complete verse (Psalm 48:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 48:13:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Look well closely its fences,
    watch carefully its fortresses,
    that you will explain of those to the following generation.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Look and examine carefully the fortress
    and the walls which have been built there,
    and you will be able to tell future generations about them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “[You (plur.)] look- carefully/[lit. well] -at the stone-walls and the firm/strong/sturdy parts of this city,
    so-that you (plur.) can-tell the next/following generation” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “You first see its fences well,
    then see its tall places,
    so that you tell your children who are still coming one day.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Angalieni kuta zake,
    mchunguze ngome zake,
    ili mje muwasimulie,
    watu wa katika kizazi ambacho kitakuja.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “notice the walls there and examine the forts in order that you can tell about them to your children.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

addressing God

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 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.

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.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Psalm 48:12 - 48:14

It is not certain whether the invitation to the Israelites to walk around Jerusalem and observe its defenses is meant literally or whether it refers to a ritual procession in the Temple in which this action was represented. The “People of God” (which Good News Translation has supplied, in order to make explicit to whom the invitation is extended) are called upon to inspect the towers, ramparts, and citadels of Jerusalem–which was very strongly protected and almost impregnable. The expression towers can sometimes be rendered as “the highest parts,” and ramparts as “strong walls.” Citadels in some languages can be rendered “the strong house that protects people” or “the place people go for protection.”

In verse 13b the verb translated go through (Good News Translation “examine”) occurs only here in the Old Testament, and there is some doubt as to its exact meaning; in the context, however, parallel with the verbs number (verse 12b) and consider well (verse 13a), something like inspect or consider is meant (so Bible en français courant).

The inspection of Jerusalem’s defenses will serve as the basis for passing on to the next generation the story about God’s faithful care of his people.

Verse 14 in Hebrew is indirect discourse (Revised Standard Version that this is); Good News Translation has used direct discourse, with quotation marks. Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation could be understood to mean that the city is God, taking this to refer to the description of the city and its defenses. So it is better to follow Good News Translation here.

At the end of verse 14, for ever (Good News Translation “for all time to come”) translates a Masoretic text phrase of uncertain meaning: ʿal-mut. The consonants can be pointed ʿolamot “forever” (so the Septuagint, New English Bible) or ʿal-mawet, which may mean “until death” (An American Translation), or “against death,” or “beyond death” (Weiser). Traduction œcuménique de la Bible refuses to translate the phrase, considering the text unintelligible. New Jerusalem Bible does not have it in the text; in a footnote it gives “to death,” which should go with the following psalm. Some take the Masoretic text as a musical direction (see title of Psa 46), “according to Alamoth,” which should go with the next psalm. This was the decision of the majority of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project; the minority took the Hebrew to mean “eternity,” which is to be placed at the end of this psalm.

Most translations (see Dahood) understand the Hebrew as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done, and this seems to be the least unsatisfactory way of handling it.

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 .