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 18:35

Verse 35 has both a textual and a structural problem. From the latter point of view, lines a and b both contain a figure, but line b does not appear to heighten the effect. Line c even reduces the power of the images of shield and right hand with the colorless thy help. None of the alternative wordings suggested for help causes line c to fit the usual pattern. It may, however, be possible to take line c as a consequence of the first two lines, in which case the meaning is “and so your help has made me great.” In terms of the discourse structure, there is support for this interpretation. Verse 35 initiates a new flurry of parallel lines which are narrative (verses 35-42), in that they describe how God enabled the psalmist to defeat his enemies.

The shield of thy salvation is a figure of protection and safety in battle. The phrase thy salvation refers to God’s saving the psalmist, not to God’s being saved. In languages where the shield is unknown or only partially known through a loan word, it will often be best to transfer to a nonfigurative expression as in Good News Translation. Even if shield is maintained, it will often be misleading to express salvation as a noun, as in Revised Standard Version. A verb phrase may be better; for example, “you give me your shield which saves me” or, more fully, “you give me your shield which saves my life.”

Right hand means power or help; and the verb translated supported means to keep safe, hold up, sustain. In some languages it will be appropriate to keep the expression right hand, as this is the hand that is associated with strength.

In line c the word translated help (Good News Translation “care,” or Revised Standard Version footnote “gentleness”) elsewhere means humility (Pro 15.33; 18.12; 22.4; Zech 2.3). New Jerusalem Bible has “care” (or, in a footnote, “condescension”); Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “kindness”; New English Bible “providence”; another possibility is “loving care” (with footnote). Some have related the word to the verb “to answer” (as it is in 2 Sam 22.36) and translate “by your answering (you have made me great)”; Bible en français courant “you answer my cries for help and make me strong.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says either translation is possible: “your response has made me great” or “your subjugation (of my enemies) has made me great.”

Good News Translation has reversed lines b and c, as a more natural progression of thought.

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 .