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 143:1 - 143:2

In these two verses the psalmist three times pleads for Yahweh’s help: Hear my prayer … give ear to my supplications … answer me. He bases his pleas on Yahweh’s faithfulness (see 36.5) and righteousness (see 5.8). Good News Translation reverses the two words, placing “righteousness” first. These are the characteristics of Yahweh as the one who is true to his promise to save his people. As used by the psalmists and other Old Testament writers, God’s righteousness is not a legal attitude that leads him to apply the law impartially to all, but it is his disposition always to save his people, to free them from their difficulties, to put them in the right relationship with himself. Both Biblia Dios Habla Hoy (“you are just and faithful”) and Bible en français courant (“you are faithful and just”) use adjectives, not abstract nouns, which makes for a better translation. In some languages In thy faithfulness and in thy righteousness may better be expressed as clauses; for example, “because you are good to your people and faithful to them, listen to my plea and help me.”

In verse 2 the psalmist confesses his own sinfulness. He asks Yahweh not to Enter … into judgment with him, for he knows that he, too, like everyone else, is guilty in God’s sight (see 14.3). The plea can be translated “Don’t put me … on trial” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) or “Bring not … to trial” (New English Bible). Thy servant is, as often, the psalmist himself, who prays not for justice, but for mercy. Good News Translation has adjusted the Hebrew form to avoid the psalmist’s speaking of himself in the third person. The awkward phrase (no) man living translates the Hebrew “creature, living being.” In some languages in which apposition is not stylistically natural, it may be necessary to say, for example, “I am your servant; do not put me on trial.”

Verse 2b, as translated in the Septuagint, may be alluded to in Romans 3.20; Galatians 2.16.

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 .