The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 110:6:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“He will judge the people of other races,
he will fill the earth with corpses and he will shatter the rulers of the whole earth.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“He will judge the nations,
He will pile up the corpses,
and crush [lit.: pulverize] the rulers all over the earth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“He will-punish the nations and he will-kill many.
He will-destroy those (who) rule the whole earth.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“He will judge the matters of the nations,
and makes the place of war to be filled up with the bodies of dead people,
he will defeat kings of all the earth.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
HausaCommon Language Bible:
“he will cut nation to judgement
he will fill-fill them with corpses
he will break-break heads of his friends of front
everywhere in (the) world” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Atakuja kuzihukumu nchi na kuwaua watu wengi,
atakuja kuwaponda viongozi wa duniani poote.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“He will judge and punish the people of many nations;
he will fill the land with their corpses.
He will crush the heads of other kings all over the earth.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
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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 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, kudak-are-ru (砕かれる) or “pound down” is used.
The king is promised God’s protection: the Lord will win victory for him over his enemies. The Lord stands by him, at his right side, to protect him. The day of his wrath in verse 5b further defines He will execute judgment in verse 6a; these refer to the day of the Lord, when he will judge all peoples on earth. The verb translated “defeat” in verse 5b (literally “break in pieces”) is in the perfect tense (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible “has broken”); some translate it as a timeless present (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant); it seems better to take it to speak of future action, as the tense is sometimes used (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New International Version).
This psalm is particularly difficult to hear read and to read in most translations. For example, in Good News Translation verse 1 God tells the king to sit at God’s right hand. In verse 4 it is God (the LORD) who makes a solemn promise (to the king), but in verse 5 it is the Lord (king) who is at “your (God’s) right side.” In verse 5b it is the king who will defeat his enemies, but in verse 1 it is God who will put the king’s enemies under the king’s feet. There are two principal sources which create the confusions which arise in reading this psalm: the use of “Lord” referring to God and to the king, and the change in speakers. In languages in which a single term such as “Lord” is used for both God and the king, it is possible to identify the Lord as being God, and not depend entirely on the use of capitals, as Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version do; for example, “God, who is the Lord, said to my lord the king.” In verse 2a the translator may again say “God, the Lord….” The same may be repeated in verses 4a and 5a. ver1 The Living Biblever1* has “Jehovah said to my Lord the Messiah.” This is a case of reading Matthew back into the psalm and then translating it from Matthew’s perspective. The task of the translator is to translate the text of the Old Testament, not to revise it in the light of the New Testament.
Most traditional and modern versions provide quotes to indicate that God is the speaker of “Sit at my right hand” (verse 1) and “You are a priest for ever…” (verse 4). However, Good News Translation alone makes God the speaker of “Rule over your enemies” (verse 2). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch continues the quote from verse 1b to the end of verse 3. This does not seem to be satisfactory, for the subject in verse 2 is clearly Yahweh, and by including verse 2a in the quote, Yahweh is made to speak of himself in the third person. It is, however, possible to consider verse 3 as a continuation of the quote in verse 2b. In any event the translator should make an effort to make clear the words spoken by God and to identify them as such.
Again it can be helpful for the reader if the translator considers adjusting verse 5a to say, for example, “God, who is the Lord, is at your right side, King,” or in some languages, “God the Lord is close to you, King, to help you.”
Verse 6b translates the Hebrew “he will fill with corpses”; Good News Translation supplies “the battlefield,” while Revised Standard Version has them, referring back to the nations of the preceding line. Instead of the Masoretic text corpses, some ancient versions have “valleys.” New English Bible emends to “majesty.”
In verse 6c he will shatter chiefs translates “he will shatter the head” (see Revised Standard Version footnote), which some take literally (New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem; see 68.21); others, like Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant, take the word as a figure for rulers.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview, the second an introduction into the poetry, and the third an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 110.
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