Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 23:8:
Kupsabiny: “Even if I wished to go towards the East I would not find (him). Or if I thought to look for him in the West, but no!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “If I go to the east, He is not there. If I go to the west, I do not find [lit.: recognize] Him ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘I have-looked for God around — in the east, west, north, and south — but I did- not -find him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘But, I have gone to the east, and he is not there; I have gone to the west, but I have not found him there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, o-rare-ru (おられる) or “is/be present” is used.
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. ).
These two verses need to be discussed together. In verse 3 Job said that he could not find God. Now he tells how he has searched for him in all directions. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there: for Behold see 4.18; 12.14; 13.15. Forward in line a describes a person facing the east, and backward in line b to one facing west. Here we have an example of the standard Hebrew way of telling directions, or what modern people call the four points of the compass. Before him is the direction “east,” and in back of him is “west.” To his left is “north” and to his right is “south.” Good News Translation is correct, therefore, in translating “I have searched in the east.” The sense of going forward or to the “east” is “searching in the east” or “If I look for him in the east.” The negative consequence is “I do not find him in that direction.” In some languages the directions in this line may be rendered, for example, “But if I look for God where the sun rises” or “… at the headwaters of the river.”
And backward, but I cannot perceive him: “even looking for him in the west I have not seen him.” The verb must be supplied from line a. Languages that designate “east” as “where the sun rises” often designate “west” as “where the sun dies, sets, sinks, or falls off.”
On the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him: the Revised Standard Version footnote shows that the Hebrew says “on the left hand when he works,” which Good News Translation translates “God has been at work in the north….” Revised Standard Version follows Syriac in changing the verb “work” to mean “I seek him,” the subject now being Job, not God. There does not seem to be any compelling reason to depart from the Hebrew text, and so Good News Translation, which has joined the two lines of verse 9, is recommended.
I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him: the Revised Standard Version footnote shows that the Hebrew has “he turns….” Revised Standard Version follows the Syriac and Vulgate in changing this to I turn. Another verb which has the same consonants means “cover,” as used in Psalm 104.2 “who coverest thyself with light as with a garment.” Gordis accepts this sense, “He is hidden in the south,” and Bible en français courant does likewise, translating with a question. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project accepts the two meanings “turn” and “hide.” Good News Translation combines “he turns to the south” with the previous line as “at work in the north and the south.” A fuller rendering is “When he turns to the south, I cannot see him.” Some translators may find that verses 8 and 9 are better expressed by joining them into a single sentence. This may be done by placing the verse numbers 8 and 9 before verse 8 and translating in summary fashion; for example, “I have searched for God in every direction, and still I have not found him.” If translators employ the directions for “east” and “west” in verse 8, they should continue with the expressions for “north” and “south” in verse 9.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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