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 80:1 - 80:2

The psalmist appeals to God, the Shepherd of Israel, to listen to his people. In verse 1b Joseph is synonymous with Israel in verse 1a as a designation of the people of Israel. But since two of the northern tribes are named in verse 2, perhaps Joseph here stands specifically for the northern tribes (Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh; see discussion at 78.71). Good News Translation does not formally represent Joseph in verse 1b, since it means simply “people of Israel,” and few readers will know that; if the text says only Joseph, they will probably think of the person, not the tribe.

In languages in which the figure of the shepherd is understandable, it will often be necessary to recast the opening of verse 1 to say, for example, “Shepherd of the people of Israel, listen to us.” If the shepherd image is not fully meaningful, the translator may say, for example, “you who take care of the people of Israel….” Line b, if it is to be kept as a parallel line, may require using a different verb, particularly if the object of the verb is the same as in line a. In some cases the two lines may best be reduced to one; for example, “Listen to us, you who lead the people of Israel” or “You who lead the people of Israel like a flock, listen to us.” It is possible to retain the name Joseph as follows: “Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead the descendants of Joseph like a flock.”

For the cherubim see the description in 18.10. Here they denote the Covenant Box, which was regarded as the earthly throne of God. If the word cherubim is transliterated, it will be essential to provide the reader with a note or a reference to the earlier verse where the note may be found. Most attempts at rendering this word by means of a descriptive phrase result in confusing the reader, due to the very large number of winged creatures he already knows.

The psalmist asks God to shine forth, that is, to “reveal” his power and might by coming to save his people.

Ephraim and Manasseh were the two most important northern tribes; Benjamin, a southern tribe, was often associated with them. It is to be remembered that Joseph (the father of Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin were the two sons of Rachel. In translation it is advisable to provide the reader with a note explaining these three tribes, particularly if Joseph is kept in verse 1. Without a note it may not be clear in what way the prayer is directed toward the saving of the three tribes and at the same time save us. This problem may also be handled within the text by saying, for example, “reveal yourself to our people of the tribes of….”

Stir up thy might (Good News Translation “Show us your strength”) translates “Rouse your power” (see Dahood), which is practically equivalent to the plea in 44.23 for the Lord to wake up, to rouse himself. It seems to the people of Israel that Yahweh has been inactive, and so they ask him to take action on their behalf. The final save us means to free the people from their enemies (as in verses 3, 7, 19).

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 .