The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 67:4:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“May all the races of people rejoice and sing with happiness,
for you judge all the races of people justly
and lead the races of the people of the earth.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“May the people of the lands rejoice,
and may [they] sing songs with joy
for You rule the nations equitably.
and show the way to the lands.
Sela” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“May-it-be that all people in the world rejoice and sing for joy
because your (sing.) judgment upon them (is) just and you (sing.) guide them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Would you give all nations to be happy, and sing with joy
because you rule people with justice,
and you rule the nations down here.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Makabila yote yafurahie,
tena yaimbe kwa furaha.
Kwa maana unahukumu watu kwa unyofu,
na kuyaongoza makabila ya duniani.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“I desire that the people of all nations will be glad and sing joyfully,
because you judge the people-groups equally/justly,
and you guide all nations in the world.
(Think about that!)” (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 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, michibik-are-ru (導かれる) or “lead/guide” is used.
In some languages it is not possible for impersonal groups such as nations to perform acts such as being glad. In some languages, therefore, one must translate “people of all nations, be glad and sing for joy.”
For the language of verse 4b, see 45.6b, where the same word translated equity is used. And the verb translated guide is the same one used in 23.3. Thou dost judge the peoples with equity must often be translated idiomatically as “you cut the affairs of people fairly” or “you decide the affairs of men with a straight heart.”
Verse 5 repeats the refrain of verse 3.
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 67.
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