formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on John 4:22

You Samaritans is literally “you” (plural), while we Jews is literally “we.” Good News Translation and several other translations identify thus the persons referred to.

Whom you worship is literally “what you worship.” Most other translations render this phrase literally, using the neuter “what” rather than the masculine whom. Although the term used in the Greek text is neuter, the reference is obviously to God, and Good News Translation accordingly uses the masculine rather than the neuter. (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the reference to God explicit: “you Samaritans do not know God.”) In John 10.29 the neuter is used of the believers whom the Father has given to the Son, and in 1 John 1.1 a neuter pronoun is used in reference to the Word. Phillips certainly misses the point in rendering “You are worshiping with your eyes shut. We Jews are worshiping with our eyes open.”

Though some form of worship is universal, in various parts of the world, the ways in which worship is designated may differ radically. In some instances one may use simply an expression for “prayer,” for example, “to speak to God.” In others the attitude of the worshiper is in focus, for example, “to be reverent before God” or “to be silent before God.” Sometimes the emphasis is upon the position of the worshiper, for example, “to kneel down before God” or “to bow low before God.” Sometimes some activity associated with worship may be mentioned, for example, “to bring gifts to God” or even “to sacrifice to God.”

Because it is from the Jews that salvation comes affirms the reality of the historical situation, in which God has revealed himself in a unique way to the Jewish people. This verse both indicates that the Gospel is not anti-Semitic in the modern sense of the word, and it affirms the historical reality of the situation. A literal translation of because it is from the Jews that salvation comes may be misleading in some languages and may even suggest that the Jews are the ones who will save people. God, of course, is the agent of salvation, but the knowledge about how God saves people comes from the Jews. This truth may be expressed in some languages as “because the Jews are the ones who can tell how God saves people,” or “… through whom God promised salvation.” This ability of the Jews to point the way to salvation reflects the historical reality of God’s special dealings with the Jewish nation.

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 4:22

4:22a

You worship what you do not know: Jesus was indicating that the Samaritan people did not truly know God. The Samaritans praised and honored God but did not really know or understand him.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship (Good News Translation)
-or-
You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand (New Century Version)

You: This pronoun is plural here and refers to the Samaritans. They were a group of people who were descended from both Jewish people and Gentiles (Assyrians). So they worshiped in a mixed way and the Jews did not like them. In some languages it will help to make explicit that Jesus was speaking about all Samaritans, not just the woman. For example:

You Samaritans (New International Version)
-or-
You people (NET Bible)

worship: The Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as worship means to praise and honor God.

what you do not know: Jesus was referring to God. The Samaritans did not truly know God.

4:22b

we worship what we do know: Jesus indicated that the Jews’ faith in God was established on a solid basis. That basis consisted of historical facts and God’s revealing himself to the Jews. They truly knew something of the one true God. Translate this in a way that makes a clear contrast with “what you do not know” in 4:22a. For example:

we Jews know whom we worship (Good News Translation)
-or-
We understand what we worship. (New Century Version)

we: This pronoun is exclusive. It refers to Jesus and the Jews, but not to the woman and the Samaritans. It may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:

we Jews (New Living Translation (2004))

for: The Greek connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for means “because.” It introduces the reason why the Jews knew the one they worshiped.

salvation is from the Jews: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as salvation is from the Jews indicates that it is through the Jewish people that God saves the world. God would reveal himself and his salvation to the Jews, and the Savior himself (Jesus) was Jewish. In some languages it may be natural to indicate that Jesus was himself a Jew. For example:

But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes (Good News Translation)

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