The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “Lord God” or “Lord God” encountered an issue in Tok Pisin. Norm Mundhenk explains why (in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 442ff. ):
“I am not aware of any serious objections to either the word God [for “God”] or Bikpela [for YHWH] alone. However, when trying to translate the expression ‘the Lord God,’ the translators first tried to use Bikpela God. But Bikpela is also an adjective meaning ‘big’ and in the expression Bikpela God, it would usually be understood as “Big God,’ as though there were other smaller gods around also.
“In the Old Testament, as the recent articles have clearly pointed out, the English word ‘Lord‘ often stands for the Hebrew name of God, YHWH, which is usually spelled these days as Yahweh. With this in mind, the name Yawe was tried in Tok Pisin, but it was felt that most readers did not connect this strange name with God. Eventually, we decided to keep Bikpela, but to translate ‘Lord God’ as God, Bikpela, literally ‘God, the Lord.’
“The reason for this decision was really only that the words could be used naturally in this order, without the problem of giving a wrong meaning which we had when putting Bikpela first. It was not until some people asked if it was right to ‘turn around’ the name and the title in this way that we realized that there was really a deeper reason for doing what we did. In fact, for most speakers of Tok Pisin, God is the only God they know, and it seems likely that God is understood as the personal name of God, rather than as a class name. Bikpela, on the other hand, is a class name — there can be more than one Bikpela, though it is recognized that God is the greatest of them and there is no confusion when he is referred to simply as Bikpela. Thus, in Hebrew an expression like ‘YHWH, the God of Israel,’ has the personal name first, followed by the class name explaining who he is. And we have exactly the same situation in Tok Pisin when we say God, Bikpela bilong Isrel. I suspect that in many other languages which have borrowed the word ‘God,’ we might find that it has been borrowed basically as a personal name, rather than as a class name.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 52:4:
Kupsabiny: “My people went to Egypt long ago and lived there as foreigners- Then, the people of Assyria oppressed them without anything causing it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “For the LORD God has spoken like this, "Previously my people went to live in the land of Egypt, Then after that they were oppressed by the Assyrians.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “For this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘You (plur.) were-taken-captives like a man who has-sold as slave without payment, therefore I will-redeem you (plur.) without payment also. In the time-past you (plur.) went to Egipto in-order to live there, and you (plur.) were-oppressed there. Later Asiria next/also oppressed you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Yahweh our Lord also says this: ‘Long ago, my people went to Egypt to live there. Later they were being oppressed/treated cruelly by the soldiers of Assyria.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
For thus says the Lord GOD: This verse begins in almost the same way as the previous verse (see the comments there). Instead of “the LORD,” it has the Lord GOD (literally “my Master Yahweh”; see the comments on 3.15). The use of the divine quote frame again marks this verse as a statement separate from verse 3. As noted above, Good News Translation combines this quote frame with the one in the previous verse. Bible en français courant (1997) keeps it but links it to the previous one by saying “And here is what the Lord God declares again.”
My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there refers to the Israelite ancestors going to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan (Gen 46–47). At the first (“Long ago” in New Revised Standard Version) points to the early period of Israel’s history. To sojourn there means they intended to stay only a short time in Egypt, not permanently. The Hebrew verb for sojourn indicates a temporary stay. New Revised Standard Version renders to sojourn there as “to live there as aliens” (similarly Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible), which implies it was a difficult experience. Good News Translation adds the idea that the Israelites went to Egypt “freely” to contrast with the Assyrians taking them “by force” in the next clause. However, the text does not support this addition.
And the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing: And renders the common Hebrew connector. For Good News Translation it introduces a contrast between the people going to Egypt voluntarily long ago, and their being taken as captives to Assyria later in their history, so it uses the conjunction “however” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh with “But”). For most versions there is no contrast between this clause and the previous one, since the Israelites experienced oppression in both Egypt and Assyria; for example, New Revised Standard Version begins this clause with “the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them….” Translators may express coordination or contrast here. The Hebrew expression rendered for nothing differs from the one translated “for nothing” in verses 3 and 5. For Good News Translation both expressions refers to the idea of no money, so here it has “paid nothing for you” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew noun for nothing can refer to the end of something, its extremity, so Revised English Bible has “in the end” (similarly Bible en français courant), which means later in time than the Egyptian oppression. New International Version is similar with “lately.” This Hebrew noun can also point to “nothingness” (see 40.17), so New Revised Standard Version has “without cause” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), meaning that the Assyrians oppressed the Israelites unjustly or without good reason when they took them captive.
In conclusion, translators have some choices to make regarding the translation of this verse. They should aim at a rendering that places verse 4 as meaningfully as possible within the context of verses 3 and 5. But a completely clear and logical sequence of thought may be difficult to obtain. For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• Now, this is what my Lord Yahweh says:
“My people went down to Egypt initially to live there for some time,
and the Assyrians subsequently oppressed them.
• Now this is what my Master Yahweh says:
“My people went down to Egypt initially
to live there as strangers/foreigners.
However, no payment was made
when Assyria took them captive.
• My Lord Yahweh says:
“My people went to Egypt at first to live there;
later they were made to suffer under the Assyrians.
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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