Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 34:17:
Kupsabiny: “God shall separate/divide up living places for those animals and each one take/get its chance/space. That place shall be theirs forever and (they) shall live (there) from generation to generation.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He has made [lit.: put] their separate divisions, with his own hand he measured and distributed [it] to them. They will possess this forever. And they will stay sheltered there from generation to generation.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He is the one-who-will-divide the land to the animals. They will-possess it forever/[lit. until whenever], and they will-dwell there without end.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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 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).”
This verse confirms the contents of the preceding verses: the land of Edom is permanently assigned to wild creatures.
He has cast the lot for them: This line speaks of Yahweh dividing the land of Edom among the wild creatures mentioned in the previous verses. The pronoun He renders an independent pronoun in the Hebrew text, so it is emphatic. Revised English Bible expresses it well by beginning with “He it is who….” New American Bible has “It is he who….” We may say “It is Yahweh who…” (similarly Good News Translation). The word lot renders a Hebrew word that suggests drawing a stone from a bag in order to make a choice between several alternatives. Casting a lot implies making a choice based on chance. Several translations, such as RSV/NRSV, hint at this implied meaning, but others simply interpret the phrase to mean “assign.” Revised English Bible translates this line as “He it is who has allotted each its place.” Good News Translation also speaks of dividing the land, implying a conscious decision, not one based on chance. The prepositional phrase for them means “on their behalf” or “for their benefit,” that is, for the benefit of the creatures that will inhabit Edom.
His hand has portioned it out to them with the line is parallel in meaning with the previous line. His hand refers to Yahweh himself. Portioned it out to them means that Yahweh has divided the land and given it to the birds and wild animals. The pronoun it refers to the land of Edom, since the last line speaks of “dwelling in it.” Yahweh has divided it with the line. As in verse 11, line refers to a measuring line, a builder’s tool. Here it is a figure for the certainty and the thoroughness with which the LORD assigns the land to its new inhabitants. For this line Bible en français courant has “he has taken his measuring line to divide up the land for them.”
They shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation they shall dwell in it: These two parallel lines repeat ideas from verses 10-11. The verbs possess and dwell and the phrases for ever and from generation to generation link back directly to those verses. Translators should use the same terminology in rendering these various terms and phrases, so that readers can appreciate the connection between this concluding verse and the earlier ones. The pronoun they refers to the wild creatures, and it points to Edom.
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• It is Yahweh who has made this decision for these creatures [or, for these birds and animals],
it is his hand that has divided Edom for them;
they will take possession of it [or, Edom] for ever,
from one generation to the next they will live there.
• It is Yahweh who has assigned Edom to them,
it is his action that has divided it for them;
they will take possession of Edom for ever,
one generation after the other will dwell there.
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 .
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