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 Esdras 9:31

For behold …: The conjunction For may be omitted (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). The word behold places focus on the message that follows. It does not have anything to do with literally seeing. Good News Bible omits this word since English has no real equivalent for it here. Other languages will have such expressions as “Look” or “Pay attention.” “Listen to me” in the previous verse will express it adequately in most languages.

I sow my law in you, and it shall bring forth fruit in you: Once again the imagery of sowing seed and bearing fruit is used (compare 2 Esd 3.20; 8.6). The fruit of the Law is eternal life. I sow my law in you may be rendered “I am giving you my Law, like a farmer plants seed in the ground.” It shall bring forth fruit in you may be translated “It will grow in you” or even “Like that seed, the Law will grow in you.”

And you shall be glorified through it for ever: The word glorified is understood by Good News Bible as “crowning glory.” However, we feel that it refers to the entrance to heaven and eternal life. So a better model for this clause is “and because of it you will have life forever.”

God’s quoted words end here. What God says in verses 30-31 is not a quotation from anything in the Old Testament, but compare Deut 5.1; 6.4. An alternative model for this verse is:

• I am giving you my Law, like a farmer plants seed in the ground. Like the seed, the Law will grow in you, and because of it you will have life forever.’

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.