opened my eyes after the operation, I thought, “Oh, I’m alive…” But more than that, I strongly felt that I had been kept alive by God—that I still have a mission to fulfill in this life.

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Lascia Ch'io Pianga

 
Questa è una delle mie arie preferite delle canzoni italiane. Alcuni cantanti d'opera la cantano con melodie diverse. Mi piace molto la versione di Sarah Brightman. Il compositore è Händel. Il suo lavoro più famoso è Messiah.




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Mein deutsches Tagebuch

Ich kann Deutsch auf Niveau 3 vom "Diplom Deutsch in Japan".

Ich möchte einfache Tagebucheinträge schreiben.

Jeder Eintrag hat drei Zeilen.

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にほんブログ村

1000 Days on Duolingo!

I recently realized that I’ve reached 1000 days of learning several foreign languages on Duolingo! I’ve been doing it longer than I expected, possibly because, even though it’s a language-learning app, it feels like a game and is fun. Since I started in June three years ago, I’ve been hospitalized for three surgeries. But despite that, I managed to continue without any breaks.

How did I keep it going? Well, since surgeries usually start early in the morning, I made sure to do at least one simple exercise, like an endless flashcard game, before my surgery. Then, the night after surgery, I did the same thing. I simply didn’t want to break my streak.

A few months ago, even though Duolingo is a language-learning app, it added "Math" and "Music." The math section is at an elementary school level, and the music section starts with reading notes. However, when it comes to playing, the virtual piano keyboard feels quite different from a real one, so I struggle more than I expected.

I’m almost done with Section 4, but there’s one unit I just can’t complete—Unit 154, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers. No matter what I do, I can’t play the whole piece. I suspect it might be a bug, so if anyone has managed to finish it, I’d love to hear any tips!😅

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にほんブログ村

(1) Matthew 5:1-2 (self-study)

More than a decade ago, I started blogs in English, German, Italian, and modern Greek. They've not been active for 7 years. So, I deleted all of them. Instead, I decided to merge them all and start a new blog.

I’m going to cover Matthew 5:1-10 this time. It would take me a lot of hours to research them, so I'll post these verses in three parts.

The text is from the Bible app, and the English translation below is the beta English translation that my ex-Greek teacher uses. The lower frame is the NKJV, and the Japanese is the colloquial translation version.

活用:    ἰδὼν（イドーン）
ルート:    ὁράω（ホラーオ）
English:    having seen
動詞 -アオリスト・分詞・主格単数男性

活用:    ἀνέβη（アネーベ）
ルート:    ἀναβαίνω（アナバイノー）
English:    He went up
動詞ｰアオリスト・３人称単数

活用    καθίσαντος（カスィサントス/カシサントス）
ルート:    καθίζω（カスィーゾ/カシーゾ）
English:    having sat down
動詞 -アオリスト・分詞・属格単数男性

活用:    προσῆλθαν（プロスエルサン）
ルート:    προσέρχομαι（プロスエルホマイ）
English:    approached
動詞 -アオリスト・３人称複数

活用:    ὄχλους（オホルス/オフルス）
ルート:    ὄχλος（オホロス/オフロス）
English:    crowds
名詞ｰ対格・複数・男性

活用:    ὄρος（オロス）

ルート:    ὄρος（オロス）
English:    mountain
名詞ｰ対格・単数中性

活用:    μαθηταὶ（マセタイ）
ルート:    μαθητής（マセテス）
English:    disciples
名詞ｰ主格・複数男性

There is a verb “aorist” in Greek, but I can't explain it well, so I asked Chat GPT to explain it below. ^^;

アオリスト（Aorist）とは？

アオリストは、動作を単純な事実として表す 時制です。

• 動作の 始まり・終わり・継続 には注目せず、「ある時点で起こった」という事実だけを伝えます。
• 英語では通常、単純過去（Simple Past）に訳される ことが多いです。

1節のアオリスト動詞

• Ἰδὼν（「見た」） ← ὁράω のアオリスト分詞
• ἀνέβη（「上った」） ← ἀναβαίνω のアオリスト直説法

これらは、「ある時点での完結した動作」として表現されています。
つまり、「（イエスは）群衆を見た。そして、山に上った。」 という 動作の流れをシンプルに描写 しています。

活用:    ἀνοίξας（アノイクサス）
ルート:    ἀνοίγω（アノイゴ）
English:    having opened
動詞 - アオリスト・分詞・主格単数男性

活用:    ἐδίδασκεν（エディダスケン）
ルート:    διδάσκω（ディダスコー）
English:    He was teaching
動詞 - 3人称単数

活用:    λέγων（レゴン）
ルート:    λέγω（レゴ）
English:    saying
動詞 - 現在・分詞・主格単数男性

活用:    στόμα（ストーマ）
ルート:    στόμα（ストーマ）
English:    mouth
名詞 -対格・単数・中性

Compared to the Greek original, I think the Japanese colloquial translation (口語訳) is closer to the Greek meaning than the English NKJV. As an aside, the word 'stoma' (ストマ/ストーマ), which I used for about a year, comes from the Greek word 'στόμα'.

-- to be continued --