formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Colossians 1:4

For we have heard: in Greek this is an aorist participle, subordinate to the main verb we give thanks, either temporal in force (“after having heard”) or, which is more likely, causative, as in Good News Translation. The news about this came from Epaphras (verse 8).

Since we have heard of your faith is related to giving thanks to God rather than to we pray for you, it may be important to repeat the first part of verse 3 at the beginning of verse 4, for example, “we give thanks to God because we have heard of your faith”; otherwise, the meaning might be interpreted in the sense that “we pray for you because we have heard of your faith.”

Your faith in: the use here of the preposition en (and not eis) has led some (for example, Lightfoot, Moule; Turner less certainly) to hold that Christ Jesus represents the sphere in which the faith is exercised, not the object of faith; thus New English Bible “the faith you hold in Christ Jesus,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “your faith which unites you with Jesus Christ.” Most translators, however, have not been convinced, and, like Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version, translate simply faith in, making Christ Jesus the object of faith.

Since faith in this context is a matter of active trust and confidence, it may be appropriate to translate your faith in Christ Jesus as “how you trust Christ Jesus” or “how you have put your confidence in Christ Jesus.” Similarly, of your love for all God’s people may be rendered as “how you love all God’s people.”

For God’s people see Col. 1.2.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 1:4

1:4a

because: Here Paul gave some specific reasons why he thanked God for the Colossian Christians.

we have heard: In 1:8 Paul wrote that it was Epaphras who had told him about the Colossian Christians. He had probably heard about the church in Colossae from other people also. In some languages it is necessary to say who had told Paul about the Colossians. If this is necessary in your language, you could say “Epaphras has told us…” based on 1:8.

faith in Christ Jesus: In many languages it is necessary to translate faith as a verb. One way to do this is:

you trust/believe in Christ Jesus

1:4b

your love for all the saints: There are several Greek words that can be translated “love” in English. The one in this verse is agapē. It was a word that the Greeks who lived when the New Testament was written did not often use. However, the early Christians began to use it to mean the sort of love about which Jesus taught. Agapē is more than a purely emotional feeling or attraction (which is often what people who speak English mean when they talk about “love” in a non-biblical context). It means loving people the way God does: caring for them, helping them, and encouraging them, without expecting them to respond in the same way or repay the kindness.

In many languages it is necessary to translate the noun love as a verb. One way to do this is:

that you love all the saints.

saints: This is the same word as in 1:2a. See the note there. One way to translate it here is “God’s people.” Many modern English versions translate it in this way (see Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible).

General Comment about 1:4

In some languages, people use direct quotes when writing about what someone else said. If this is true in your language, you may want to do this in 1:4. For example:

⌊We(excl.) thank God for you,⌋ because ⌊people⌋ have told us: “The believers in Colossae really believe in Christ Jesus, and they love all God’s people.”

General Comment about 1:3–4

In some languages it may be more natural to put 1:4 before 1:3. One way to do this would be:

4a We have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus 4b and that you love all of God’s people. 3 Therefore, when we pray for you, we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⌊for you⌋.

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