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 2 Chronicles 20:10

And now behold: The Hebrew focusing particle rendered behold is intended to concentrate God’s attention on what Jehoshaphat is about to say. Like Good News Translation, many modern versions leave it untranslated.

The men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir: The men (literally “the children/sons”) may be rendered “the armies” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation) or “the soldiers.” Several Old Testament passages show clearly the relationship between Seir and Edom (see Gen 32.3; 36.8-9, 21; Num 24.18; Jdg 5.4; 2 Chr 25.14). Therefore it is not surprising that several modern versions translate Mount Seir as “Edom” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version) or “Edomites” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Even where this identity with Edom is not made, other versions show clearly that Mount Seir does not refer to a mountain but to people by saying “the people of the hill-country of Seir” (Revised English Bible) or “the inhabitants of the mountains of Seir” (La Bible du Semeur). See the comments on 1 Chr 4.42.

Whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy: The nations that God protected when the Israelites came to possess the land are now the very nations that are threatening Judah. See Num 20.14-21 and Deut 2.4-19. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version both make it clear that the term Israel refers to “our ancestors,” that is, the ancestors of Jehoshaphat and his people. In the Hebrew text the word Israel is a collective noun in the singular, but the verbs rendered came, avoided, and destroy are plural. When they came from the land of Egypt refers to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. New Century Version provides a helpful model for the last half of this verse, saying “You wouldn’t let the Israelites enter their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and did not destroy them.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .