female second person singular pronoun in Psalms

In Garifuna the second person singular pronoun (“you” in English) has two forms. One is used in women’s speech and one in men’s speech. In the Garifuna Bible the form used in men’s speech is typically used, except when it’s clear that a woman is quoted or in Psalms where the women on the translation team insisted that the form used in women’s speech (buguya) would be used throughout the whole book.

Ronald Ross (in Omanson 2001, p. 375f.) tells the story: “Throughout most of the translation, [the distinctions between the different forms of the pronouns] presented no problem. Whenever the speaker in the text was perceived as a man, the male speech forms were used; and when a woman was speaking, the female speech forms were used. True, the women members of the translation team did object on occasion to the use of the male forms when the author (and narrator) of a book was unknown and the men translators had used the male speech forms as the default. Serious discord arose, however, during the translation of the Psalms because of their highly devotional nature and because throughout the book the psalmist is addressing God. The male translators had, predictably, used the male form to address God, and the male form to refer to the psalmist, even though women speakers of Garifuna never use those forms to address anyone. The women contended that they could not as women read the Psalms meaningfully if God and the psalmist were always addressed as if the readers were men. The men, of course, turned the argument around, claiming that neither could they read the Psalms comfortably if the reader was assumed to be a woman.

“Initially there seemed to be no way out of this impasse. However a solution was found in the ongoing evolution of the language. There is a strong propensity for male speech and female speech to merge in favor of the latter, so the few remaining male forms are gradually dying out. Moreover, male children learn female speech from their mothers and only shift to the male speech forms when they reach adolescence to avoid sounding effeminate. However they use the female form buguya when addressing their parents throughout life. So the women wielded two arguments: First, the general development of the language favored the increasing use of the female forms. Secondly, the female forms are less strange to the men than the male forms are to the women, because the men habitually use them during early childhood and continue to use them to address their parents even in adulthood. Therefore, the female pronominal forms prevailed and were adopted throughout the book of Psalms, though the male forms remained the default forms in the rest of the translation.”

See also female first person singular pronoun in Psalms and addressing God.

complete verses (Psalm 23)

Following is a back-translation of Psalm 23 in the Chichewa (interconfessional translation, 1999):

Chauta [see tetragrammaton (YHWH)] he is my herdsman,
I will surely not lack a [little] thing, not at all.
He lays me down on a pasture of new grass.
He guides me to still waters to go and rest there.
He revives my life-force.
He leads me in a righteous path in accordance with the glory of his name.
It may be that I walk in a ravine of black darkness,
but I will not fear any kind of evil,
for You Lord you stay with me.
Your warclub and walking stick protect me.
You prepare food for me, as my enemies look on.
You welcome me well by anointing my head with oil,
you fill my cup to overflowing.
Truly, your good things and your love
will stay with me all the days of my life.
I will live in your House my whole life long.

(Source: Wendland 1998, p. 148f.)

Metrical translations of Psalm 23 from the British Isles

Following are a number of translations of Psalm 23 into metre from a number of languages in the British Isles.

The English translation by George Herbert (publ. 1633)

The God of love my shepherd is,
    And He that does me feed:
While He is mine, and I am His,
    What can I want or need?

He leads me to the tender grass,
    Where I both feed and rest;
Then to the streams that gently pass:
    In both I have the best.

Or if I stray, He does convert
    And bring my mind in frame:
And all this not for my dessert,
    But for His holy name.

Yea, in death’s shady black abode
    Well may I walk, not fear:
For You are with me; and Your rod
    To guide, Your staff to bear.

Nay, you do make me sit and dine,
    Ev’n in my enemies’ sight:
My head with oil, my cup with wine
    Runs over day and night.

Surely Your sweet and wondrous love
    Shall measure all my days;
And as it never shall remove,
    So neither shall my praise.

