The Hebrew that is translated as “shelter” or “refuge” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “place to run to.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
complete verse (Jeremiah 17:17)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 17:17:
- Kupsabiny: “Do not frighten me,
and you are the one I run to when trouble comes.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “Do- not -cause- me -to-be-afraid, for you (sing.) are my place-of-refuge in times of destruction.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “Do not cause me to be terrified!
When disasters come/occur, you are the one to whom I will go to be safe.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.
Japanese benefactives (-naide)
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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -naide (ないで) or “do not (for their sake)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Translation commentary on Jeremiah 17:17
Terror is the same word translated “horror” by Revised Standard Version in 48.39, its only other occurrence in the book. In languages where it would not be possible or normal to express terror as something a person could be, translators can say “Don’t be someone who causes me to be in terror” or “Don’t be the one who terrifies me.”
Refuge translates a noun that occurs in the Old Testament elsewhere in Psa 14.6; Isa 4.6. It refers to a “place of safety” (Good News Translation).
In the day of evil is rendered “when trouble comes” by Good News Translation; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar. New English Bible has “on the day of disaster” and New Jerusalem Bible “in time of disaster.” In the day of evil in English is certainly better expressed as “in the time of trouble,” or with a clause like “when trouble comes” (Good News Translation).
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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