Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The Hebrew that is translated as “face” in English (referring to Esau’s face) is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-kao (お顔), combining “face” (kao) with the respectful prefix o-. When the referent is God, however, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as here in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God).”
Also, different degree of politeness are through the choice of a benefactive constructions. Here, ouketori (お受け取り) or “receive” and yorokonde (喜んで) or “rejoice” are used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
And lastly, an honorific prefix is used. Here, o-kini mesu (お気に召す) combines “please” or “do me a favor” (kini mesu) with the respectful prefix o-.
The now commonly-used English idiom “eye for an eye” (meaning revenge or retribution) was first coined in 1526 in the English New Testament translation of William Tyndale. (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 285)
Likewise in Mandarin Chinese, the phrasing that was coined to translate “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” — yǐyǎn huányǎn, yǐyá huányá (以眼还眼，以牙还牙 / 以眼還眼，以牙還牙) — has also become a Chinese proverb (see here ).
Other languages that have idioms based on the Hebrew that is translated “an eye for an eye” in English include:
In Alekano it is translated as “if someone gouges out your eye, gouge out his eye,” since in that language body parts need to have an obligatory possessive designator attached. (Source: Larson 1998, p. 42)
The Greek that is transliterated in English as “Theophilus” is translated in the Bavarian translation by Sturmibund (publ. 1998) as “Gottlieb.” “Gottlieb” is a popular name in Bavarian-speaking Germany and Austria and has the same meaning than “Theophilus”: “friend (or ‘lover’) of God.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.
In these verses, Theophilus is addressed in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as Teofilo-sama (テオフィロ様), combining the transliteration for “Theophilus” and the suffix title –sama. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The German translation by Walter Jens (publ. 1991, 1998) uses “Theophilus” throughout the Gospel of Luke to remind the reader of the nature of the Gospel as a report to Theophilus. See for instance in Luke 2:21 were he translates: “And then, my dear Theophilus, eight days passsed…” or in Luke 2:25: “I’m telling the truth, Theophilus: It was the time when a man named Simon…” and many others.
The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated in English as “long live” or “live forever” and the Greek that is translated as “Hail” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as wànsuì (万岁 / 萬歲) or “(may you live) 10,000 years” which was used to hail Chinese emperors and, more recently, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì [毛主席万岁] or “May Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!”).
Likewise it is also used in these verses in other East Asian languages, including Japanese with ban zai (ばんざい / 万歳), Korean with man se (만세), Vietnamese with vạn tuế or muôn tuổi, or Mongolian with mandtugai (мандтугай). (Note that Mongolian does not use that term for the New Testament renderings.) (Source: Zetzsche)
For more information on this phrase, see 10,000 years .
In Tibetan, “live forever” is reserved for the Dalai Lama and cannot be used. (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 23)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One important aspect of addressing someone else in one’s or someone else’s family is by selecting the correct word when referring to them. One way to do this is through the usage of an appropriate title within a conversation as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Ruth refers to her mother-in-law as o-kā-sama (お母様) with a formal title -sama and the honorific prefix o- to express a higher level of respect. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Bender / Belt (2025, p. 2f.) report about the translation of “angel” in Cherokee: “In John, the concept of angel is translated using a descriptive neologism rather than a semantic extension, suggesting the lack of a ready parallel. The plural is dmikahnawadidohi, ‘the law-givers’ or ‘those who go around looking after the medicine.’ Cherokee speakers argue that the Cherokee word for ‘law,’ dikahnawadvsdi, expresses the intent to maintain social, physical, and spiritual health and has at its core the word for ‘medicine,’ mwoli, which encompasses all aspects of social and spiritual well-being, including balance and order (Altman and Belt 2009), much more than the English word. Thus, the Cherokee word for ‘angel’ represents a new perspective on this category of spiritual beings named in the Bible. It does not derive from the concept of messenger present in both its Greek (angelos) and Hebrew (malak) antecedents perhaps because the Cherokee word for ‘messenger,’ atsinvsidasdi, is widely used to translate the foreign lexeme ‘servant.'”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, the Greek that is translated as “need” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-iriyō (お入り用), combining “need” (iriyō) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In this verse, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “come” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-ide (おいで), combining “come” (ide) with the respectful prefix o- and “house” is translated as o-yado (お宿), combining “lodging” with o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