The Welsh translation by Edmund Prys (publ. 1621) (click or tap here)

Yr Arglwydd yw fy ’mugail clau,
    ni âd byth eisiau arnaf: 
Mi a gâf orwedd mewn porfa frâs,
    ar lan dwfr gloywlas araf. 
Fe goledd f’enaid,
    ac a’m dwg rhyd llwybrau diddrwg cyfion,
Er mwyn ei enw mawr dilys
    Fo’m tywys ar yr union. 
Pe rhodiwn (nid ofnwn am hyn)
    yn nyffryn cysgod angau,
Wyd gyda mi, a’th nerth,
    a’th ffon, ond tirion ydyw’r arfau:
Gosodaist fy mwrdd i yn frâs,
    lle’r oedd fy nghâs yn gweled:
Olew i’m pen, a chwppan llawn,
    daionus iawn fu’r weithred. 
O’th nawdd y daw y doniau hyn
    i’m canlyn byth yn hylwydd:
A minnau a breswyliaf byth
    a’m nyth yn nhy yr Arglwydd.

© British and Foreign Bible Society

The Irish translation by Norman McLeod (publ. 1836) (click or tap here)

Is é Dia féin is áodhaire dhamh,
    Aon easbhuidh orm ni bhíaidh.
Do bheir se orm go luighím sios,
    A ninbhir fhéir mhínlígh:
A’s fós re taobh na nuisgeadhuidh,
    Ag siubhal sios go mall,
Ata se do mo threórughadh,
    Go mín réidh ann ’sgach ball.
Aiseógair m’anam dhamh air ais:
    Treorochuigh se mo chéim
A slighe ghlan na fíréuntacht,
    Do bhrigh dheagh‐anma féin.
Seadh fós, da siubhlóchuin eadhon thríd,
    Glean dhorcha sgáil’ an bháis,
Aon olc na urchóid theacht oram,
    Ni heagal liom ’sní cás;
Do bhrigh go bhfuil tu leam do ghnáth;
    Do lorg ’sdo mhaide tréun,
Atáid ag tabhárt cómhfhurtacht
    A’s fuasgladh dhamh a m’fheidhm.
Gléusfa tu bórd a radhárc mo nam’d:
    Le hola d’úng mo cheann;
A taosgadh ta mo chupán fós,
    Ag meud an lainn tá ann.
Ach leanfuidh maith a’s trócair diom,
    A’n fhaid a bhias me beó;
A’s cómhnochad a náras Dé,
    Air feadh mo ré, ’smo ló.

Digitized by Bible Societies in Ireland with the help of MissionAssist

The Manx translation by Mark, Sodor and Mann (publ. 1761) (click or tap here)

Yn Chiarn eh-hene nee mish y rere,
    Tra ta mee huggey geam;
Yn bochill mie nee goaill kiarail,
    Nagh bee’m dy bragh ayns feme.
Ayns faiyr meenure as lane dy vlaa,
T’eh kinjagh fassagh mee;
    Reesht m’y leeideil gys fynneraght,
    Yn raad ta geillyn roie.
My chree waggântagh t’eh chyndaa,
    Er graih e ennym hene;
As gynsagh mee cre’n aght dy hooyl,
    Ayns raaidyn jeeragh, glen.
Ga dy beïn shooyl ayns coan y vaaish,
    Cha bee’m ayns dooyt erbee;
Dty ’latt, dty lorg nee m’y endeil,
    As kinjagh gerjagh mee.
Neayr’s ta my Yee jeh mooad’s e ghraih,
    Er reayll my vea ass gaue;
Yn vea shen neem’s y hymney da,
    As ayns e hiamble ceau.

© British and Foreign Bible Society

The Scottish Gaelic translation (publ. 1992) (click or tap here)

Is e Dia fhèin as buachaill dhomh,
    cha bhi mi ann an dìth.
Bheir e fa-near gu’n laighinn sìos
    air cluainean glas’ le sìth:

Is fòs ri taobh nan aibhnichean
    thèid seachad sìos gu mall,
A ta e ga mo threòrachadh,
    gu mìn rèidh anns gach ball.

Tha ’g aisig m’anam dhomh air ais:
    ’s a treòrachadh mo cheum
Air slighean glan’ na fìreantachd,
air sgàth dheagh ainme fhèin.

