Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 39:10:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Remove your whipping on me;
I am defeated by the fist of your hand.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“But please do not give me any other punishment now.
I will die by the force of Your hand.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“Now/[discourse marker], do- not -punish me anymore.
I am-about-to die now by your (sing.) causing- me -to-suffer.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru:
“Request you don’t harm me any longer. I am close to dying, because you punish me.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Take away my punishment from me.
The punishment of your hand defeats me.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Uniondolee mapigo haya!
Umenipiga na mkono! Nimekwisha!” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“But now, please stop punishing me!
If you do not do that, I am about to die because of the ways that you have struck/afflicted me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.
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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 Translator2002, 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.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).
In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, torisatte (取り去って) or “take away” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
The psalmist realizes his predicament, since it is his own sin, not God, that is ultimately responsible for his suffering. He must keep quiet and not say a word (verse 9a; see similar expressions in verse 2; 38.13). God punishes a man for his sins, and he is not to question God’s justice.
But he can ask God to stop punishing him (verse 10a), literally Remove thy stroke from me; the word stroke translates the same word which in 38.11 is translated “plague.”
In verse 10b the word translated blows occurs only here in the Old Testament; it is taken in the general sense of hostility (see Revised Standard Version footnote), but Anderson suggests that here it probably does mean “blow.” See similar ideas in 32.4a; 38.2b.
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 .
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