form of address between the persons of the Trinity

In Hindi a differentiation is made between the way that the different persons of the Trinity are addressed by a regular person or by another person of the Trinity. When Jesus addresses God the Father or when God the Father addresses Jesus, a familiar form of address is used, unlike the way that any of them would be addressed with a honorific (pl.) form by anyone else.

Source: C.S. Thoburn in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 180ff.

complete verse (John 17:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 17:15:

  • Uma: “I do not ask that you (sing.) take them from this world. My request, that you (sing.) keep them from evil.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I do not ask/request that you take the people you have given to me from this world. But I ask/request that you watch over them so that they cannot be ruled over by the leader of demons.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I am not asking that you take out of the earth these people who belong to us. Rather the thing that I am asking you is that you watch over them so that they may not be harmed by Satan.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I don’t say though that you (sing.) are to remove them from this world but rather that you (sing.) protect them from Satanas.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I’m not praying for you to remove them from this world here, but on the contrary that you will be taking care of them, so that they won’t be defeated by that Satanas who is the epitome of evil.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I do not ask you the favor that you take them from the earth, rather I ask the favor that you care for them so that the devil will not ruin their faith.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

request / beg (Japanese honorifics)

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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. The concept of “requesting” is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-negai (お願い), combining “request” (negai) with the respectful prefix o (お).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Japanese benefactives (mamotte)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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, mamotte (守って) or “protect” 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 John 17:15

Although the disciples are not a part of the world, they are in it (17.11), and it is their calling to remain in the world. So Jesus does not ask the Father to remove the disciples from the world, but to keep them safe from the Evil One. It is possible to translate the Evil One as an abstract noun meaning “evil.” However, most translations see here a personal reference. The Evil One is to be identified with the devil, who, in Johannine theology, is “the ruler of this world.” The Evil One is referred to again in John 2.13-14; 3.12; and 5.18,19. To indicate clearly that the Evil One is a title, it may be necessary to say “keep them safe from the one who is known as the Evil One” or “… the one who is called the Evil One” or “… whose name is the Evil One.” In some languages, one may use such an expression as “keep them safe from the one who is truly evil” or “… really evil.” The identification of the Evil One with the devil may be made specific by means of a marginal note.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .