addressing God

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 Translator 2002, 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.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Judith 16:15

For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters: The Greek of the first line is ambiguous. Some (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New English Bible, New American Bible) take with the waters to mean “along with the waters”: the mountains as well as the seas will be shaken. Others (Gonzáles and Alonso-Schöckel, Enslin) take it to mean “by means of the waters”: the mountains will be shaken by the waves (compare Psa 18.7, 15). Gonzáles and Alonso-Schöckel and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible take it to mean that the mountains will be tossed around in the sea. There is a conjecture, which Moore prefers, that it should read “like the sea.” This makes a nice parallel with the next line. There is no evidence to support this, however. Probably the first option is the safest and most likely.

At thy presence may be rendered “When you [the Lord] come near [or, approach].” It is possible to place this clause at the beginning of the verse; for example, “When the Lord approaches mountains and oceans shake with fear.”

The rocks shall melt like wax: Compare Psa 97.5; Micah 1.4. If wax is unknown, “sugar” is a possibility as an alternative image.

To those who fear thee: This doesn’t refer to people who are afraid, but rather to those “who obey you” (Good News Translation), or even “who are faithful to you.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.