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 The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 1:10

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 3.33

And now we cannot open our mouths: This is a Semitic idiom in translation, and its meaning in this context is not clear. The possibilities are:

1. We have no right to complain (because we deserve our punishment).
2. We are too ashamed (of our sin? our humiliation?) to ask for mercy.
3. We are in no position to protest (the enemy has so oppressed us).

Although option 2 is apparently adopted by Good News Translation and New English Bible, it appears to be ruled out by the fact that in the next verse Azariah asks for mercy. Option 3 is not too likely since the captive Jews would have to do a lot more than speak out to rid themselves of Nebuchadnezzar. Option 1 is the most realistic choice (so New Jerusalem Bible).

Shame and disgrace have befallen thy servants and worshipers: Shame and disgrace do not refer to two different conditions; both words are used for a cumulative effect. Good News Translation does well to express thy servants and worshipers in the first person: “all of us who worship you.” But the translator may or may not want to follow Good News Translation in combining servants and worshipers into one expression.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• We have no right to complain. All of us who serve and worship you are in complete disgrace [or, are living in complete shame].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.