The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 22:49:
Kupsabiny: “He delivered me from the hands of my enemies, and uplifted me more than those enemies, oh people. He rescued me from where the warriors are.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “And He set me free from my enemies. He made me greater than my enemies. [He] saved me from those who keep on killing [people].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You save me from my cruel enemies, and cause- me -to-win-against them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “You delivered me from my enemies; you caused me to be honored more than they were; you rescued me from men who always acted violently.” (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.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
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.
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 are (され) 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, tazusaedas-are-ru (携え出される) or “bring/carry out” is used.
Another way is through the choice of a benefactive construction. Here, sukuidashite (救い出して) or “save/rescue” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
The verb phrase gave me vengeance (here literally plural, “vengeances”) refers to retribution. The related verb is often used of God as one who punishes the enemies of Israel because of their evil actions. The idea of “getting even” is not entirely absent from the word but need not necessarily be stressed in translation. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has here “vindicated me”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, “avenged me”; Bible en français courant, “gives me my revenge.” The thought here is that the defeat of his enemies in battle (as the next line makes clear) is the way in which David “got even” with them. Gave me vengeance must sometimes be rendered “helps me defeat my enemies.” So Good News Translation translates “He gives me victory over my enemies,” which has essentially the same meaning as the next line, brought down peoples under me. The image in this second line of verse 48 is that of foreign nations becoming subject to David’s rule. Compare Revised English Bible, which retains the Hebrew image of people “under” David: “laying nations prostrate at my feet.” Similarly New Century Version says “He brings people under my rule.”
The verb brought me out in verse 49 seems to have the same meaning as “delivered,” which is used at this point in the parallel psalm and also appears in verse 44.
The psalmist again shifts rather abruptly back to second person references in the middle of verse 49. This is marked graphically in Good News Translation by leaving a space between this section and the previous verses.
Exalt: this reflects the same verb as in verse 47, but the context is different. In this case it is something that God does for the writer instead of something that happens to God. Here God causes David to receive greater honor than his opponents. Or possibly it refers to his victory over those enemies.
Adversaries in verse 49b is “those who rise up against” or “those who attack me” (New Jerusalem Bible). The meaning is the same as in verse 40b, “assailants.”
Men of violence: the Hebrew is singular, “man of violence,” usually interpreted as a collective term. Some commentators, however, take it to be a reference to Saul (who is mentioned in the introduction to this psalm at verse 1). New Jerusalem Bible, and similarly New American Bible, says “you deliver me from the man of violence,” but it is not clear whether the translators intend this as a reference to one man, or intend the singular to be understood as a collective term. It is probably better to represent it as a plural, having a more general meaning. On the word for violence, see the comments on verse 3. The expression men of violence may often be rendered as “men who kill others” or “people who injure others.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.