LORD your God / Lord your God

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “Lord your God” or “Lord your God” is translated as “Lord our God” and “Lord our God” in Tzotzil as well as in many other Mayan languages if the speaker is included as one who calls the Lord their God. If the speaker said “your God” in Tzotzil, he or she would refer to the God of the people he or she addresses but would specifically exclude himself or herself. (Source: Robert Bascom in Omanson 2001, p. 254)

See also my God.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 1:31)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 1:31:

  • Kupsabiny: “You have also seen how he took care of you during all those days in the wilderness, as a person takes care of his child. He guarded you wherever you went until you arrived here.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In the wilderness you even saw how the LORD your God brought you all the way, carrying you like a father carries a son, until you reached here.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and in the desolate-place. You (plur.) have-seen how the LORD your (plur.) God has-taken-care of you (plur.) in all your (plur.) ways/(journeys), like a father who takes-care of his child, until you (plur.) reached this place.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely here, like a man would carry his son. ’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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 Deuteronomy 1:31

The wilderness: see verse 19.

You have seen: the emphasis here is on the people’s own experience. Moses is simply reminding them of what they themselves know, because all of this happened to them.

The LORD your God bore you, as a man bears his son: the verb “to bear” means to carry, so that his son refers to a young child. However, in many languages two different verbs will be used; for example, “how he brought you … just as a father will carry” (Good News Translation) or “has taken care of you … just as you might carry” (Contemporary English Version).

In all that way that you went until you came to this place: care must be taken with the two verbs went and came so that the proper perspective is maintained. “This place” is Kadesh Barnea (verse 19). It is possible to change the order of the clauses of this verse as follows: “and you know that the LORD has taken care of you [or, us] all the time you [or, we] have been in the wilderness, just as you [or, we] might carry one of your [or, our] children.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .