Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 38:18:
Kupsabiny: “The realm of the dead is unable to give you thanks, and death cannot praise you. Those who have gone to the world of the dead cannot trust/hope in you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “place of dead is not able to praise you. The dead are not able to praise you. Those who go to the grave Do not hope in your trustworthiness.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “For how can- I -praise you (sing.) if I am already dead? The dead-ones can- no-longer -praise you (sing.) or can-hope of your (sing.) faithfulness.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Dead people cannot praise you; they cannot sing to praise you. Those who have descended to their graves cannot confidently expect you to faithfully do things for them.” (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.
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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.
In this verse Hezekiah reminds God that no dead person can praise him or hope for his faithfulness.
The Hebrew particle ki rendered For probably introduces this verse as a reason for why God helped him by restoring his life (verse 17). Many versions ignore it (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant).
Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee: In these two synonymous parallel lines Hezekiah says the dead cannot praise God. Both Sheol (see verse 10) and death are personified here, referring to dead people. If these personifications are meaningless in the receptor language, they may be rendered “those in the place of the dead” and “those who have died” respectively. The Hebrew verbs rendered thank and praise are close in meaning, referring to “praise.” For thank see the comments on 12.1, where this verb is translated “give thanks.” Since these two lines are synonymous in meaning, Good News Translation combines them into one.
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness: Those who go down to the pit refers to those who have died. The Hebrew word for pit is different from the one in the previous verse, but it also refers to the place of the dead in this context (see the comments on this word in 14.15). Dead people cannot hope for thy faithfulness, which means they cannot experience or hope for God’s faithfulness in the place of the dead. The form of the Hebrew verb rendered hope has a habitual force, so here it describes a situation in which continuing to hope is not possible. Thy faithfulness refers to God’s keeping of promises, his commitment to his people. New Jerusalem Bible says “your constancy.”
Several translation examples for this verse are:
• For Sheol cannot offer you thanks,
death cannot sing your praises,
the dead have lost all hope for your faithfulness.
• The dead in Sheol cannot offer you thanks,
those who have died cannot praise you,
those in the Pit can no longer experience your faithfulness.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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