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 Wisdom 14:5

It is thy will that the works of thy wisdom should not be without effect: What the author means here is not exactly clear. Most take it to refer to God’s wisdom in creating seas and wood and giving humans the ability to put them to use in seafaring. Others take it to mean that God wants the good things of his creation distributed, and sees to it that seafaring men do this in commerce. The first interpretation seems more likely to us. As alternative models we suggest “It is your will [or, You have decided] that things you have made with your wisdom should be put to use” and “… that people use the things you have made with your wisdom.”

Therefore men trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood: By the smallest piece of wood, the author is apparently referring to the thickness (or thinness) of the planks from which the boat is made. There are a number of Greek sources that refer to the fact that only the thickness of a single plank separates those in the boat from death (Winston). Translators will probably have to find another way to say this in order to make it clear for their readers; for example, “That is why people trust their lives to something made of thin wooden planks.”

And passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land may be rendered “They can travel by water even on a raft and come safely to land.” A raft is a construction of logs or timbers fastened together in such a way as to provide people with a flat surface on which to position themselves so as to float on the water.

Good News Translation reverses the last two lines of this verse, but this is not necessary, given our interpretation here.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.