Seadh, fòs ged ghluaisinn eadhon trìd
    ghlinn dorcha sgàil a’ bhàis,
Aon olc no urchuid a theachd orm
    chan eagal leam ’s cha chàs;

Air son gu bheil thu leam a-ghnàth,
    do lorg, ’s do bhata treun,
Tha iad a’ tabhairt comhfhurtachd
    is fuasglaidh dhomh am fheum.

Dhomh dheasaich bòrd air beul mo nàmh:
    le ola dh’ung mo cheann;
Cur thairis tha mo chupan fòs,
    aig meud an làin a th’ann.

Ach leanaidh maith is tròcair rium,
    an cian a bhios mi beò;
Is còmhnaicheam an àros Dhè,
    ri fad mo rè ’s mo lò.

© 1992, 2016 Comann Bhìoball na h-Alba (Scottish Bible Society)

The Scots translation by T.T. Alexander (publ. 1928) (click or tap here)

E’en as a shepherd tents his sheep,
    The Lord for me doth fend;
He mak’s me rest, whaur pasture’s best,
    And wimplin’ waters wend.
Sood my soul ail, He mak’s it hale
    And airts my feet to gang,
For His name’s sake, the bonny gait,
    Whaur’s nocht o’ ill or wrang.
Whaun I am boon to traivel doon
    The mirky Glen o’ Daith,
Nae dreid I bruik, His stave and crook
    Sal haud me free o’ skaith.
Wi’ ample fare Thou dost prepare
    My board, while faemen glow’r;
Wi’ eintment fine my heid dis shine,
    My bicker’s skailin’ ow’re.
Guidness and mercy a’ my days
    Are siccar at my side;
And in God’s hame I’ll be fu’ fain
    For evermair to bide.

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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 23:4

In this verse the psalmist switches from the third person (The LORD is) to the second person of direct address (thou art with me). Translations may follow the Hebrew, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done; or else, like Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, they may cast all the psalm in the second person, beginning with verse 1, “You, LORD, are my shepherd….”

The valley of the shadow of death: the Hebrew word translated valley is translated in the Septuagint by “the midst” (so Anchor Bible, “in the midst of total darkness”). And the word traditionally translated the shadow of death elsewhere means simply darkness (see 44.19; 107.10; Job 3.5; 10.22; 12.22; 16.16; Isa 9.2). As it appears here in the Masoretic text, however, the word may be taken as a compound, meaning “darkness of death” (so the Septuagint). Most modern translations avoid the word “death”: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “dark valley”; Weiser “the valley of deep darkness”; Bible en français courant “the dark valley”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “the darkest of all valleys.” “A dark ravine” (with footnote) is another suggestion. But New English Bible has “a valley dark as death,” New Jerusalem Bible “a ravine as dark as death,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “a ravine of shadow and death.” The word itself does not necessarily mean death; but by definition a dark ravine is a dangerous place. For a discussion of this and other matters in this psalm, see John Eaton, The Bible Translator 16:171-176.

If the translator follows the exegetical suggestion “darkness of death,” it will sometimes be necessary to say, for example, “if I go through the darkness that is like death” or “if I go through darkness where there is no life.”

The word translated evil means here danger, harm, injury.

The rod was a club used to drive away wild animals; the staff was a long stick used for support in walking. Kirkpatrick takes the two words to be a poetic description of the shepherd’s crook, using two names for the one instrument. So Bible en français courant “your shepherd’s rod, that is what reassures me.” Most translations, however, have two different words. Good News Translation has used the traditional “rod and staff”; but since there will be many readers who will not know what these are, Good News Translation qualifies them with “Your shepherd’s rod and staff.”

They comfort me: the verb “to comfort” means here to provide assurance, security, safety. New American Bible has “give me courage”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant “reassure me”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “fill me with confidence.”

The expression thy rod and thy staff they comfort me may require in some languages more adjustments than have been made in Good News Translation. In some areas there is nothing known as a special instrument for herding animals. In some cases it will be necessary to indicate that these instruments are not simply possessed but are carried by the shepherd; for example, “the rod and staff which you carry.” In some areas these will simply be known as “the club and the cane” or “the stick.” In some languages it may be better to express the meaning in nonfigurative language: “You protect me and keep me safe,” “You protect me from all harm and danger.”

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 .