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 3 Maccabees 6:5

Sennacherib exulting in his countless forces, oppressive king of the Assyrians … : Sennacherib is the direct object of the Greek verb translated broke in pieces in the main clause at the end of this verse. The word order of this verse is much like that of verse 4, with the direct object preceding the verb, and a long section in between describing Sennacherib. Sennacherib was the king of Assyria from 704 to 681 B.C. See 2 Kgs 18.13–19.37; 2 Chr 32.1-23; Isa 36–37. Assyria was located around the upper Tigris River in what is now known as northeastern Iraq. At the height of its power in the mid-seventh century B.C., the Assyrian Empire included a large part of the Ancient Near East, extending from southern Egypt to Cyprus and north through Palestine and Syria and east to Mesopotamia to the Iranian plateau. Exulting in his countless forces may be rendered “who boasted about his huge army” or “who was proud of his enormous army [or, huge number of soldiers].” Oppressive king of the Assyrians may be expressed as “the cruel king of Assyria” or even “the cruel king who ruled Assyria.” An alternative model for the first part of this verse is “Then there was Sennacherib, the cruel king of Assyria who boasted about his huge army.”

Who had already gained control of the whole world by the spear is, of course, an overstatement, but should be kept. The whole world may be rendered “the rest of the world” or “every nation in the world” (Contemporary English Version). By the spear means he gained control of other countries by war (see 3 Macc 3.15), so this clause may be translated “who had already conquered the rest of the world.”

And was lifted up against your holy city means he attacked Jerusalem. Your holy city means the city belongs to God; it is where God resides. So in many languages “your city Jerusalem” will be an adequate translation.

Speaking grievous words with boasting and insolence may be rendered “boasting arrogantly [or, insolently], saying terrible things.”

You, O Lord, broke in pieces: As noted above, Sennacherib is the direct object of broke in pieces, with Lord as the subject. Of course, the Lord shattered Sennacherib’s army too, and this may be included in the translation by saying “You shattered him and his army, Lord.”

Showing your power to many nations may be translated “You showed other nations how powerful you are.”

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• Then there was Sennacherib, the cruel king of Assyria, who was proud of his enormous army. He had already conquered the rest of the world when he attacked Jerusalem, your [holy] city, saying terrible, insolent, arrogant things. You shattered him and his army, Lord! You showed other nations just how powerful you are.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.