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 Psalm 119:17 - 119:18

In this strophe (letter gimel, verses 17-24) the psalmist reaffirms his pleasure in obeying God’s laws, even though he is persecuted and reviled by his enemies. The Good News Translation heading may require some modification for translation; for example, “The Law of the LORD makes a person happy.”

The psalmist’s very life depends on God’s continued blessing, and he promises that he will live in obedience to God’s law (verse 17). In line a he asks Yahweh to be good to him (New Jerusalem Bible “Deal kindly”; Bible en français courant “Be good to me”). The request can be translated “Do me this favor” (so New English Bible; see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), with the following “let me live” as the favor requested. But the way Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation translate the verse seems to be better. The psalmist calls himself Yahweh’s servant, a common way for a pious Israelite to refer to himself. Revised Standard Version with thy servant is recast by Good News Translation “me, your servant” to avoid the use of third person reference to the speaker. A similar adjustment will have to be made in many languages. To live here is to continue living, to have a good life. For observe see verse 8a.

Insight into the meaning of God’s law depends not only on prolonged study and meditation; it depends also on God’s guidance. So the psalmist prays Open my eyes; only in this way can he discover the wonderful truths, or teachings, in the Law. It is God who will enable him to appreciate and understand the Law. It is better to use an expression like “wonderful teachings” than to have wondrous things or “wonderful things” (New International Version), which may not be clearly understood by the reader. In some languages one does not “see the truth” but rather “understands” it or “hears” it. Therefore the expression Open my eyes will not serve in 18a. Sometimes one must translate “Open my ears,” or “Help my mind,” or “Make my mind strong,” followed by “so that I may understand the wonderful true words of your teaching.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .