3what we have seen and heard we also declare to you so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you: the sequence seen and heard is a reversal of that in verse 1b for the sake of stylistic variety, again, or because, seen best fits the directly preceding “made manifest” (compare the sequence in verse 2ab). Also serves to emphasize the subsequent to you, in contrast with the preceding we: what “we” have experienced is now communicated to “you.”
In translation the clause should echo the structure of verse 1b and the verb occurring in verse 2b as closely as possible. In some cases it is best rendered as a new sentence (compare above on verses 1-3b); in others an introductory phrase is required such as ‘we repeat’ or ‘I am going to say to you again.’
The conjunction so in so that you may have fellowship with us refers to intended result. Rendering the clause as a coordinate sentence, one may say, for example, ‘(and) so you shall have…,’ ‘we want you to have….’ For have fellowship with see the next entry.
And our fellowship is with …. The use of the Greek particles kai and de together is at first view somewhat redundant; but the first may be taken to emphasize our fellowship, thus indicating a shift of focus from what “you” may have to what “we” have already. As for the second, it probably has transitional function, and shows that verse 3c is, in form, a new sentence. In context, however, it is closely connected with verse 3b, of which it is the continuation and further development. Together with verse 3b it serves to express the thought that “you,” through entering the fellowship with the eyewitnesses, will come to participate in the fellowship the latter have with God and Christ. Some versions prefer to bring this out by rendering verse 3bc as one sentence; compare, for example, “so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with…” (Good News Translation).
In our fellowship is with, the pronoun should get some emphasis. This may lead to renderings such as ‘the fellowship we have is with’ or ‘we are fellows of.’
† Fellowship (here and verses 6-7), or ‘being fellows/partners/companions,’ refers to “being together,” “doing something together,” and “sharing something.” The term should be understood in the light of such passages as John 15.1-8 and 1 Cor 12.12-31. It refers to the life the believers share with Christ and with one another.
Some of the renderings used have the basic meaning of ‘being friends,’ ‘being one,’ ‘togetherness,’ ‘eating together,’ or ‘eating out of one dish’ (both usable in an expanded meaning), ‘being of the same mind,’ ‘head-hearts becoming one.’ Or they are reciprocal forms of verbs or verbal phrases like ‘to stay contentedly,’ ‘to love,’ ‘to feel.’ Such forms may require some syntactic shifts; for example, ‘we and you love-one-another,’ ‘we (inclusive) are-one-with-each-other’ in verse 3b, or ‘we and God and his Son Jesus Christ feel-with-each-other’ in verse 3c.
With the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. This construction simply puts the Father and the Son side by side, but it probably means to say that the fellowship with the Father is the ultimate goal (mentioned first, therefore), and that this goal is to be reached through fellowship with the Son (compare 2.23).
† In his Son, often ‘his Child,’ the gender must be inferred from the accompanying masculine forms or from the general context. Translational problems are basically the same as for “the Son of God” (for which see 3.8), but they may be more easily solved in the present verse, because it mentions “the Son” in direct combination with “the Father.” Other occurrences of his Son in the sense of “the Son of God” are 1.7; 3.23; 4.9 (with “only”), 10, 14; 5.9-12, 20; compare also “the Father’s Son” in 2 John 3.
† Jesus Christ: Here, and at the other occurrences of this combination (2.1; 3.23; 4.2; 5.6, 20; 2 John 3, 7), both words should be treated as proper names and accordingly be transliterated. Compare also comments on “Jesus” in 1 John 1.7, and on “Christ” in 2.22.
Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The First Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
We proclaim…:(Theme) This verse is the main point of the paragraph 1–4. John repeats what he is telling his readers in order to emphasize his purpose in telling it to them, namely that he and they may be united in fellowship. In order to make this emphasis clear in translation it may be necessary to say
The reason why we are telling you (plur) about this person who we have seen and heard is that we want you to be united with us in trusting him.
what we have seen:(Pronoun Reference) John is still referring to Jesus as the “Word of life” (see the note on 1:1). That is why the form what is used here in English, rather than “who.” In your translation you should make it clear that this whole passage is about Jesus.
1:3b
so that:(Logical Relationship) John is saying that he is telling his readers about Jesus so that they may believe the same things about Jesus as he does and thus they may have fellowship with him and the apostles. These steps in the argument may need to be made clear in translation.
also:(Emphasis) The word translated also occurs twice in the Greek, “we proclaim to you also” and “so that you also may have fellowship with us.” John is emphasizing that both the gospel and fellowship are not only for the apostles but for his readers also.
may have fellowship with us:(Meaning) John means that his readers should continue to have fellowship with him. He is not implying that they need to become Christians so that they will have fellowship. Throughout this letter he repeatedly states that he is confident that they already believe in Jesus.
fellowship:(Special Biblical Term) This term means being united, sharing in something on the basis of mutual agreement, especially in God’s blessings. That is why John uses it here to refer both to our fellowship with one another and to our fellowship with God.
1:3c
this fellowship of ours:(Alternative Interpretations) There are two interpretations of ours here:
(1) It is probably exclusive, meaning “(fellowship) of us apostles.”
(2) Some think it is inclusive, meaning “(fellowship) of you together with us apostles.”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
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