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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-chikara (御力) or “power (of God)” in the referenced verses.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Habakkuk 3:4:
Kupsabiny: “His goodness is like when the sun shines and the light flashes from his hand where his amazing power is.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He shines like the rising of the sun, the light shines from his hands, there lies his power.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The brightness of your (sing.) coming is like a sun; your (sing.) hands where your (sing.) power is hidden shine.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “His dazzling-brightness is like the sun, the light flashes/shines that comes-from his hand which is the location of his stored-up power.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “His glory was like a sunrise; rays flashed from his hands where he hides his power.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related 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. ).
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 here in mi-te (御手) or “hand (of God).”
His brightness was like the light is ambiguous. Some scholars think that it refers to the way light spreads across the sky at sunrise, and they compare it with Psalm 19.5-6. Thus New English Bible translates “He rises like the dawn,” and New International Version “His splendor was like the sunrise.” Other scholars link the first line more closely with the second and interpret it as a reference to the way lightning flashes across the sky. Thus Moffatt translates “his radiance is a lightning blaze,” and Good News Translation “He comes with the brightness of lightning.” This second interpretation seems to fit the context better and is recommended to translators. This clause may also be rendered “as he comes, he shines brightly like lightning.”
Rays flashed from his hand: the word here translated rays is the word usually translated “horns,” and its presence here has led some scholars to think that there is some copying mistake in the Hebrew. However, the same root in a verbal form is used of Moses’ face shining in Exodus 34.29-30, and there is no strong reason why the noun could not have a related meaning in a poetic passage like this one. The Hebrew word is dual in form, and New English Bible reflects this by translating “twin rays” (compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Translators may do something like this, if it would add to the poetic feeling of the passage in their language. But there seems to be no particular emphasis on the dual meaning, and many translators will prefer to treat it as a plural, as most English versions do (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation treats rays as standing for “light” and translates “light flashes from his hand.” This line is best understood as referring to lightning.
Some scholars think that the words from his hand should be translated as “at his side” (New English Bible; compare Moffatt, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). However, the normal meaning of the word is “hand,” and this makes perfectly good sense here (compare Deut 33.2).
There he veiled his power: there refers to the LORD’s hand, which is sometimes pictured as the location of his power (compare 2 Sam 24.14). Good News Translation turns the sentence into a passive and renders “there where his power is hidden.” In languages which do not use the passive, translators may say, for example, “there where he hides his power.” The picture seems to say that God’s power is hidden behind the flashes of lightning. This is a little awkward, and some scholars think there are some words missing from the text (a gap is marked in Moffatt‘s translation). New English Bible places here some words found in verses 6 and 7 in Hebrew. However, the majority of English translators consider that the Hebrew text as it stands makes adequate sense, and this view can safely be followed in other languages.
An alternative translation model for this verse is “As he comes he shines brightly like lightning, and rays of light flash out from his hand, the place where he hides his power.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
3:4a His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand,
His glorious brightness/radiance is like the sunrise, and the light comes out of his hand. -or-
He will shine brightly like the rising sun, and lightning flashes will come from his hand. -or-
You (sing.) will be as brilliant as the rising sun. Rays of light will flow from your hand.
3:4b where His power is hidden.
There he conceals/keeps his strength/power. -or-
There his power will hide ⌊in his hand⌋ . -or-
There you (sing.) will hide/keep your power.
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