complete verse (Genesis 3:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 3:12:

  • Kankanaey: “The man said answering, ‘The woman of-course that you (sing.) brought to me. She was the one-who-gave (me) the fruit of that tree, and-so I ate-it.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The man answered — ‘The woman that you put with me gave me the fruit of that tree. And I ate it.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The man replied, ‘The woman whom you (sing.) caused-to-be- my -companion (she) gave me the fruit of that tree and I ate it.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The man said, ‘You gave me this woman to be with me. She is the one who gave me some of the fruit from that tree, and so I ate it.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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.

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

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.

Japanese benefactives (ataete)

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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, ataete (与えて) or “give” is 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).”

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

Translation commentary on Genesis 3:12

In his confession the man directly blames the woman and indirectly blames God.

The woman whom thou gavest to be with me: that is, “the woman you put here with me.” The man is confessing his guilt without accepting the blame. In some languages it is desirable to put his acknowledgment of guilt into words; for example, “Yes, but the woman….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Genesis 31:2

And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before is literally “and Jacob saw the face of Laban and behold it was not toward him as before.” What Jacob saw was a change in Laban’s face, that he was no longer friendly toward him. In some languages this statement is expressed in figurative language; for example, “Jacob saw that Laban’s eyes had turned cold” or “… did not show him his good face.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “Laban no longer looked at him with good eyes, as before.” Many languages speak about people being friendly or unfriendly in a context like this; two examples of translations that use such expressions here are “Jacob saw that his father-in-law was not good friends with him like he was before” and “Jacob saw that Laban was unfriendly toward him now.” The fact that Jacob observed a change in the relationship is brought out in some translations; for example, “Jacob saw that Laban’s behavior toward him had changed, and that he didn’t like him as he had before.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .