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 61:1 - 61:3

The psalm opens with a cry to God for help (verses 1-2b), in which the psalmist pictures himself as being at the end of the earth (verse 2a). Most take this to mean, as does Good News Translation, that he is “far from home,” in exile in some foreign country; Dahood, however, takes it to mean that he is near death, that is, on the brink of Sheol, which the psalmist calls the earth (also Taylor and others). It is recommended that the idea of being far away from his own country be represented in translation.

My heart is faint (Good News Translation “In despair”) indicates lack of courage or of hope; Bible en français courant translates “I can endure no more.”

In his prayer for protection the psalmist asks God to take him to the rock that is higher than I; the Hebrew may mean “a rock too high for me (to climb by myself)”; New Jerusalem Bible translates “a rock that is high above me.” The figure is a bit strange but its sense seems clear enough: it is a figure of security and safety (see the use of “rock” in 27.5d and discussion). Some translate “Place me safely on a high rock” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “lift me up and set me upon a rock” (New English Bible, which changes one letter and uses a different word division in the Masoretic text). Bible en français courant and New Jerusalem Bible think that it refers to the Temple. Good News Translation “safe refuge” in some languages can be rendered “the place where I am safe” or “the place where you protect me.”

God is the psalmist’s refuge (see comments on 14.6 and 46.1), his strong tower. A tower was an essential part of a city’s defenses (see in 48.12 the towers of Jerusalem), a place which offered protection against the enemy’s attack (see the tower at Thebez, in Judges 9.50-57). If tower is unknown, a local substitute may be suitable and may be used as a simile; for example, “you are like a strong wall protecting me from my enemies.”

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 .