Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“send”)

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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 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, tsukawas-are-ru (遣わされる) or “send” is used.

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

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on Acts 3:26

And so God chose and sent his Servant to you first literally translates “to you first of all God having raised up his Servant sent him.” “Having raised up” is ambiguous; it may refer either to the resurrection of Jesus or to the sending of Jesus to earth. In verse 22 the same verb is used (there translated sent) of the sending of a prophet into the world; and inasmuch as this verse takes up the thought of verse 22 and uses the same word as is found in the quotation there, it seems most likely that the reference is to God’s sending Jesus into the world rather than to his raising him from the dead. The Good News Translation employs the verb chose, indicating it has something to do with the expression of God’s purpose in sending his Servant.

In some languages it is difficult to employ single goals such as his Servant as the object of the verbs “choose and send.” The action of “choosing” implies one person from among a number, and the “sending” can have only a single goal. Therefore in some languages it may be preferable to have “and so God chose Jesus as this Servant and sent him.”

In a number of languages it is necessary to indicate clearly the meaning of first. Does it mean, for example, that the people were the first ones to whom he sent his Servant, or was this the first thing which God did, namely, to send his Servant? It is the first meaning which should be clearly indicated here, for the emphasis in Acts is upon the message going first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.

In this particular context “blessing” is described as making all of you turn away from your wicked ways. This is therefore more than some mere verbal formula and can be translated in a number of languages as “caused good to you” or “caused you to be richly benefited.” The final clause then specifies how this took place.

By making all of you turn away involves a causative expression which may be indicated clearly in some languages as “God caused good to you; he did this by causing you to turn away from your wicked ways.”

The metaphorical usage of turn away from your wicked ways is paralleled in a number of languages, for example, “to turn from your wicked road,” “to turn from the wicked road on which you are walking,” or “to turn from the road on which you are walking so wickedly.” In the same way that “righteousness” may be expressed as “to walk on God’s road,” so evil may often be described as “to walk on a wicked road,” or simply “to do wicked deeds” or “to act evilly.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 3:26

3:26a–c

The Old Testament quote ended in 3:25d. Here Peter began speaking his own words again. In some languages he must be introduced again. For example:

⌊Peter spoke further saying,⌋…

Also this verse is the conclusion that Peter wanted to the people to understand. In some languages it is more natural to clearly indicate that. For example:

⌊Therefore⌋…
-or-

⌊Peter concluded saying,⌋…

3:26a

God raised up His Servant: The phrase raised up is probably used in a similar way to how it is used in 3:22a. God empowered Jesus to begin his ministry. Here it may also refer to God sending Jesus into the world. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

God empowered his servant
-or-
God enabled his servant ⌊to begin his work⌋

His Servant: This phrase refers to Jesus. Peter probably did not name him here so that his audience would have to think about who he referred to. But Peter already referred to Jesus as God’s servant in 3:13b, so the people would know who he meant here.

Jesus is God’s Servant because he always obeyed God and did what pleased him. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

his worker
-or-
him who served him/God ⌊in this world⌋

See how you translated this phrase in 3:13b.

In some languages a literal translation would refer to someone other than Jesus. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain that the phrase refers to Jesus in a footnote. For example:

The phrase “His Servant” refers to Jesus.

• Explain that the phrase refers to Jesus in your translation. For example:

His Servant ⌊Jesus⌋

3:26b

first: The word first here indicates that God sent Jesus to the Jews first. God would help the Jews first, then he would help all of the other peoples of the earth.

to you: This phrase is emphasized in the Greek here. If your language has a natural way to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so.

you: By using the plural pronoun you, Peter focused on his audience. If you included Peter and John the pronouns in your translation in 3:25b, you may want to do the same here. For example:

you(plur) ⌊as well as me⌋
-or-
you(plur) ⌊along with us(excl)(dual)⌋
-or-
us(plur)(incl)

3:26c

by: The word by indicates the means that Jesus used to bless them.

turning each of you from your wicked ways: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as turning is literally “turning away.” Here it means “cause a change in belief or behavior.” Jesus would cause them to turn away from, or reject, the evil things they were doing. Here are some other ways to translate these words:

making every one of you turn away from your wicked ways (Good News Translation)
-or-
his causing-us -to-turn-our-backs-on the bad/evil that we were doing
-or-
cause us to repent from our evil actions

wicked ways: This phrase refers to deeds that are evil. God hates these deeds.

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