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 67:1 - 67:2

The opening prayer seems to reflect the form of the priestly prayer found in Numbers 6.24-26. For comments on the language used in verse 1, see 4.1, 6b; 31.16.

Good News Translation has used the direct form of address to God in verse 1 in order to be consistent with its use in verses 2-5; Revised Standard Version, following the Hebrew text, has the third person in verse 1 and, without a break in the sentence, the second person in verse 2.

The expressions be gracious or “be merciful” are often expressed idiomatically in many languages; for example, “show us your good heart.”

For Selah see 3.2.

The request is that all the people in the world (verse 2a earth; verse 2b all nations) may learn from experience God’s will for them (literally, his way) and his saving power. New Jerusalem Bible translates well: “Then the earth will acknowledge your ways and all the nations your power to save.” The Hebrew verb “to know” here means not only intellectual knowledge but an experiential knowledge, that is, knowledge that results from experience.

Thy way or Good News Translation‘s “your will” must often be rendered as a verb phrase; for example, “so that all the people will know what you want them to do.” Thy saving power again must often be translated as a clause; for example, “so that the people of all the nations may be saved by you,” or “so that all the nations may be saved,” or “… know that you have the power to save them.”

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 .