The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone bata to describe complete quietness. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 65:7:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“The one who kept the lake quite
the roaring of its waves,
and the noise of the people of other races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“You have stopped the violence of huge ocean waves
and even the violence of people as well.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“You set-at-peace the rushing of the waves in the sea/ocean and the uproar/commotion of the people.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“you made the seas that are noisy to be silent,
and waves of water that they are noisy to be quiet,
you made nations which fight to have peace.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Ni wewe unanyamazisha bahari,
na kuvuma kwa mawimbi yake,
na kelele za watu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“You calm the seas when they roar,
and you stop the waves from crashing on the shore;
you also calm people when they make a great uproar/shout angrily together.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.
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 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, shizume-rare-ru (鎮められる) or “quiet down” is used.
God’s mighty acts in creation are described in terms of his placing the mountains in place and subduing the raging seas (verses 6-7b). According to the concept of the universe at that time, the mountains, which are visible above the surface of the earth, were thought to extend far down into the underworld, serving as the columns on which the surface of the earth rests. The phrase by thy strength as the means for putting the mountains in their places must be expressed in some languages as “because you are strong you put the mountains in their places.”
God’s might is spoken of as the belt which he tightens around his waist as he prepares to act (see also 93.1). Verse 6b being girded with might may be understood either as “because you clothed yourself with strength” (see Bible en français courant “you are armed with power”) or “making a display of your great strength.” The former is preferable. Being girded with might may be rendered, for example, “because you are very strong.”
The seas represent the powers of chaos and disorder that continually threaten the established order of the universe which God brought into being (see 89.9-10; 93.3-4; 104.5-9).
God is also the supreme ruler of all humankind (verse 7c); he calms the tumult of the peoples, that is, the angry words and actions of those who rebel against him, just as he calms the rebellious seas. Tumult is frequently used to express “rebellion.”
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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