23But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
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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, motometeo-rare-ru (求めておられる) or “seeking” 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 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. ).
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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 .
But: This Greek connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates that there is a contrast. The contrast is between what the situation had been and what it would be soon, and even was already starting. Now even the Samaritans can know God, and the place of worship does not matter. What matters is that worship comes from the spirit or the heart.
a time is coming and has now come: This Greek expression is talking about both the future and the present moment. Jesus was talking about the time after his death and resurrection. It was now here because Jesus was already on earth and had started his ministry. So events had started that would lead to his death and resurrection. Here are some other ways to say this expression that may be more natural in some languages:
the time is arriving -or-
in the future, which you can see now
4:23b
the true worshipers: This phrase refers to people who genuinely worship God, in an honest and real way. In some languages it may be natural to translate this using a verb phrase. For example:
those who truly worship
will worship: The Greek verb here is in the future tense. Jesus was speaking about a time that would soon begin.
in spirit: There are two possible ways to understand the Greek word translated spirit here.
(1) It refers to the human spirit or inner self. For example:
when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (New Living Translation (2004))
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New International Version (1984), New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004))
(2) It refers to the Holy Spirit. For example:
when by the power of God’s Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, NIV2011)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most translations and scholars.
In some languages you may not want to translate “worship the Father” in spirit literally. Scholars have suggested these two ideas about what the phrase means.
(1) It means to worship God in a spiritual way, not in a physical or material way. Worship is to come from a person’s heart or inner self. It is not just physical actions, such as kneeling or saying certain words. Certainly, Jesus said that worship would not be limited to a particular place. It could also mean that idols were not acceptable. For example:
with their inner being -or-
out of their heart
(2) It means that only those who have been born again can truly worship. Jesus said to Nicodemus in 3:6, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So to worship in spirit may mean that one must be born of the Spirit. Then he can have the right spirit to worship. For example:
out of their spirit -or-
in a spiritual way
Either understanding is acceptable. English translations use the word spirit rather than “inner being” or “heart.” However, if you do not talk about living people having spirits in your language, you may use a word like “inner being” or “heart.”
in truth: In some languages you may not want to translate “worship the Father” in truth literally. Scholars have suggested these two ideas about what the phrase means.
(1) It means to worship God sincerely. It is true or genuine worship because the worshiper truly wants to worship him. For example:
sincere will be his worship of him -or-
their worship is true/genuine
(2) It means that one’s worship is based on the truth about God. The worshiper must believe the truth that Jesus revealed and worship in a way that agrees with that truth. For example:
based on the truth which comes from him -or-
that agrees with God’s true character
Either understanding is acceptable.
General Comment on 4:23b
In some languages it may be natural to make explicit that the Father is the one that “true worshipers” worship. Then later in the sentence a pronoun may be used as the object of the verb “worship.” For example:
when those who truly worship ⌊the Father⌋ will worship him in spirit and truth
4:23c
for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him: Jesus told the woman that God wanted people to worship him in spirit and in truth. God did not want any other kind of worship, or any other kind of worshiper. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (New International Version) -or-
These are the worshippers the Father wants. (Revised English Bible)
for: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for means “because.” It introduces the reason why people will worship this way: God wants them to. In some languages this word can be left implicit. For example:
that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks (New Jerusalem Bible)
the Father: The word Father refers to God the Father. In some languages it is more natural to make that explicit:
God the Father
is seeking: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seeking here means “wants, desires.” The verb form shows that God continues to want or desire these worshipers. It also implies that God is doing something to get what he wants. God continues to want this and he actively searches for people like this to worship him. God wants people to honor and praise him in a true and spiritual way. Here is another way to translate this verb:
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. (New Living Translation (2004))
such as these: The phrase such as these means “(people) like these” or “this kind of worshiper.”
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