third person pronoun with high register

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 show 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 Isaiah 25:9

As explained in the introductory comments on this section [25.6-9], scholars do not agree on whether to link this verse with verses 6-8 or 10-12. Since the previous verse concludes with “for the LORD has spoken,” there should be a paragraph or stanza break here. It is a concluding cry of joy coming from the people who have been rescued from suffering and death.

It will be said on that day is a modified form of the prophetic phrase “in that day,” which occurs frequently in this book (see, for example, 2.11, 17, 20). As in 24.21, most versions do not refer to a general time in the future here, but to the events just described; for example, Good News Translation does not begin with “A time is coming when…,” but with “When it happens….” The passive expression It will be said may be expressed in an active form; for example, “People will say.”

Lo, this is our God should not be translated as though the speakers are pointing to Yahweh. Rather, this exclamation means they recognize that Yahweh is their God. Good News Translation has “He is our God!” and Bible en français courant is similar with “He is the one who is our God.” Alternatively, the demonstrative pronoun this can be understood as a relative pronoun. If so, a possible model for the beginning of this quotation is “See, our God for whom….”

We have waited for him, that he might save us expresses the longing, the hope that God’s people had. They depended on Yahweh to save them when they were suffering. For the Hebrew verb rendered waited, see the comments on 8.17, where it is translated “hope.” Instead of waited for, New International Version uses “trusted in” (similarly Good News Translation). Bible en français courant has “patiently counted on.” The verb save has a broad meaning in the Old Testament. It can refer to “rescue” from all kinds of physical and mental hardships. It differs from the narrower sense found in many New Testament uses of the verb. For these two clauses Revised English Bible says “we have waited for him and he will deliver us.” However, in this context it is better to express the verb save in the past tense; for example, New International Version has “we trusted him, and he saved us” (similarly Good News Translation). Another possibility is “we trusted that he would save us.”

This is the; LORD we have waited for him: This is the LORD follows the same pattern as this is our God. The demonstrative pronoun This could be understood again as a relative pronoun, so these clauses may be rendered “It is Yahweh for whom we have waited.” Most translations see it as a demonstrative pronoun; for example, New International Version says “This is the LORD, we trusted in him.” The clause we have waited for him is repeated to emphasize the hope of the people.

Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation: The people call on each other to celebrate the rescue that God provides. To rejoice in means more than just being happy about something; it carries the sense of actively celebrating it. His salvation may be rendered “the deliverance he brings.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• When that day comes, people will say, “You see! This is our God; we trusted in him that he would save us. This is the LORD, we trusted him! Now let us rejoice and be happy because he saved us.”

• On that day people will say, “This is our God in whom we hoped, he is the one who saved us. This is the LORD in whom we hoped. Let us be happy and celebrate the salvation he has brought!”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .