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 43:3 - 43:4

The psalmist prays that God will send his light and truth which, like guides, will lead him from exile back to Mt. Zion (thy holy hill) and into the Temple (thy dwelling), where he will go to the altar and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. In many languages it is not possible to speak of sending light and truth. In such cases it will sometimes be necessary to say “show your light to me and speak your truth” or “shine your light for me and speak your true words to me.”

Bring me: it would be better if both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation had “take me (back),” since the psalmist is not in Israel. Good News Translation has introduced the name “Zion” so the reader will know that thy holy hill is, in fact, Mt. Zion. Thy dwelling is a way of speaking about the Temple. Thy holy hill is expressed in some languages as “the hill which is dedicated to you” or “the hill which belongs only to you.”

In verse 4 the Masoretic text has the altar of God (so Revised Standard Version); a few Hebrew manuscripts have “your altar, O God” (so Good News Translation). It is recommended that translators follow the Masoretic text. The expression the altar of God must be rendered in some languages as “the place where people worship God.”

In verse 4b God my exceeding joy means “God, who makes me very happy.” Good News Translation‘s “you are the source of my happiness” can be rendered in some languages as “you are the one who makes me happy” or idiomatically “you are the one who makes my heart quiet.”

For lyre see 33.2a. Where the harp is unknown, a local stringed instrument must be substituted, and where no stringed instrument is known, a generic term such as “musical instrument” can be used.

In many languages it is not possible to speak of my God as though God were someone’s possession. In such cases one may often say, for example, “O God, the God I worship.”

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 .