David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

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 38:1 - 38:2

The two lines of verse 1 are semantically and syntactically parallel. There is no dynamic movement such as intensification, focusing, dramatization, or specification in line b. Clearly the words translated rebuke and chasten do not have identical meanings, but their differences have not been brought into play. Because of this Good News Translation has shortened and combined the two lines into one. However, since the dominant pattern everywhere in the psalms is for parallel lines, translators should not reduce the two to one unless, of course, parallel lines and poetic form are not being used.

Verse 1 is the same as 6.1, except that in the first line a different word for anger is used. Although Good News Translation has combined the two synonymous lines into one, most translations maintain the two lines, using the verb “rebuke, reprimand” in the first line, and “chastise, punish” in the second line. This may be preferable. If the translator follows the model of Good News Translation and reduces the two parallel lines to one line, he may still have to make some adjustments to relate “punish” to “anger.” For example, “Although you are angry LORD, don’t punish me.” Or it may be possible to imitate Traduction œcuménique de la Bible: “LORD, punish me without fury; chasten me without anger.”

The psalmist considers his illness to be the result of Yahweh’s anger; Yahweh has punished him by shooting him with his arrows (literally thy arrows have sunk into me). The same figure of “arrows” is used in 7.13; see also Job 6.4. And for the figure thy hand has come down on me, the same verb is used, which is rather strange. For the use of “hand” to mean punishment, see 32.4. New Jerusalem Bible translates the line “Your blows have fallen upon me.” Of the translations consulted Traduction œcuménique de la Bible is the only one that uses the same verb for both lines: “has descended (or, fallen) … have descended.” It may be possible in many languages to follow a bit more closely the form of the Hebrew than Good News Translation has done; for example, “Your arrows have gone into me.” In line b it will often be possible to keep the image of the hand; for example, “your hand has knocked me down.”

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 .