Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on John 18:11

Good News Translation uses the generic expression in its place to avoid the more difficult technical terms “scabbard” (Jerusalem Bible) or “sheath” (New American Bible). “Sheathe your sword” (Moffatt and New English Bible) is rather high level. One may simply say “Put your sword back where it was.”

Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me? is literally “The cup which the Father has given me, will I not drink it?” In Greek this is a rhetorical question that expects an affirmative answer. Most commentators point out that the cup refers to Jesus’ cup of suffering, and so Good News Translation makes this information explicit. “The Father” of the Greek text has the force of my Father in the present context.

In some languages it is almost impossible to preserve the metaphor of the cup, for “drinking” and “suffering” cannot be spoken of in the same context, nor can one “drink the cup.” One can only drink the contents of a cup, and to speak of “drinking suffering” would be meaningless. Hence, the metaphor must be dropped, and such an expression may be used as “Do you think that I am not willing to suffer in the way in which my Father has ordained that I should suffer?” or “… that my Father has arranged that I should suffer?”

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 .