David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

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.

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

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 6:15

Who has kept with thy servant David my father what thou didst declare to him: Solomon acknowledges to God that God has kept his promise to David. Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation here is awkward. In Revised Standard Version this first half of the verse is a continuation of the sentence begun in the previous verse and is technically a relative clause. But most modern versions begin a new sentence here for naturalness; for example, New Century Version says “You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father.”

The use of the archaic pronouns thy and thou in Revised Standard Version reflects no special form in the Hebrew text and should be avoided in translation. Similarly, the use of the archaic verbs hast and didst represents no special form in Hebrew. Therefore no attempt should be made to imitate it in translation.

Yea, thou didst speak with thy mouth, and with thy hand hast fulfilled it this day: Yea renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it introduces a repetition of what Solomon just said, so it is used for emphasis. For this reason New Revised Standard Version renders it “Indeed,” which is a good model.

The word mouth represents words while hands represents deeds (see the comments on 2Chr 6.4). Thou didst speak with thy mouth may be considered redundant in many languages and may therefore be translated with a more natural expression. Some interpreters consider it an emphatic statement focusing on the certainty of God’s pledge, so Moffatt has “thou didst make him thine own promise.” Good News Translation combines this clause with the last one, saying “today every word has been fulfilled.” But in those languages where the passive is not an option, it may be better to follow the model of Parole de Vie, which reads “Yes, what you had promised him in words, you fulfilled it yourself today.” Revised English Bible reverses the two clauses by saying “by your deeds this day you have fulfilled what you said to him in words.”

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 .