addressing God

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 Translator 2002, 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.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

before / in the sight of / presence of (God) (Japanese honorifics)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also presence (Japanese honorifics) and before you / to you.

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“protect”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, mamo-rare-ru (守られる) or “protect” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 8:23

The verb that introduces the prayer in verses 23-53 is simply the ordinary verb said, but in certain cases the context may require something more specific, such as “prayed” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Parole de Vie, La Bible du Semeur).

It will be recalled from the comments on 1 Kgs 3.6 that in all prayers to God, Revised Standard Version uses archaic pronouns (thee and thy in this verse) and verb forms (“hast” and “didst” in verse 24), but this does not reflect the Hebrew, which has only the ordinary second person singular pronouns and common verb forms.

When Solomon says that there is no God like thee, in heaven above or on earth beneath, he is not here denying the existence of other gods. Rather, he is declaring that no other god is as faithful as Yahweh is to the commitments that he has made to his own people. The following restructuring of Contemporary English Version may be a good model for certain other languages: “no other god in heaven or on earth is like you!” Note that Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use lowercase for the word “god” since the reference is to gods other than the God of Israel.

The prepositions above and beneath in the expression in heaven above or on earth beneath represent the world-view of the Israelites, but they may sound redundant in certain other languages. If this is the case, they may be omitted as in Contemporary English Version. Others, however, may wish to follow the model of Bible en français courant: “neither up there in heaven nor down here on earth.” Translators should choose a natural word pair for heaven and earth in their language.

Keeping covenant and showing steadfast love is literally “keeping covenant and steadfast love.” As Good News Translation makes explicit, keeping covenant implies that God keeps his covenant with his people, Israel. Steadfast love renders the Hebrew noun chesed, which has a wide range of meanings (see the comments on 1 Kgs 2.7 and 3.6). The English nouns “loyalty,” “goodness,” “grace,” and “kindness” are all possible translations. Others focus on the element of “faithfulness.” New Jerusalem Bible says “as loyal to the covenant and faithful in love.” But keeping covenant and showing steadfast love do not speak of two separate actions on the part of God. Rather, he shows his constant love by keeping the covenant that he had made. For this reason New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh combines these two phrases into one by saying “who keep Your gracious covenant.” New American Bible renders these words “you keep your covenant of kindness.”

A literal rendering of thy servants may possibly leave the meaning unclear to some readers. For this reason Good News Translation says “your people.” But in making the reference clear, Good News Translation does lose the sense of “obedience” implied in the word servants. It may be better to say something like “your people who worship you” or “your people who serve you.” Some interpreters think the reference here is to future kings (see the comments on verse 36). For a fuller discussion on “servant,” see “Translating 1–2 Kings,” page 12.

Who walk before thee with all their heart: Regarding the figurative use of the Hebrew verb rendered walk, see the comments on 1 Kgs 2.4 and 3.3. In this context walk before thee means “live in your presence.” The heart was considered the center of thought and will. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders with all their heart as “in wholehearted devotion.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .