Lord

The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
  • Chichewa: Ambuye Ambuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
  • Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("love")

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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 are (され) 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, ais-are-ru (愛される) or “love” is used.

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

See also love (by God).

Translation commentary on John 20:2

In this section (verses 1-10) John uses his favorite particle oun six times, with its first occurrence in this verse. It occurs more frequently in the accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection than in the other sections of the Gospel and contributes to the dramatic tension.

Both Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved were mentioned during the passion narrative; now they appear together in the empty tomb story. The disciple, who Jesus loved (13.23; 19.26) is now identified with the other disciple (compare 18.15: another disciple). The two disciples obviously set off for the tomb from the same place (verse 3), and this may imply that they were staying together (compare verse 19). It may therefore be appropriate to translate “She went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved where they were” or “… to where Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, were staying.” In some languages it may be useful to start a new sentence at this point, for example, “She told them….”

The pronoun they (in the phrase they have taken) is the equivalent of a passive (“the Lord has been taken”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “(some) one has taken the Lord from the tomb.” One may also say “some people have taken the Lord from the tomb.” However, in many languages it is necessary to specify that it was the body of the Lord which was taken, rather than the Lord himself. Otherwise the implication would be that Jesus had not died.

Mary uses the plural we in this verse (we don’t know where they have put him) but the singular in verse 13 (I do not know where they have put him). Some suggest that the first person plural reflects Galilean Aramaic, while others see in verse 2 a reflection of the Synoptic tradition, according to which two or more women went to Jesus’ tomb. Whatever the explanation, the plural should be retained in translating verse 2.

In the context They have taken is the most natural rendering of the Greek aorist verb which is used here. In some languages this verb must be rendered “they have carried away,” and it may be necessary to make explicit that this was done surreptitiously.

They have put renders the same Greek verb translated they placed in 19.42. In some languages it may be necessary to provide an object, for example, “the body” or “the Lord’s body.”

In all such references to the Lord it may be necessary to use a possessive form in some languages, for example, “our Lord” or “the one who rules over us.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 20:2

20:2a

So: The connector So introduces what Mary did next because she saw that the stone had been removed.

she came running to Simon Peter: The verbs came and running describe the same action. However, it may be natural to use two verbs like the Greek text. For example:

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb (New Revised Standard Version)

and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved: The phrase the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved probably refers to John himself, the author of this gospel. The expression the one whom Jesus loved indicates that this disciple was Jesus’ good friend. Jesus loved all of his disciples. See how you translated this expression in 13:23 and 19:26. For example:

and to Jesus’ dear friend and disciple/follower

disciple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciple refers to a “learner” who was in a special relationship with a teacher. The learner committed himself to his teacher in order to learn from him and follow his teaching and example. In the New Testament a disciple referred specifically to a person who was learning from a religious teacher. A disciple often lived with his teacher and followed him wherever he went. See how you translated this word in, for example, 2:2 and 18:15.

loved: The Greek verb is different from that in the same English expression in 13:23, but the meaning is the same. This disciple knew that Jesus had a strong affection for him.

20:2b

They have taken the Lord out of the tomb: Mary did not understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. She thought that someone had opened the tomb and removed Jesus’ dead body.

They: This pronoun is indefinite and does not refer to a specific group of people. Mary did not know who might have moved Jesus’ body. Here are some ways of translating this clause:

• Use a general subject, either singular or plural. For example:

Someone has taken the Lord

• Use a passive verb. For example:

⌊The body of⌋ the Lord has been carried away

have taken the Lord: This phrase refers to someone removing the dead body of Jesus. Use an expression that one might use for moving a dead body.

the Lord: The word Lord is a term of respect and here refers to Jesus. See how you translated this word in 6:23 and 11:2. In some languages it may be natural to add a possessive pronoun, indicating whose Lord it is. For example:

our (incl.) Lord/Master
-or-
the one we (incl.) obey

In some languages you may need to indicate that it was the body of the Lord that was removed. That will make it clear that Mary thought that he was still dead. For example:

They have removed the body of our Lord from the cave (Kankanaey Back Translation)

out of the tomb: This phrase implies that the body was no longer in the tomb. Mary thought that someone had removed it from the tomb and taken it somewhere else.

she said: This phrase indicates that Mary Magdalene spoke to Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved.

20:2c

and we do not know: The pronoun we here probably refers to Mary and some other women. Although the Gospel of John does not mention any other women, the other gospels do. (See Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, and Luke 24:1.) If you have different pronouns to indicate feminine and masculine, you should use a feminine plural pronoun here.

where they have put Him: This clause means “where they have placed Jesus’ dead body.” Mary assumed that some unknown person or persons had moved Jesus’ body to a different place. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

where they have laid him (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
where his body has been taken/placed

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