formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

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

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 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. )

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 22:66-71)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 22:66-71:

At dawn the politicians, priests, and professors of religion
called a meeting and had Jesus brought in for questioning.
       “Are you God’s Chosen One?” they demanded.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” replied Jesus.
       “And if I asked you a question, you wouldn’t answer.
Soon, however, you’ll see me
       at the right side of God All-Powerful.”

“Are you the Son of God?” was their next question.

“You say I am,” answered Jesus.

“He’s said enough to hang himself!” they judged.

Translation commentary on Luke 22:67 – 22:68

Exegesis:

legontes ‘saying,’ here referring to an act distinct from the verb with which it goes, i.e. apēgagon.

ei su ei ho Christos, eipon hēmin ‘if you are the Messiah, tell us (so).’ ei is conditional, not interrogative ‘whether.’

ean humin eipō ou mē pisteusēte ‘if I tell you (i.e. that I am the Messiah), you will not believe me.’ For ou mē cf. on 1.15.

(V. 68) ean de erōtēsō ‘if I ask you,’ either in a general sense (cf. New English Bible) and referring to situations like e.g. 20.41, or specifically, ‘whether you think I am the Messiah,’ preferably the former.

ou mē apokrithēte ‘you will not answer,’ cf. on 1.15. Like ou mē pisteusēte in v. 67 the clause expresses strong conviction on the part of Jesus.

Translation:

If you are. In languages like Thai and Javanese the high priest, by not using honorifics, shows his conviction that Jesus cannot be the Christ. The same holds true for v. 70.

For believe, i.e. ‘believe me (or, it, or, my words),’ cf. on 1.20.

(V. 68) Ask you, or, ‘ask (you) questions,’ ‘ask you something’ (Tae’ 1933).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 22:67

22:67a

If You are the Christ, tell us: The members of the council demanded that Jesus say whether he was the Messiah/Christ. This demand can also be translated as a question. Mark 14:55 makes it clear that the high priest spoke to Jesus for the whole council. Some other ways to translate their demand are:

Tell us, are you the Messiah? (God’s Word)
-or-
Tell us whether you are the Messiah.

the Christ: Here the word Christ is used as a title. The Jews used this title to refer to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” and the two words have the same meaning.

For translation suggestions, see the note at 20:41b. For more information, see Christ in the Glossary.

22:67b–c

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe…”: Jesus did not give a yes or no answer to the council. He showed by his answer that he knew that they would not believe the truth about him. If he said, “Yes, I am the Messiah,” they would refuse to believe him. In Greek the clause you will not believe is emphatic. They would certainly not believe what he said.

Some ways to translate Jesus’ answer are:

Jesus said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me…” (God’s Word)
-or-
And Jesus answered, “Even if I say that I am, you will not believe what I say.”

believe: In this context the word believe refers to accepting that a statement is true. For more information about this sense of believe, see believe, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

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