In the German Gute Nachricht (Good News) translation of 1982, this occurrence of the Greek term which is translated in most English versions of “kingdom (of God or heaven)” is translated with a form of “once God finalizes his creation (or “work”) . . . ” (Wenn Gott sein Werk vollendet . . .). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in German as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see Kingdom (of God / heaven).
formal pronoun: common people addressing Jesus
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 Translator 2002, 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.
Here, the crowd (or individuals within the crowd) addresses Jesus with the formal pronoun, expressing respect.
complete verse (Matthew 20:21)
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 20:21:
- Uma: “Yesus asked: ‘What do you (sing.) request?’ The mother said: ‘My request is that when you (sing.) become King, these my two children sit and rule together with you (sing.), one on your (sing.) right side, one on your (sing.) left side.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “‘What do you want?’ said Isa. The woman said, ‘I would like that when you already sit to rule, you will seat these my sons at your side, one on the right and one on the left.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘What do you want?’ asked Jesus. And the woman answered, ‘As for these two sons of mine who are disciples of yours, I want that in the future when you sit on your seat of ruling, you let them sit also, one on your right side and the other on your left.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “‘What do you (sing.) want?’ said Jesus. ‘Please promise that in your (sing.) ruling, these two children of mine will sit-with you (sing.) on your (sing.) right and on your (sing.) left,’ she said in reply.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “‘What aid are you asking for?’ said Jesus.She answered saying, ‘Hopefully you will grant to these sons of mine the right that right beside you is where they will sit there in your kingdom. One on your right, one on the left.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Jesus said: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he said. The woman said to Jesus: ‘I want that there where you sit to rule, you will give permission to these two sons of mine, that one will sit at your right, one will sit at your left.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
word (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.
In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “word” or “bidding” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-kotoba (おことば), combining “word” (kotoba) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff.
kingdom (of God) (Japanese honorifics)
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-kuchi (御国) or “kingdom (of God)” in the referenced verses. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also kingdom (of God / heaven).
respectful form of "give" (kudasaru)
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 of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, kudasaru (下さる), a respectful form of kureru (くれる) or “give” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also respectful form of “give” (tamawaru) and give (Japanese honorifics).
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. )
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