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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-kokoro (みこころ) or “will (of God)” in the referenced verses. Two verses (Ezra 10:11 and Ephesians 1:9) use mi-mune (みむね) with the same honorific prefix and meaning.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.
In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
It may be necessary to render he said as “Ananias said to me.”
The God of our ancestors, rendered in a number of translations as “the God of our fathers,” was a typical Jewish way of referring to the God whom the Jews worshiped. In a number of translations it is necessary to render this phrase as “the God whom our ancestors worshiped,” since one cannot use a so-called possessive expression which would be suggested by the English preposition of or the genitive case in Greek.
The phrase to know his will may be rendered as “to know what God plans to do.” Some exegetes would interpret this as “to know what God wants you to do.”
For the expression righteous Servant see 3.13-14; 7.52. This is a direct reference to Jesus without specifically naming him. It may be rendered in some languages as “to see that person who is God’s righteous Servant” or “to see that righteous One who serves God.”
The phrase hear him speaking with his own voice is a correct translation of the literal Greek expression “to hear a voice from his mouth.” This is, of course, a reference to Paul’s hearing Jesus Christ speak to him. In some languages it is necessary to make clear that the pronouns him and his refer to the righteous Servant; therefore, the phrase may be rendered as “to hear that one speaking to you directly.” In some languages it is not only artificial, but misleading, to use the expression with his own voice, since there is no other way of speaking except by one’s own voice. However, the emphasis in some languages may be given as “to hear him speaking to you personally” or “to hear his voice as he speaks to you.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The God of our fathers: The phrase our fathers refers to previous generations. Ananias worshiped the same God as his and Paul’s fathers and grandfathers and further ancestors did. For example:
The God of our ancestors (Good News Translation)
Some languages must avoid the word “of” for the correct meaning. For example:
The God whom our ancestors ⌊worshiped/followed/obeyed⌋
See how you translated this phrase in 3:13 or 5:30.
has appointed you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appointed refers to selecting someone to do something. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
chosen you (New International Version) -or-
has already chosen you (NET Bible)
See how you translated this word (“appointed”) in 3:20.
22:14b–d
These three events (to know, to see, and to hear) happened three days earlier in the original story (9:9). Some languages must indicate that they happened in the past or the future. If that is true in your language, indicate that they happened in the past.
to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice: This follows the Greek with using and twice. This is natural in some languages. In English and other languages it is more natural to use and only once in a list. For example:
to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from his mouth
22:14b
to know His will: Here the word will refers to what someone wants to happen. Later verses reveal that the Lord wanted Paul to tell the Gentiles that Jesus was the Christ. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to know what he wants ⌊to happen⌋ -or-
to know his plans ⌊for mankind⌋
If possible, do not explain what God’s will is here, because later, when the crowd clearly heard that Paul would tell the Gentiles about Jesus (22:21), they started rioting again (22:22–23).
22:14c
the Righteous One: This phrase is one of the titles that Jews at the time of Jesus used for the Christ. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the One who is Righteous -or-
the Upright One (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
the Completely Righteous Person
In some languages it may not be clear that this phrase refers to Jesus. If that is true in your language, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
This refers to Jesus.
22:14d
to hear His voice: The phrase hear His voice indicates that Paul heard Jesus actually speak. Jesus spoke directly to Paul. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to hear his own voice (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
to hear him speaking with his own voice (Good News Translation) -or-
to hear him speak (Revised English Bible)
His: This pronoun refers to “the Righteous One” in 22:14c.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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