pray / prayer

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).

Other solutions include:

  • “to beg” or “to ask,” (full expression: “to ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
  • “to cause God to know” (Huichol)
  • “to raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Shilluk: “speak to God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • Mairasi: “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
  • San Blas Kuna: “call to one’s Father” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • Ik: waan: “beg.” Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):

    What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?

    “The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.

    When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’

    “A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.

    “The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?

    “I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):

  • For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
  • For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
  • For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

acrostic in Lamentations 3

The Hebrew text of Lamentations 1-4 uses acrostics, a literary form in which each verse is started with one of the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. According to Brenda Boerger (in Open Theology 2016, p. 179ff. ) there are three different reasons for acrostics in the Hebrew text: “for ease of memorization,” the representation “of the full breadth and depth of a topic, all the way from aleph to taw (tav),” and the perception of “the acrostic form as aesthetically attractive.” (p. 191)

While most translations mention the existence of an acrostic in a note or a comment, few implement it in their translation. One such exception is the Danish Bibelen på Hverdagsdansk (publ. 1985, rev. 2015 et al.).

Click or tap here for Lamentations 3 in Danish

1 Afstraffelsen var hård, hans vrede imod mig stor.
2 „Af sted med dig!” sagde han, og førte mig ind i det dybeste mørke.
3 Angrebene haglede ned over mig, jeg oplevede hans straf dagen lang.
4 Bedøvet ligger jeg med knuste knogler, min hud er flået i laser.
5 Bitterhed og smerte er blevet min lod, han omringede mig og angreb fra alle sider.
6 Bunden er nået, dødens mørke omslutter mig, som om jeg allerede lå i graven.
7 Det føles, som om jeg er låst inde og lagt i lænker, jeg er ude af stand til at slippe fri.
8 Desperat råber jeg om hjælp, men han har besluttet ikke at høre mine bønner.
9 Der er ingen vej ud af mit fængsel, for enhver flugtvej er spærret af forhindringer.
10 En løve lå på lur efter mig, en vild bjørn overfaldt mig.
11 Enden var nær, for han trak af med mig og begyndte at flå mig i småstykker.
12 Eller han var som en bueskytte, der brugte mig som skydeskive.
13 Forfærdet så jeg hans pile komme flyvende og bore sig ind i mit hjerte.
14 Folk lo blot ad mig, de sang spotteviser dagen lang.
15 Frygteligt var det at drikke et bæger så fuldt af sorg og smerte.
16 Gruset fyldte min mund, da han trykkede mig ned i jorden.
17 Glemt er den glæde, jeg havde engang, og fred hører fortiden til.
18 Grænsen for min udholdenhed er nået, jeg har mistet håbet om, at Herren vil redde mig.
19 Hjemløs og ulykkelig ligger jeg her, jeg kan ikke holde ud at tænke på min smerte.
