The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 51:18:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“By your kindness make Zion to prosper;
build the walls of Jerusalem.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“O God, have mercy on Zion,
give it help.
Build again the walls of Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“O God, bless Zion, the city of Jerusalem, for you (sing.) are-happy doing that.
Build-up again the stone-walls of this.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Because you are merciful to Zion, you do well for it,
Build the fence of Jerusalem to be high.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Ee Mungu, uwe mpole kwa mji wa katika Sayuni,
uzijenge kuta za katika Yerusalemu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“O God, be good to the people who live in Jerusalem,
and help them to rebuild the city walls.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-onchō (ご恩寵), a combination of “favor” (onchō) and the honorific prefix go-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, kizukinaoshite (築き直して) or “rebuild” 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).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
These two verses are generally recognized as being a later addition to the original poem, reflecting a time when Jerusalem and the Temple were in ruins. Some, however, like Briggs, take the verses to be part of the original composition, and thus regard the psalm as having been composed during a time when the city was in ruins and the people in exile.
In verse 18 the psalmist asks God to restore Jerusalem to her former glory; Zion and Jerusalem both refer to the city. The expression Zion meaning Jerusalem may often require a classifier such as “city” so that it will not be thought of as distinct from Jerusalem. The walls were to surround Jerusalem as fortification against invading armies.
In verse 19 the psalmist tries to counter the antisacrificial tone of verses 16-17 by promising that once again the right sacrifices, which are pleasing to God, will be offered on the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. The word right translates tsedeq (see 4.1); Good News Translation has “proper”; Bible en français courant “correct”; New English Bible “appointed”; and New Jerusalem Bible “sacrifices offered in righteousness.” For comments on sacrifices see 40.6.
Verse 19b in Hebrew is literally “burnt offering and whole (burnt) offering”; some scholars believe this to be an intrusion into the text, and it is omitted by New English Bible. It is better, however, to follow the Hebrew text.
Verse 19c may be better translated by the use of an active verb, “Then we (or, your people) will sacrifice bulls on your altar.” The word translated bulls refers to “young bulls,” sometimes translated in English as “bullocks” (see also 22.12). Because of the historical situation, translators should retain bulls in this context. This may mean using a loan word from a major language, or else employing a word meaning cow and qualifying it as “male.” If this is not adequate for the context of sacrifice, an illustration may have to be used and either a descriptive term or a loan word used.
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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