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 18:21

For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion: The blameless man is Aaron; see Num 16.47-48. Joining this verse to the previous verse would give us “But this disaster did not last long, 21because a blameless man quickly took action to defend them [or, quickly did something that would save them].”

He brought forward the shield of his ministry, prayer and propitiation by incense: The word translated shield describes a weapon, either offensive or defensive. Here it is defensive, so shield is well chosen. The meaning of this figure of speech is that prayer and the offering of incense are Aaron’s defensive weapons; they are like a shield that protects the people. His ministry refers to his function as priest. Propitiation by incense refers to the use of incense in rituals of atonement; compare Lev 16.12-13. Incense is an aromatic substance that was used in sacrifices. In cultures where incense and similar spices are unknown, translators may use a general term; for example, “sweet smelling things” or even “grasses that smell good when burned.” Possible alternative models for these two lines are “He protected them as their priest, by praying and burning the incense used in asking for forgiveness of sins,” “Acting as their priest, he protected them by praying…,” and even “Acting as their priest, he prayed and used incense like a shield to protect your people from punishment for [or, from the angel punishing them] for their sins.”

He withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster, showing that he was thy servant may be rendered “He stood up against the threat [or, epidemic] and ended the disaster. This [act] showed that he was your servant.”

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.