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 83:2 - 83:4

The people remind God that those nations conspiring against Israel are for that very reason his enemies and hate him (verse 2; see the similar expression in 68.1). The initial For lo is a way of calling God’s attention to what the psalmist is about to say. In verse 2b raised their heads is a figure of defiant behavior, parallel with in tumult (in line a), which means “stir themselves up” (Bible en français courant), that is, are in a state of hostility and hatred. New Jerusalem Bible “assert themselves” seems a bit too mild. Both lines of this verse have much the same meaning. However, line b shifts from the common term enemies to the more specific those who hate thee, and tumult in line a is raised in intensity by means of the poetic figure raised their heads. Therefore it is not advisable to reduce the two lines to one, but rather to translate the element of intensification in the movement from line a to line b; for example, “Your enemies are becoming hostile; but even more, the people who hate you are defying you.”

Israel’s enemies have joined forces and are plotting the destruction of Israel (verses 3-4). The purpose is not to kill all Israelites but to conquer the country and reduce it to a vassal state, no longer a free and independent nation. The destruction they plan will be so complete that even the existence of Israel as a country “will be forgotten forever” (see similar language in 9.6).

In verse 3b thy protected ones is parallel with thy people in verse 3a; Dahood, however, takes it as a singular (so Jerome, Symmachus), perhaps a reference to the Temple. This does not seem very likely. The Hebrew verb translated “protect” means “to hide,” and the meaning may be “Your treasured ones” (New Jerusalem Bible), “your treasure” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible), “those you cherish” (New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version).

In many languages the source of the quote in verse 4 (They say) cannot be inserted into the quote, as in Good News Translation. It may be necessary in some cases to avoid the use of the second pronoun and say, for example, “Come, let us destroy Israel.” Line b must often be recast with an active verb; for example, “so that no one will ever remember Israel.”

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 .