Lord

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo: “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Translation commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:1 – 1:2

As in the case of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, the statement of presumed triple authorship, that is, from Paul, Silas, and Timothy, may be misleading, for it is obvious from the letter itself that Paul is the real author. It may be necessary in some languages to translate “from Paul, together with Silas and Timothy,” or “from Paul, with Silas and Timothy joining in,” or “I, Paul, am writing to you with the help of Silas and Timothy.” It is often necessary to introduce a verb such as “write to” or “send this letter to” in order to combine the statement of authorship with an indication of those to whom the letter is directed.

There are only two differences between these verses and 1 Thess. 1.1 (see the notes).

First, the word our is added (God our Father), clearly including both the senders of the letter and those who will receive it. The appositional expression God our Father must be expressed in some languages by means of a relative clause, for example, “God, who is our Father.” Some translators feel that it is necessary to identify the figurative meaning in our Father and mark it as a simile, for example, “God, who is like a Father to us.” However, this is usually not necessary.

The second addition is less readily seen in Good News Translation than in the more literal Revised Standard Version:
1 Thess. 1.1b
Grace to you and peace.
2 Thess. 1.2
Grace to you and peace
from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.

Good News Translation restructures the sentence in 2 Thessalonians, using the word give to bring out the meaning of the preposition “from.”

In a number of languages it is relatively meaningless to say “grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Since this is essentially a petition expressing a desire for God’s response and blessing, it must sometimes be represented as a prayer, for example, “I pray that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ may give you grace and peace,” or “… be gracious to you and cause you to experience peace.”

In both verse 1 and verse 2, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are closely linked by the use of a single preposition: literally “in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” in verse 1, and “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” in verse 2. Barclay‘s translation, “who belong to God our Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1), and “from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 2), does not convey this close link. However, in some languages it is grammatically essential to repeat the preposition (cf. Bible en français courant of v. 1, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy of both verses).

While the weight of the Greek manuscript evidence seems to favor “God the Father” as the more correct reading, many manuscripts do have God our Father. In some languages the translator will have no choice, since kinship terms such as “Father” must have an expressed possessor.

Though it may very well be that the expression grace and peace reflects Christian greeting in its Greek and Semitic forms, it is certainly not enough merely to say “greetings to you.” The fact that grace and peace are to come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ indicates clearly that Paul has something more in mind than mere Christian greeting. It is sometimes very difficult to find the appropriate translation of grace and peace for this type of context. Some translators employ “may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ show you their love and call you to be at peace,” or “… be kind to you and cause you to rest within you hearts.” In this type of context “peace” is not so much the peace of reconciliation with God as the normal blessing which comes to a man who is a child of God.

Commentators have often noted that Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians is less warm and affectionate than his First Letter. This is generally true, and many of the indications of emotion which were mentioned in the notes on the first letter are absent or less frequent in the second. There are, however, exceptions to this general rule. In proportion to their length, Paul addresses his readers as brothers as often in the second letter as in the first. The emotive tone of 2 Thess. 1.3-12 is also as high as that of the first letter.

One indication of high emotive content in Paul’s letters is the length of his sentences. In the original Greek, the sentence length is generally greater than in most modern languages, but it is particularly great when Paul’s argument or appeal reaches a climax. In 2 Thessalonians, only three sentences are more than two verses in length. One of these (2.8-10) is central to the main theme of the first part of the letter, and another (3.7-9) is central to the main theme of the second part. By far the longest sentence in the whole letter is in this section: it runs without a break from verse 3 to verse 10. It is no coincidence that this is also the passage in which Paul expresses most strongly his affection for the Christians in Thessalonica, and his confidence that, despite all the attacks upon it, their faith will continue to stand firm.

Different languages have other ways of indicating high emotion. For example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch puts an exclamation mark at the end of the first sentence, and emphasizes the evangelists’ “boasting” in verse 4 by putting it at the beginning of the sentence (“with pride we tell…”). Knox uses a rhetorical question in verse 6 (“or do you doubt that there is justice with God…?”)

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .