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 93:1 - 93:2

The psalm begins with an acclamation of Yahweh as king. The first line of verse 1 in Good News Translation will be rendered in some languages in the form suggested for the heading. Only in verse 1 is God spoken of in the third person. Good News Translation retains the third person here. However, in many languages, for consistency it will be better to switch to second person. The verb is in the perfect tense, which some believe means here “has become king,” with reference to an enthronement ritual in which Yahweh was depicted as taking his place on his throne (see Taylor; Weiser has “is become King”). But translations uniformly have “is king” or reigns.

His royal robes are described as majesty and strength. Two verbs are used in Hebrew: “clothe oneself” and “gird oneself”; for the latter verb see 65.6; see also 18.32, 39. In most translations the metaphors is robed in majesty … is girded with strength will have to be changed into similes: “his divine majesty and strength are to him like the splendid robes worn by a king,” or “he is dressed like a king and is powerful,” or “he is strong and wears the robe of a chief.”

The statement about the world is a consequence of Yahweh’s power as king; at the time of creation he set it firmly in place, and so it shall never be moved (see 96.10a-b). There is no power, human or otherwise, which can threaten the LORD’s sovereignty over the world (see also 104.5-9). The passive construction of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation will have to be recast in many languages so that God is the agent; for example, “you have set the earth firmly in place and nothing can move it.”

In verse 2 throne is a figure for Yahweh’s kingly power; he has been king from of old, from a very long time ago, that is, from the time he created the world.

God’s eternal existence is stated in verse 2b. The Hebrew is simply “you (are) from all time (past)” (see 90.2); this can be stated “You have always existed.” Instead of the Masoretic text “you (are),” the Targum has “you (are) God”; so New English Bible, Bible en français courant. But it is not necessary to abandon the Masoretic text (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, instead of repeating established from of old, says “ever since then….” One may also translate “and since then you have been king.” The expression “existed before time began” may be rendered in some languages as “you were there before people began counting years.”

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 .