Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

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 51:18 - 51:19

These two verses are generally recognized as being a later addition to the original poem, reflecting a time when Jerusalem and the Temple were in ruins. Some, however, like Briggs, take the verses to be part of the original composition, and thus regard the psalm as having been composed during a time when the city was in ruins and the people in exile.

In verse 18 the psalmist asks God to restore Jerusalem to her former glory; Zion and Jerusalem both refer to the city. The expression Zion meaning Jerusalem may often require a classifier such as “city” so that it will not be thought of as distinct from Jerusalem. The walls were to surround Jerusalem as fortification against invading armies.

In verse 19 the psalmist tries to counter the antisacrificial tone of verses 16-17 by promising that once again the right sacrifices, which are pleasing to God, will be offered on the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. The word right translates tsedeq (see 4.1); Good News Translation has “proper”; Bible en français courant “correct”; New English Bible “appointed”; and New Jerusalem Bible “sacrifices offered in righteousness.” For comments on sacrifices see 40.6.

Verse 19b in Hebrew is literally “burnt offering and whole (burnt) offering”; some scholars believe this to be an intrusion into the text, and it is omitted by New English Bible. It is better, however, to follow the Hebrew text.

Verse 19c may be better translated by the use of an active verb, “Then we (or, your people) will sacrifice bulls on your altar.” The word translated bulls refers to “young bulls,” sometimes translated in English as “bullocks” (see also 22.12). Because of the historical situation, translators should retain bulls in this context. This may mean using a loan word from a major language, or else employing a word meaning cow and qualifying it as “male.” If this is not adequate for the context of sacrifice, an illustration may have to be used and either a descriptive term or a loan word used.

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 .