20 Hver gang jeg tænker over det, bliver jeg dybt deprimeret.
21 Håbet er dog ikke helt udslukt, for én ting holder jeg fast ved:
22 Herrens trofasthed er stor, hans barmhjertighed er ikke brugt op.
23 Hans trofasthed er stor, hans nåde er ny hver morgen.
24 „Herren er min Gud,” siger jeg, „derfor vil jeg sætte min lid til ham.”
25 Ingen, der søger Herren, bliver skuffet, han hjælper dem, der håber på hans svar.
26 Imødese hans svar med tålmodighed, for før eller siden vil han gribe ind.
27 I ungdommen må man lære at bære sit åg.
28 Ja, når Herren lægger sit åg på mig, må jeg acceptere det i stilhed.
29 Jeg vil bøje mig for ham i ydmyghed, for der er stadig håb om redning.
30 Jeg vil vende den anden kind til og tage imod alle fjendens fornærmelser.
31 Lidelsen varer ikke ved, for Herren forkaster os ikke for evigt.
32 Leder han os ind i sorg og smerte, viser han os bagefter nåde og barmhjertighed.
33 Lad ingen tro, at han glæder sig over at straffe vores ulydighed.
34 Mon Herren ikke ser, når et land mishandler sine fanger?
35 Mon Herren ikke ser, når nogen dømmes uretfærdigt?
36 Mon Herren ikke ser, når et menneske fratages sine rettigheder?
37 Nogle tror, at de handler i egen kraft, men Herren står bag det.
38 Når vi oplever velsignelse eller bliver straffet, kommer begge dele fra Herren.
39 Nu kan vi lige så godt se i øjnene, at vi straffes for vore egne synder.
40 Oprigtig selverkendelse er nødvendig, lad os erkende vores synd og bede om nåde.
41 Og lad os så løfte vore hjerter og hænder og råbe til Gud i Himlen.
42 Oprørskhed førte os ud i store synder, som Herren var nødt til at straffe.
43 På grund af vore synder blev du vred på os, du ramte os hårdt uden skånsel.
44 Påkaldte vi dig i vore bønner, var det, som om du gemte dig bag en sky.
45 Provokationen fra folkeslagene var ikke til at bære, de så på os som det værste skidt.
46 Ringeagt og trusler var alt, hvad vi mødte fra alle vore fjender omkring os.
47 Rædsel og angst fyldte vore hjerter, for hele vores verden blev lagt i ruiner.
48 Reaktionen på mit folks ødelæggelse kunne ikke blive andet end en strøm af tårer.
49 Strømmen af tårer, der flyder fra mine øjne, er ikke til at standse.
50 Se i nåde til os, Herre, for kun du kan redde os.
51 Synet af Jerusalems befolkning er en stadig smerte i min sjæl.
52 Tænk på, hvordan fjenderne overfaldt mig, selv om jeg ikke havde gjort dem noget.
53 Triumferende smed de mig i et dybt hul og overdængede mig med sten.
54 Til sidst troede jeg, at alt var forbi, og jeg sagde: „Det er ude med mig!”
55 Uden noget af mit eget tilbage råbte jeg til dig, Herre.
56 Udmattet og ussel skreg jeg om hjælp, og du hørte mine tryglende bønner.
57 Uden at tøve kom du mig til hjælp og trøstede mig med et: „Vær ikke bange!”
58 Ved at høre min bøn, Herre, har du reddet mit liv.
59 Vær min dommer, Herre, og døm mine fjender for deres ondskab imod mig.
60 Vend dig mod mine fjender, alle dem, der vendte sig mod mig.
61 Øgenavne brugte de imod mig, Herre, du kender deres ondskabsfulde tanker.
62 De håner mig dagen lang og lægger hele tiden nye planer imod mig.
63 Hør, hvor de håner mig. Fra morgen til aften er jeg skydeskive for deres spot.
64 Åh, Herre, de fortjener, at du straffer dem for alt det onde, de har gjort.
65 Gør dem ude af sig selv af rædsel, udøs din forbandelse over dem.
66 Forfølg dem i din vrede og udslet dem. Udryd dem fra jordens overflade.

