Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding the Lord.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 29:15:
Kupsabiny: “We are foreigners/visitors and we are passing by like it was with our grandfathers. When we are in this world, we are like a shadow that passes by where we do not have an abiding presence.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Like our ancestors, we are outsiders and foreigners, our day in this land is like a setting shadow, we do not have a place to stay.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) know that we (excl.) are just passers-by here on earth like our (excl.) ancestors. Our (excl.) life is like a shadow that does- not -remain.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “In this land we are like foreigners and strangers, like our ancestors were. Our time here on this earth is like a shadow that disappears quickly; we know that there is nothing that can enable us to escape dying.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.
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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).
In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: The Hebrew conjunction rendered For functions as an emphatic particle here, so it may be rendered “Indeed.” The Hebrew words translated strangers and sojourners are synonyms here. They are used of the patriarchs in Gen 15.13 and 23.4. Such persons lived in a land without owning property and without most rights of the people who were citizens (see the comments on 1 Chr 22.2, where the Hebrew word for strangers is rendered “aliens”). Other translations of these synonyms include “guests … passing visitors” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “aliens … transients” (New Revised Standard Version). In some languages it may be necessary to state at this point where David and his people were temporary guests. Some may have to add “in this world” or “in this life” (similarly Good News Translation). This is merely a matter of shifting forward a little the phrase on the earth. Since the Israelite people were not literally strangers and sojourners, Good News Translation changes these metaphors into similes, saying “like exiles and strangers.” Good News Translation renders before thee as “You know,” which is a helpful model. As is often the case, fathers in this context refers to “ancestors” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible).
Our days on the earth are like a shadow: The comparison of life to a shadow that is not lasting is common in the Psalms (102.11; 109.23; 144.4).
And there is no abiding is literally “and there is no hope.” This means that people do not have hope of continuing to live indefinitely. Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje express this clause as “and we cannot escape death.” Other translations include “without hope” (New International Version, Nueva Versión Internacional, Peregrino and “without hope and longevity” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Some interpreters understand the Hebrew word translated abiding to mean “security.” This is the basis for the American Bible translation “without security” (also NET Bible, Bible en français courant).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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