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 39:12 - 39:13

The psalm closes with a final plea for the LORD’s help (verse 12a-c). Verse 12c means “don’t be indifferent to my weeping” (New Jerusalem Bible “do not disregard my tears,” New Jerusalem Bible “do not remain deaf to my weeping”) or, as a positive request, “help me when you see me crying.” In a striking figure the psalmist speaks of his life on earth as thy passing guest, a sojourner, which means that he is a temporary guest in Yahweh’s tent. This life, life on earth, was the place where the pious Israelite enjoyed Yahweh’s favor, his “hospitality.” Like all his ancestors, the psalmist too would soon leave (see 1 Chr 29.15). The expression thy passing guest is rendered in some languages as “the stranger who comes and goes quickly.”

For the short time he will still be the LORD’s guest, the psalmist asks him to spare him further punishment (verse 13). The request Look away from me in the sense “Leave me alone” (Good News Translation) is strange, since usually a prayer is for the LORD to “look at” a person, to bless and rescue. To bring out the idea here, New English Bible has “Frown on me no more”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “turn away your reproachful look from me.” In this way the psalmist will know gladness before inevitable death comes, before I depart and be no more. The pious Israelite believed that in Sheol he would be cut off from any relationship with Yahweh; death was the end of meaningful existence (see 6.5; Job 10.20-22). That I may know gladness is expressed in some languages idiomatically; for example, “that my heart may sit quietly” or “that my stomach may feel full.” Line b will have to be translated in some languages as simply “before I die.”

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 .