Copyright © 1985, 1992, 2005, 2013, 2015 by Biblica, Inc.®

The English Bible translation by Ronald Knox (publ. 1950) maintains most Hebrew acrostics (even though Knox’s translation itself is based on the Latin text of the Vulgate rather than the Hebrew):

1 Ah, what straits have I not known, under the avenging rod!
2 Asked I for light, into deeper shadow the Lord’s guidance led me;
3 Always upon me, none other, falls endlessly the blow.
4 Broken this frame, under the wrinkled skin, the sunk flesh.
5 Bitterness of despair fills my prospect, walled in on every side;
6 Buried in darkness, and, like the dead, interminably.
7 Closely he fences me in, beyond hope of rescue; loads me with fetters.
8 Cry out for mercy as I will, prayer of mine wins no audience;
9 Climb these smooth walls I may not; every way of escape he has undone.
10 Deep ambushed he lies, as lurking bear or lion from the covert;
11 Drawn aside from my path, I fall a lonely prey to his ravening.
12 Dread archer, of me he makes a target for all his arrows;
13 Each shaft of his quiver at my vitals taught to strike home!
14 Evermore for me the taunts of my neighbours, their songs of derision.
15 Entertainment of bitter herbs he gives me, and of wormwood my fill,
16 Files all my teeth with hard gravel-stones, bids me feed on ashes.
17 Far away is my old contentment, happier days forgotten;
18 Farewell, my hopes of long continuance, my patient trust in the Lord!
19 Guilt and suffering, gall and wormwood, keep all this well in memory.
20 God knows it shall be remembered, and with sinking of the heart;
21 Gage there can be none other of remaining confidence.
22 His be the thanks if we are not extinguished; his mercies never weary;
23 Hope comes with each dawn; art thou not faithful, Lord, to thy promise?
24 Heart whispers, The Lord is my portion; I will trust him yet.
25 In him be thy trust, for him thy heart’s longing, gracious thou shalt find him;
26 If deliverance thou wouldst have from the Lord, in silence await it.
27 It is well thou shouldst learn to bear the yoke, now in thy youth,
28 Just burden, in solitude and silence justly borne.
29 Joy may yet be thine, for mouth that kisses the dust,
30 Jeering of the multitude, and cheek buffeted in scorn, bravely endured.
31 Know for certain, the Lord has not finally abandoned thee;
32 Kind welcome the outcast shall have, from one so rich in kindness.
33 Kin of Adam he will not crush or cast away wantonly;
34 Let there be oppression of the poor under duress,
35 Law’s right denied, such as the most High grants to all men,
36 Lying perversion of justice, then he cannot overlook it.
37 Man may foretell; only the Lord brings his word to pass;
38 Mingled good and evil proceed both from the will of the most High;
39 Mortal is none may repine; let each his own sins remember.
40 Narrowly our path scan we, and to the Lord return;
41 Never hand or heart but must point heavenward this day!
42 Nothing but defiant transgression on our part; and shouldst thou relent?
43 Over our heads thy angry vengeance lowered; smiting, thou wouldst not spare.
44 Oh, barrier of cloud, our prayers had no strength to pierce!
45 Offscouring and refuse of mankind thou hast made us,
46 Put to shame by the mocking grimaces of our enemies.
47 Prophets we had, but their word was peril and pitfall, and ruin at the last.
48 Poor Sion, for thy calamity these cheeks are furrowed with tears;
49 Quell if thou wouldst the restless fever of my weeping,
50 Quickly, Lord, look down from heaven and pay heed to us,
51 Quite forspent, eye and soul, with grief Jerusalem’s daughters bear.
52 Relentless as hawk in air they pursued me, enemies unprovoked,
53 Reft me of life itself, sealed with a stone my prison door.
54 Round my head the waters closed, and I had given myself up for lost,
55 Save for one hope; to thee, Lord, I cried from the pit’s depth,
56 Sure of thy audience; wouldst thou turn a deaf ear to sighs of complaint?
57 Summoned, thou didst come to my side, whispering, Do not be afraid.
58 Thine, Lord, to take my part; thine to rescue me from death;
59 The malice of my enemies to discover, my wrongs to redress.
60 Thrust away from thy sight, the grudge they bear me, the ill they purpose,
61 Unheard by thee their taunts, their whispered plottings?
62 Uttered aloud or in secret, their malice assails me from morn till night;
63 Up in arms, or met in secret conclave, ever against me they raise the battle-song.
64 Visit them with the punishment their ill deeds have earned;
65 Veiled be those blind hearts with fresh blindness of thy own making;
66 Vanish from the earth their whole brood, ere thy vengeance leaves off pursuing them! (Source )

Spanish has a different tradition of acrostics. It uses non-alphabetic acrostics where the first letters of each line (or verse) together form a word or phrase. In the Traducción en lenguaje actual (publ. 2002, 2004), the translators used the first letters of this chapter of Lamentation to spell out “YO SOY EL SIERVO SUFRIENTE” (“I am the Suffering Servant”) as a reference to the “Suffering Servant” passage in Isaiah 53 (for more on the translation process of this, see Alfredo Tepox in The Bible Translator 2004, p. 233ff. ).

Click or tap here for Lamentations 3 in the Traducción en lenguaje actual

1 Yo soy el que ha sufrido
el duro castigo de Dios.
2 Él me forzó a caminar
por los caminos más oscuros;
3 no hay un solo momento
en que no me castigue.

4-6 Oscura tumba es mi vida;
¡es como si ya estuviera muerto!
Dios me rodeó por completo
de la miseria más terrible.
Me dejó sin fuerzas;
¡no tengo un solo hueso sano!

7-9 Se niega Dios a escucharme,
aunque siempre le pido ayuda.
A cada paso me pone tropiezos
y me hace perder el camino.
Me tiene preso y encadenado.
¡No puedo escaparme de él!

10-12 Objeto soy de sus ataques;
¡soy el blanco de sus flechas!
Como animal feroz me vigila,
esperando el momento de atacarme.
¡Me obliga a apartarme del camino
para que no pueda defenderme!

13-15 Ya me partió el corazón
con sus terribles flechas.
Dios ha llenado mi vida
de tristeza y amargura.
Todo el día y a todas horas,
la gente se burla de mí.

16 Estoy completamente derrotado,
porque Dios me hizo caer.
17 Ya no tengo tranquilidad;
la felicidad es solo un recuerdo.
18 Me parece que de Dios
ya no puedo esperar nada.

