Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 6:17:
Kupsabiny: “Gideon answered, ‘If/When you have chosen me, God, please show me something by which I can know that the one speaking to me is you, God.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Gideon replied — "If you happy to with, give me one sign to make [me] confident that I have been talking with the LORD.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Gideon said, ‘If you (sing.) are pleased with me, give me a sign that it is really you (sing.) who is-commanding me.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Gideon replied, ‘If you are truly pleased with me, do something which will prove that you who are speaking to me are really Yahweh.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
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.
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 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-kokoro (みこころ) or “will (of God)” in the referenced verses. Two verses (Ezra 10:11 and Ephesians 1:9) use mi-mune (みむね) with the same honorific prefix and meaning.
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 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-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) 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, hanashiteo-rare-ru (話しておられる) or “speaking” is used.
And he said to him: Translators will have to decide if the referents for the pronouns he and him are clear. If not, the referents can be made explicit, for example, “Then Gideon answered the LORD” or “Then Gideon replied, saying.”
If now I have found favor with thee (literally “If, please, I find favor in your eyes”) is a standard expression of politeness found throughout the Old Testament, for example, when Abraham addressed the divine messengers (Gen 18.3), when Jacob addressed his son Joseph (Gen 47.29), and when Moses addressed God (Exo 34.9). “To find favor” means that the person has been accepted by the other, as when the LORD accepted Noah (Gen 6.8). However, this frozen expression need not be rendered literally here. Good News Translation‘s “If you are pleased with me” does not sound very natural. A better equivalent in English is “Please, can I make a request of you?” or “Please, can you grant me one favor.” Contemporary English Version‘s “It’s hard to believe that I’m actually talking to the LORD” goes far beyond the meaning of the text and should not be used here as a model.
Then show me a sign that it is thou who speakest with me: Gideon wants some proof that he is really speaking with God. The Hebrew word for sign does not necessarily imply something miraculous or unusual. It can be any symbol or action that will prove to Gideon that it is indeed Yahweh who is speaking. If a word for sign does not exist in the target language, we might say “do something so I’ll know” (Contemporary English Version), “give me some proof” (Good News Translation), or “prove to me.” That it is thou who speakest with me is literally “that [it is] you speaking with me.” The pronoun thou is an old English form for second person singular that was used to address God. The normal pronoun to address God should be used in the target language. Speakest is another old English form, but modern language should be used here as well. This verb renders a participle in Hebrew, which emphasizes present activity. For this whole clause we can say “then show me that it is really you who is speaking.” Good News Translation puts more emphasis on the identity of the speaker by saying “give me some proof that you are really the LORD.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “Please do something so I’ll know that you really are the LORD.”
Some possible translation models for this verse are:
• Gideon said to him, “If you have really chosen me, then do something to prove that you really are the LORD.
• Then Gideon replied, “Please, grant me one thing. Give me a sign that it is really you, LORD, who is speaking to me.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.