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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 (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) can be used, as in mi-kokoro (みこころ) or “will (of God)” in the referenced verses. Two verses (Ezra 10:11 and Ephesians 1:9) use mi-mune (みむね) with the same honorific prefix and meaning.
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. ).
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 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.”
It may be necessary to render he said as “Ananias said to me.”
The God of our ancestors, rendered in a number of translations as “the God of our fathers,” was a typical Jewish way of referring to the God whom the Jews worshiped. In a number of translations it is necessary to render this phrase as “the God whom our ancestors worshiped,” since one cannot use a so-called possessive expression which would be suggested by the English preposition of or the genitive case in Greek.
The phrase to know his will may be rendered as “to know what God plans to do.” Some exegetes would interpret this as “to know what God wants you to do.”
For the expression righteous Servant see 3.13-14; 7.52. This is a direct reference to Jesus without specifically naming him. It may be rendered in some languages as “to see that person who is God’s righteous Servant” or “to see that righteous One who serves God.”
The phrase hear him speaking with his own voice is a correct translation of the literal Greek expression “to hear a voice from his mouth.” This is, of course, a reference to Paul’s hearing Jesus Christ speak to him. In some languages it is necessary to make clear that the pronouns him and his refer to the righteous Servant; therefore, the phrase may be rendered as “to hear that one speaking to you directly.” In some languages it is not only artificial, but misleading, to use the expression with his own voice, since there is no other way of speaking except by one’s own voice. However, the emphasis in some languages may be given as “to hear him speaking to you personally” or “to hear his voice as he speaks to you.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The God of our fathers: The phrase our fathers refers to previous generations. Ananias worshiped the same God as his and Paul’s fathers and grandfathers and further ancestors did. For example:
The God of our ancestors (Good News Translation)
Some languages must avoid the word “of” for the correct meaning. For example:
The God whom our ancestors ⌊worshiped/followed/obeyed⌋
See how you translated this phrase in 3:13 or 5:30.
has appointed you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appointed refers to selecting someone to do something. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
chosen you (New International Version) -or-
has already chosen you (NET Bible)
See how you translated this word (“appointed”) in 3:20.
22:14b–d
These three events (to know, to see, and to hear) happened three days earlier in the original story (9:9). Some languages must indicate that they happened in the past or the future. If that is true in your language, indicate that they happened in the past.
to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice: This follows the Greek with using and twice. This is natural in some languages. In English and other languages it is more natural to use and only once in a list. For example:
to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from his mouth
22:14b
to know His will: Here the word will refers to what someone wants to happen. Later verses reveal that the Lord wanted Paul to tell the Gentiles that Jesus was the Christ. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to know what he wants ⌊to happen⌋ -or-
to know his plans ⌊for mankind⌋
If possible, do not explain what God’s will is here, because later, when the crowd clearly heard that Paul would tell the Gentiles about Jesus (22:21), they started rioting again (22:22–23).
22:14c
the Righteous One: This phrase is one of the titles that Jews at the time of Jesus used for the Christ. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the One who is Righteous -or-
the Upright One (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
the Completely Righteous Person
In some languages it may not be clear that this phrase refers to Jesus. If that is true in your language, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
This refers to Jesus.
22:14d
to hear His voice: The phrase hear His voice indicates that Paul heard Jesus actually speak. Jesus spoke directly to Paul. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to hear his own voice (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
to hear him speaking with his own voice (Good News Translation) -or-
to hear him speak (Revised English Bible)
His: This pronoun refers to “the Righteous One” in 22:14c.
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