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 Isaiah 64:2

As when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil: These two parallel lines compare the shaking mountains to water boiling in a pot on a fire. It is unclear how the they are alike. Good News Translation adds the verb “tremble” to clarify the point of comparison. Since this simile interrupts the flow of thought in verses 1-2, Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version place long dashes around it. Good News Translation makes it a separate sentence and repeats the verb “Come” to resume the flow of thought from the previous verse. For these two lines the Septuagint has “as wax is melted by a fire and fire consumes the enemies.” This rendering suggests that the Hebrew text was uncertain long ago, but there is no other textual evidence that casts doubt on Masoretic Text, so translators should retain it. The Hebrew word translated brushwood (New International Version “twigs”) appears only here in the Old Testament, so its meaning is not absolutely certain. The rendering brushwood depends entirely on the context of fire for its meaning. Good News Translation avoids the term.

To make thy name known to thy adversaries: In Hebrew this line begins with an infinitive to indicate that this is the purpose for which the people ask God to come down. They want him to reveal his powerful reputation (name) to his enemies as their Redeemer (see 63.16). His adversaries are the same as Judah’s enemies. They would include the Edomites (63.1) as well as those who destroyed the Temple (63.18).

And that the nations might tremble at thy presence: This line may be understood as a second purpose of God’s coming (so Revised Standard Version). However, in terms of Hebrew grammar it is an independent statement, indicating that the nations would tremble before God (so New Jerusalem Bible; see also the first example below). Alternatively, it may be a plea that is parallel to the call that the mountains quake at God’s presence (see verse 1). If so, it may be rendered “Let the nations tremble before you.” Good News Translation and New International Version regard the verb rendered tremble as a causative verb form, but the Hebrew grammar does not support this.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• … —just as when kindling [or, brushwood] is set alight,
and the fire makes water boil—
to make your reputation known to your enemies.
Then the nations would tremble in your presence.

• … (like kindling set on fire,
and the fire boils the water),
in order to make your enemies aware of your reputation,
so that the [foreign] nations might tremble before you.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .