1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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”.

Translation commentary on Luke 9:26

Exegesis:

hos gar an epaischunthē me kai tous emous logous ‘for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words.’ logous is best understood as referring to both preaching and teaching.

hotan elthē en tē doxē autou kai tou patros kai tōn hagiōn aggelōn ‘when he comes in his glory and (the glory) of the father and of the holy angels.’ The reference is to the parousia of the Son of man (cf. 21.27). en tē doxē means ‘surrounded by, or, clothed in’ and refers to the heavenly glory in which the Father and the holy angels live and in which the Son of man will live after his ascension. For doxa cf. on 2.9.

Translation:

For this verse, see Mark 8.38.

In his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. To avoid a rendering that could suggest the existence of two or three different entities called ‘glory,’ one may say, ‘in his glory, that is in the glory of…’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC), ‘possessing/having a glory, which is also that of…,’ ‘(being) glorious, so glorious as….’ For glory and holy see references on 2.9 and 1.15. The Father, or where this noun is obligatorily possessed, ‘my Father,’ cf. on 2.49. In languages without a definite article the specifying force which the has here will have to be expressed otherwise, e.g. by using ‘heavenly Father,’ or, ‘Father (who is/lives) in heaven,’ or by treating the noun as a name or title, as done in Balinese, which preposes a name qualifier.

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 9:26

9:26

This part of the verse gives another reason why a person should deny himself and be ready to die as a disciple (9:23). The reason is that a person who chooses to avoid shame in the present life will be shamed in the future at the final judgment. Express this reason/explanation in a natural way in your language.

9:26a

If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words: This clause describes a person who refuses to become Jesus’ disciple and follow his teachings because he feels ashamed in front of other people. He is unwilling to acknowledge that he follows Jesus because he is afraid that others will mock him.

In your translation, avoid suggesting that Jesus might have done something wrong that would cause someone to be ashamed. Some other ways to translate If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words include:

If anyone is ashamed to become my disciple and ⌊to believe/obey⌋ my words
-or-
If anyone is not willing to acknowledge me ⌊as his master⌋ and ⌊to obey⌋ what I teach because ⌊people⌋ would humiliate him

My words: The phrase My words refers to what Jesus has said, that is, to his teachings.

9:26b

the Son of Man will be ashamed of him: This part of the verse indicates that Jesus, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of any person who was ashamed to become his follower. In this context, for Jesus to be ashamed of someone does not mean that Jesus will feel embarrassed. It means that Jesus will deny that such a person belongs to him. He will be unwilling to say that such a person was his disciple. See how you translated ashamed in 9:26a.

Son of Man: Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. In some languages it may be necessary to make it clear that Jesus was referring to himself:

⌊I,⌋ the Son of Man

The phrase Son of Man also occurs in 9:22a. See the note there for more information.

9:26c

when He comes in His glory: The clause when He comes in His glory refers to the time when Jesus will return to earth. He will return in a way that will show people his divine greatness and dazzling brightness. Jesus continued to refer to himself here. Consider if it is more natural in your language to use forms such as “I” and “my.” For example:

when I come in my glory

Some ways to translate the phrase in His glory here are:

with/showing his greatness
-or-
with/showing his dazzling brightness
-or-
people will see his radiant majesty

glory: In the Old Testament, God’s glory refers to the bright light or cloud that people saw when God was present with them. The way God appeared to them symbolized how powerful and great he was.

In the New Testament, when glory describes Jesus, it sometimes refers in general to his divine character or attributes. Sometimes, as here, the word glory refers specifically to his power and greatness or to his dazzling brightness.

9:26d

and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels: When Jesus returns, he will also show the same glory that his Father God and the holy angels have. He will have the same greatness and will be surrounded by the same brightness. Another way to translate this phrase is:

and the greatness of his Father God and the greatness of the holy angels
-or-

⌊They will also see⌋ the radiant majesty of my Father and of the holy angels.

holy angels: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angels means “messengers.” The phrase holy angels refers to spirit beings who serve God.

The angels are holy because they are dedicated to God. They are also holy because they are pure. In some languages the term for angels already includes one of these ideas.

Some ways to translate holy angels here are:

• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

messengers from God/heaven
-or-
good/holy spirit-beings

• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.

• Use a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel” that is already being used by churches in the area. If you use this term, you may need to indicate the meaning and add the idea of holy. For example:

angelos messengers from God
-or-
sacred/holy angelos spirits

Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.” See angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for a chart that shows the differences in these three terms.

General Comment on 9:26a–d

In 9:26a, Jesus referred to himself with the forms “Me” and “My.” In 9:26c–d he purposely used different forms and spoke of himself as the “Son of Man” and “he.” If this is confusing in your language, you may need to use forms such as “me” and “my” in the whole verse. For example:

If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. (New Living Translation (1996))

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