Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding the Lord.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 63:19:
Kupsabiny: “We were yours from long ago. You did not rule over those people and they were not yours.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “From long ago long ago we have been yours, but We are like people you have never ruled over, like people who do not bear your name.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “We (excl.) are yours (sing.) from the beginning. But you (sing.) considered us (excl.) as-if not yours (sing.), as-if you (sing.) have- not -ruled-over (us).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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.
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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-na (御名) or “name (of God)” in the referenced verses.
As noted in the introductory comments on 63.15—64.12, Masoretic Text and those versions that follow its verse numbering add 64.1a to this verse.
We have become like those over whom thou hast never ruled: Because of the devastation in Judah, the returned exiles feel God no longer rules them as their protector. They believe he has abandoned them. Never is literally “not from of old.” The Hebrew word for “from of old” is the same one used in verse 16 and occurs again in 64.4.
Like those who are not called by thy name: The people also feel that God no longer has an intimate relationship with them. For called by thy name, see the comments on 43.1 and 7. For this line Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “and as if we were not the people that you declared to be your property.” Good News Translation renders its nonfiguratively, saying “as though we had never been your people” (see also the third example below).
In this verse Good News Translation suggests that the people are blaming God for treating them in this way, while Contemporary English Version places the cause on the people themselves: “We act as though you had never ruled us or called us your people.” However, it is more likely that the text simply describes the way the people feel, without trying to blame either themselves or God. The destruction of the Temple and their cities has made them feel completely abandoned.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• We are like people you have never ruled over,
like people who do not bear your name.
• We feel as though you have never been our ruler,
as though we do not carry your name.
• We are like people never ruled by you,
like people who have never been part of your family.
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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