19 Los más tristes recuerdos
me llenan de amargura.
20 Siempre los tengo presentes,
y eso me quita el ánimo.
21 Pero también me acuerdo
de algo que me da esperanza:

22 Sé que no hemos sido destruidos
porque Dios nos tiene compasión.
23 Sé que cada mañana se renuevan
su gran amor y su fidelidad.
24 Por eso digo que en él confío;
¡Dios es todo para mí!

25 Invito a todos a confiar en Dios
porque él es bondadoso.
26 Es bueno esperar con paciencia
que Dios venga a salvarnos,
27 y aprender desde nuestra juventud
que debemos soportar el sufrimiento.

28 Es conveniente callar
cuando Dios así lo ordena.
29-30 Y olvidar la venganza
cuando alguien nos golpea.
Debemos esperar con paciencia
que Dios venga a ayudarnos.

31 Realmente Dios nos ha rechazado,
pero no lo hará para siempre.
32-33 Nos hace sufrir y nos aflige,
pero no porque le guste hacerlo.
Nos hiere, pero nos tiene compasión,
porque su amor es muy grande.

34-36 Violar los derechos humanos
es algo que Dios no soporta.
Maltratar a los prisioneros
o no darles un juicio justo,
es algo que Dios no aprueba.

37 ¡Oye bien esto: Nada puedes hacer
sin que Dios te lo ordene!
38 ¡Todo lo bueno y lo malo
pasa porque él así lo ordena!
39 ¡No tenemos razón para quejarnos
si nos castiga por nuestros pecados!

40-42 Si pecamos contra Dios,
y él no quiere perdonarnos,
pensemos en qué lo hemos ofendido.
Dirijamos al Dios del cielo
nuestras oraciones más sinceras,
y corrijamos nuestra conducta.

43-44 Una nube envuelve a Dios;
no le deja escuchar nuestra oración.
Lleno de enojo, Dios nos persigue;
nos destruye sin ninguna compasión.
45 Nos ha expuesto ante las naciones
como si fuéramos lo peor.

46 Fuimos la burla del enemigo.
47 Sufrimos en carne propia
los horrores de la destrucción.
48 Cuando vi destruida mi ciudad
no pude contener las lágrimas.

49-51 Realmente me duele ver sufrir
a las mujeres de Jerusalén.
Se me llenan de lágrimas los ojos,
pero no hay quien me consuele.
¡Espero que desde el cielo
Dios nos mire y nos tenga compasión!

52-53 ¡Intentaron matarme,
y no sé por qué razón!
Mis enemigos me atraparon,
me encerraron en un pozo.
54 Estuve a punto de ahogarme;
¡creí que había llegado mi fin!

55 En la profundidad de ese pozo
te pedí ayuda, Dios mío,
56 y tú atendiste mis ruegos;
¡escuchaste mi oración!
57 Te llamé, y viniste a mí;
me dijiste que no tuviera miedo.

58 No me negaste tu ayuda,
sino que me salvaste la vida.
59 Dios mío, ¡ayúdame!
Mira el mal que me causaron,
60 mira el mal que piensan hacerme,
¡quieren vengarse de mí!

61 Tú sabes cómo me ofenden;
tú sabes que me hacen daño.
62 Tú bien sabes que mis enemigos
siempre hacen planes contra mí.
63 ¡Míralos! No importa lo que hagan,
siempre están burlándose de mí.

64-66 ¡Espero que los castigues
con toda tu furia!
¡Bórralos de este mundo!
Mi Dios, ¡dales su merecido
por todo lo que han hecho!
¡Maldícelos y hazlos sufrir!

Traducción en lenguaje actual ® © Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas, 2002, 2004.

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).

In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Lamentations 3:44

In wrapped thyself with a cloud, wrapped translates the same verb used in the previous verse. The poet uses the expression “wrapped thyself with a cloud” as a description of God as the one who is present but hidden. Good News Translation takes cloud to mean “cloud of fury,” so that it becomes parallel to “hidden by your anger” in verse 43. However, the poet may well have been thinking in terms of the cloud in which God accompanied Israel in the wilderness, but which has now become an obstacle between him and his people’s prayers rather than a sign of his presence. It is characteristic of Lamentations that prayer is only mentioned in order to refer to its ineffectiveness.

We may take wrapped … with anger and wrapped … with a cloud to refer to God’s remoteness. In that case this may be expressed in nonfigurative terms; for example, “Because you were angry you hid yourself” and “… you kept yourself far from us.” Because the interpretation of these figures differs so much in translations, translators may wish to follow the model of a major language in their own area.

So that no prayer can pass through may also be rendered, for example, “so that you will not hear our prayers,” “so that you will not hear us when we pray to you,” or “… when we call on you to help us.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .