3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on 2 Timothy 2:8

Remember does not necessarily imply having forgotten something but indicates paying greater attention to something, hence “bear in mind” (compare Contemporary English Version “Keep your mind on Jesus Christ!”). Another way to express this is “Think about.” This is one of the few cases in the Pastorals where the order Jesus Christ appears (see 1 Tim 1.16; 6.3; 6.14; also Titus 1.1; 2.13; 3.6 for other occurrences). The usual order is “Christ Jesus,” which occurs twenty-two times in these letters.

Two aspects about Jesus are mentioned as the focus of attention, namely, his lineage and his resurrection. One should note that in the Greek text the resurrection is mentioned ahead of lineage. Chronologically, of course, lineage is prior to the resurrection, but the resurrection has priority in terms of importance. In languages where chronological ordering is important, this may need to be restructured to reflect the correct chronological sequence (compare Contemporary English Version “He was from the family of David and was raised from death”).

It is possible for the text to be read in such a way as to relate Remember to these two aspects of Jesus and not to Jesus himself; this is reflected in some translations (for example, King James Version “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead…”); it is also possible to relate Remember to the gospel itself (for example, Revised English Bible “Remember the theme of my gospel: Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, born of David’s line”; also New Jerusalem Bible “Remember the gospel that I carry…”). Most other translations, however, relate Remember to Jesus himself.

Risen from the dead is a typical New Testament way of referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The passive here can be interpreted as a passive of divine avoidance. The death of Jesus is taken very seriously, so that he does not rise from the dead, but his resurrection is made possible as a direct act of God. So in some languages it will be more natural style to say “whom God raised from death.” This verse is the only place where the resurrection is referred to in the Pastoral Letters. This is rather strange in some ways, since in other New Testament letters the resurrection is often the most important feature, because of the central position it had in early Christian preaching (see, for example, 1 Cor 15.4, 12-20).

Descended from David is literally “of the seed of David.” “Seed” is used in some parts of the Bible to refer to descendants (see, for example, Gal 3.16 [translated “offspring”]; Rom 1.3 [literally “of the seed of David”]). This reference to Jesus as a descendant of David achieves two things: it accents Jesus’ humanity (compare Rom 1.3), and it reaffirms Jesus’ messiahship. The Jews believe that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and will reestablish David’s kingdom. It is therefore significant that “Son of David” is one of the titles used in the Gospels to describe Jesus. Descended from David (Good News Translation “a descendant from David”) may be expressed in differing ways; for example, “whose forefather was David,” “whose great ancestor was David,” “who was a distant grandchild of David,” or even “who was a later man in David’s family.” In certain languages where there is a royal level of the language, it will be important to designate David as King and say, for example, “who continues the name line of King David.”

These two facts about Jesus are not inventions or fabrications of Paul’s fertile imagination; on the contrary, they are an integral part of the gospel itself. As preached in my gospel is literally “according to my gospel.” The gospel of course neither originates from Paul nor belongs to him; on the contrary, it belongs to God. This statement must therefore be restructured to indicate this fact; for example, “according to the Good News that I preach (or, proclaim),” or “according to the Good News that God has commissioned me to proclaim.”

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• Think about Jesus Christ! God raised him from death, and his great forefather (or, ancestor) was King David. This is what I preach in the Good News.

Or:
• Think about Jesus Christ! He was from David’s family, and God raised him from death….

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:8

Paragraph 2:8–13

Paul continued his letter by reminding Timothy to endure suffering. He reminded Timothy that Jesus suffered and that Paul himself was suffering.

2:8a

Remember: The form of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Remember contains the meaning of doing something continually. So, in this context, it means, “to continue to think about.” God’s Word expresses this clearly:

Always think about Jesus Christ.

Paul was not implying that Timothy might forget Jesus or facts about him. He wanted to remind Timothy to think about Jesus Christ continually.

Jesus Christ: This is one of the few places in Paul’s letters to Timothy that the order of the names is Jesus Christ instead of Christ Jesus. It is recommended that you keep the same order as in the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible. See the discussion on the order in 1:1a.

2:8b

raised from the dead: This is a passive clause. In some languages, it may be necessary to say, “whom God raised from the dead” or “whom God caused to live again.”

2:8c

descended from David: One of Jesus’ ancestors was King David. It was especially important to the Jews that Jesus was a descendant of David, because they knew that the Messiah would be a “descendant (son) of David.”

General Comment on 2:8b–c

In some languages, it may be necessary to reverse the order of 2:8b and 2:8c so that they are in chronological order. This would read as:

8cHe was descended from David and 8bhe was raised from the dead.

2:8d

as proclaimed by my gospel: The phrase my gospel refers to the message that Paul preached about Jesus. By using the phrase my gospel Paul did not mean that the gospel belonged to him or that it originated from him. In some languages, it may be necessary to say “this is the message that I preached.”

General Comment on 2:8

The second theme of this letter is that Timothy should faithfully preach the true message about Jesus Christ and not allow other teachings to contradict it or to take its place. In the congregation in Ephesus, some who said they were believers were trying to teach a different message. (See 2:14–18.)

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Commentaire sur la traduction de 2 Timothée 2.8

2.8-13

Cette section présente des exhortations fortes de la part de Paul qui comprennent aussi :
1. une brève confession de foi en Jésus-Christ (2.8a-c),
2. la mention des souffrances de Paul à cause de l’Évangile (2.8d-10),
3. un commentaire sur la relation entre les chrétiens et le Christ ( 2 Tim 2.11), qui se présente sous forme de chant ou confession de foi.

Souviens-toi de Jésus Christ est un impératif qui recommande une attention continue : « Tiens devant tes yeux », « Tiens ton esprit fixé » ou « N’oublie jamais ». Selon le texte grec, le complément d’objet direct de Souviens-toi est Jésus Christ ressuscité, bien que certains proposent de traduire : « Souviens-toi que Jésus-Christ est ressuscité d’entre les morts… » Mais il est clair que le focus est sur la personne de Jésus-Christ et non pas sur un simple fait historique. Ainsi il vaudrait mieux suivre le texte et traduire le texte tel qu’il se présente. Paul se concentre ici sur deux aspects : la résurrection de Jésus et son lignage. Plusieurs versions renversent l’ordre de ces deux éléments, mettant le lignage avant la résurrection. Voir, par exemple, La Bible du Semeur et. Bible en français courant Voir aussi Rom 1.3-4 où cet ordre est attesté.

ressuscité d’entre les morts : le verbe ressuscité est sous-entendu ici. Le texte grec n’a qu’une préposition, litt. ἐκ ek, « de/d’entre les morts ». L’agent est sans doute Dieu le Père, qui ramène ou réveille Jésus de la mort. Les morts semblent renvoyer soit à la mort (notion abstraite), soit au séjour de la mort où les morts séjournent. On se souviendra que chez les Juifs cet endroit était un lieu où les morts (et les ancêtres) restaient, mais l’idée d’enfer ne figurait pas.

issu de la race de David est littéralement « de la semence de David », une façon de dire qu’il est le « descendant de David ». Comparer Rom 1.3 ; Gal 3.16. Cette expression indique à la fois l’humanité de Jésus et son statut de Messie. On pourrait dire « dont l’ancêtre est David » ou « qui était le petit-fils de David ». Dans certaines langues, il conviendra d’expliciter « du roi David ». La Parole de Vie dit « il est né de la famille de David, son ancêtre ».

selon l’Évangile que j’annonce est littéralement « selon l’Évangile de moi ». La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible rend bien le sens ici. Dans beaucoup de langues, le mot Évangile sera rendu par « la Bonne Nouvelle ».

Source: Zogbo, Lynell & Ellingworth, Paul La deuxième lettre à Timothée – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.