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 9:9

With thee is wisdom, who knows thy works: Here, and through verse 11, Wisdom is personified, that is, referred to as a (female) person. The picture is of Wisdom living with God, and translators may say “Wisdom lives with you….” In languages where it will be difficult to personify Wisdom, translators may include a footnote explaining to readers that the author is personifying Wisdom as a female. Then, if possible, the term Wisdom should be capitalized. Thy works refers primarily to God’s creation, not to his actions in history, as Good News Translation might suggest. We suggest that this line be combined with the following one (see the model below).

And was present when thou didst make the world may be rendered “She was present when you made the world.” The first two lines may be combined as suggested above: “Wisdom was with you when you created the world, and she is familiar with [or, she knows] all you made.”

And who understands what is pleasing in thy sight and what is right according to thy commandments: Wisdom not only understands the world and how it works, but knows God’s will for human conduct. Someone who is wise is therefore in a better position to know God’s will. These lines will be best dealt with as a separate sentence. Contemporary English Version has a helpful model: “Wisdom knows what pleases you, and she knows what is right according to your commands.” But we may also translate “… and she knows how to follow your commands correctly.”

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.