1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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 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”.

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“speak”)

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, kata-rare-ru (語られる) or “speak” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 2:15

Remained is singular in Greek, with “he” (Joseph) as the understood subject. But although Joseph is in focus, it may be necessary in some languages to say “they remained,” including Jesus and Mary as well. It may be better in some languages to start a new sentence here, as in “They stayed there until Herod died.”

Death is often best expressed as a verb, as in “until Herod died.” Herod died shortly before Passover in 4 B.C.

On the formula This was to fulfil, see comments on 1.22. This can be translated as “This happened,” “These things took place,” or even in some languages, “The reason they went to Egypt and stayed there was….”

To fulfil, as in 1.22, can be “to make come true” or “so that the things would take place that the Lord by means of the prophet said would happen.”

The Lord: as in 1.20, this is God.

By the prophet: see suggestions under 1.22.

The quotation Out of Egypt have I called my son is from Hosea 11.1, where the Septuagint reading is “out of Egypt I called his children,” which is not suitable for Matthew’s purpose. Matthew either made a fresh translation from the Hebrew or else quotes an early Christian form of the Hosea Septuagint text. In Hosea the equivalent of my son refers to Israel (see Exo 4.22); in Matthew the application is made to Jesus. The Jews frequently interpreted the coming Messianic salvation in light of the exodus experience, and early Christians often spoke in these same terms of the salvation brought by Jesus.

Translators in many languages find it necessary to use what is for them a more natural order: “I called (or, have called) my son out of Egypt.” Out of Egypt means that the son will come from Egypt. Called, then, means “summoned,” not “named” or “called to.” Thus, “I called my son to come from (or, out of) Egypt.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .