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 5:2 - 5:3

Hearken translates another Hebrew verb meaning “listen, pay attention.”

In this psalm God is addressed as my King, a common designation for God in prayer (see 84.3). Good News Translation has reversed the order, “my God and my king,” so as to avoid the possibility that the person who hears the text being read may misunderstand that a human being is being addressed, my King, as well as my God. If the translator follows either Revised Standard Version, my King and my God, or Good News Translation, “my God and king,” the phrase may be misunderstood to mean two different persons. In such a case the expression may be recast in the form of a relative clause; for example, “my God, who is my king.”

There is a difference of opinion about the third line of verse 2: some connect it with what precedes (Revised Standard Version, An American Translation, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy); others connect it with what follows (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant). The meaning is not greatly affected by the difference, and a translator should feel free to choose either one. In the Masoretic text division of verses, O LORD is at the beginning of verse 3. For better balance of lines, Good News Translation places the verse number 3 at the beginning of the following line (see New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible, which do not).

In verse 3 the Hebrew word for morning is used twice; Good News Translation uses the synonyms “morning” and “sunrise” for greater poetic effect.

Languages divide time in very different ways, and it is often necessary to decide if the time referred to is before sunrise, during sunrise, or immediately following sunrise. The essential feature here is early morning daylight and corresponds in time to what is known to Muslims as salat al fajar, which is the first and earliest of the five daily prayers.

The choice between Good News Translation “offer my prayer” and Revised Standard Version prepare a sacrifice (see Good News Translation footnote) depends on the exegesis of the Hebrew verb, which means “to put in order, to arrange” (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “I get everything ready for you”). It is disputed whether it refers to prayer (Delitzsch, Briggs, Kirkpatrick, An American Translation, Moffatt, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or to a sacrifice (Weiser, Oesterley, Taylor, Toombs, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Zürcher Bibel). New Jerusalem Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy have “I lay my case before you,” and Bible en français courant “I prepare myself to be received by you, and I wait.”

Some languages render “prayer” as “speaking to God.” Since the exegetical opinion is quite divided between “prayer” and “sacrifice,” it is recommended that there be a note for the meaning not employed in the text.

And watch is a literal translation of the Hebrew; in the context of prayer it means “and wait for your answer” (Kirkpatrick); Knox has “await thy pleasure.”

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 .