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 Wisdom 16:6

They were troubled for a little while as a warning: They were troubled for a little while may be rendered “Your people were attacked by the snakes for only a little while” or even “The snakes attacked your people for only….” Good News Translation is a good model for this line, but instead of “as a warning,” translators could say “to teach them a lesson.”

And received a token of deliverance to remind them of thy law’s command: Good News Translation renders received in the active voice with “you gave them.” The token of deliverance is a reference to Num 21.6-9. This is an incident the readers are not likely to be familiar with, and Good News Translation points them in the right direction by specifying “the bronze snake” as the “healing symbol.” New American Bible simply has “a sign of salvation.” Strictly speaking, it is not necessary that the reader remember or know the story of the bronze snake, only that God gave them “a sign of salvation.” However, the author is making the point with these comparisons that the Israelites benefitted from the same things that harmed the Egyptians. The Egyptians were plagued with vermin, and the Israelites were saved by a snake. Good News Translation provides a useful model, although translators might want to consider something like “a sign of healing [or, salvation]” rather than “a healing symbol.” It might not be going too far to say “a sign of hope.” An alternative for the first part of this line is “Then you gave them a metal snake as a healing symbol [or, as a sign of hope].” To remind them of thy law’s command may be rendered “to remind them of what your Law requires” (Good News Translation) or “to help them remember [or, obey] your Law.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.