3rd person pronoun with high register (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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”

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

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on John 9:24

In the introductory statement, A second time they called back the man, there is a slight difficulty in the transitional development of the account. In the preceding section there was no indication that the man born blind had been excluded from the session in which the Pharisees interrogated his parents. One can, however, assume from the way in which they spoke (that is, when they insisted that the Pharisees could interrogate their son) that he was not present. It may be possible in some languages to say “again they called the man back in.” However, this rendering may suggest that he had been called back before, thus implying three sessions of interrogation. Hence, it may be sufficient to say “they called back the man who had been born blind.”

The man who had been born blind is literally “the man who was blind,” but the reference is obviously to his previous blindness, and Good News Translation makes this explicit by translating who had been born blind. Otherwise it sounds as if the man was still blind at the time of these events.

Promise before God that you will tell the truth is literally “give glory/praise to God.” This represents a formula used in taking an oath, especially one involving confession of guilt (see Josh 7.19). The meaning is “Speak the truth before God” (New English Bible), and not “You should give God the glory for what happened to you” (Phillips). Jerusalem Bible translates “Give glory to God,” but adds a footnote indicating that the man was put under oath. In some languages the closest equivalent is “promise under oath that you will tell the truth,” while in others the equivalent may be “promise under a curse,” that is, the man was forced to affirm that he was telling the truth, and if what he said was not the truth, he was exposing himself to a curse from God. In some languages one may say “Call upon God to witness that you are telling the truth” or “Make God a witness of what you are going to say, so we may be sure it is the truth” or “… that what you are saying is the truth.”

This man who cured you translates “this man” of the Greek text. Good News Translation includes this explanation, for stylistic reasons.

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 9:24

Paragraph 9:24–34

The Pharisees tried to frighten the man that Jesus had healed so that he would agree with them. They wanted him to say that he did not believe that Jesus was from God. But the man continued to defend Jesus. He also challenged them about why they did not see that God was working when Jesus healed him.

9:24a

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So here introduces what the Jewish religious leaders did when the man’s parents refused to answer them clearly.

a second time they called for the man who had been blind: The Jewish leaders summoned the man (called him to come to them) again. He apparently was not present at that time. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

The leaders called the man back (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind (New International Version)
-or-
Then they told/ordered the blind man who was healed to come a second time

9:24b

Give glory to God!: The expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Give glory to God was a serious promise to tell the truth. The Jewish leaders wanted the man to make an oath. They were commanding him to speak the truth to them. For example:

Swear by God to tell the truth! (New Century Version)
-or-
Promise before God that you will tell the truth! (Good News Translation)
-or-
Speak the truth before God. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Answer honestly with God as your witness.

9:24c

We know that this man is a sinner: The Jewish leaders wanted to convince the man who had been blind that Jesus was not a good person. They told him what they thought in order to influence him to think the same thing.

We: The pronoun We is exclusive here. The Jewish leaders wanted to persuade the healed man to agree with them.

this man: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as this man refers to Jesus. In this context it is good to avoid using an expression that shows respect. The speakers did not admire Jesus. You may refer to Jesus in a way that implies this. For example:

this person

a sinner: A sinner is someone who sins or does not obey the law. Here the Pharisees called Jesus a sinner because he did not obey their Sabbath law (see 9:16). However, though he did not follow all the Pharisees’ rules, he always obeyed God’s law.

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