formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

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.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In Nepali translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and other people with the medium honorific pronoun timīlē (तिमीले) or timīlēharū (तिमीलेहरू). His disciples respond with a high honorific pronoun. (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

See also formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese).

complete verse (Luke 12:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:4:

  • Noongar: “‘I tell you my friends, do not fear people, those people who can kill your body, but afterwards, they can not do something worse.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Relatives, listen well to my words: do not be afraid of people who want to kill you, because their ability ends right there.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I tell you friends, don’t be afraid of those who can kill your body and after that can’t do anything more.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for you who are my friends, what I say to you is, don’t be afraid of just people because the only thing they can kill is your body, but your soul they cannot kill.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus also said to his disciples, ‘I tell you who are my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill only a person’s body, because that’s the limit of their power,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I tell you, my dear friends, that you are not to fear your fellow man/human, for it’s only your body which they have ability/means to kill. After they have done that, there is nothing more they can do.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

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. )

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Luke 12:4

Exegesis:

legō de humin tois philois mou ‘I tell you, my friends’ (cf. on 3.8), takes up emphatically pros tous mathētas autou prōton in v. 1.

mē phobēthēte apo tōn apokteinontōn to sōma ‘do not be afraid of those who kill the body.’ phobeomai apo tinos with genitive may imply the idea of turning away from the person one is afraid of. The participle tōn apokteinontōn refers to actual, not potential killing.

kai meta tauta mē echontōn perissoteron ti poiēsai ‘and after that cannot do anything more.’ meta tauta means ‘after they have actually killed the body.’

perissoteron ti ‘something more.’

Translation:

You, my friends, or, better to bring out that this is more than a mere form of address, “you who are my friends” (New English Bible).

The body may have to be possessed, ‘your body.’

And after that have no more that they can do, or, ‘but cannot afterward do (to you) anything worse (than that)’ (cf. Good News Translation, Willibrord).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 12:4

Paragraph 12:4–7

12:4–5

In these verses Jesus emphasized a contrast between fearing God and fearing people. He used the verb “fear” three times. He also repeated the phrase “I tell you” at the beginning of 12:4 and the end of 12:5. Consider how to make the contrast in these two verses emphatic in your language.

12:4a

I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid: Jesus often used the words I tell you to emphasize what he was about to say. In this context Jesus emphasized the following instruction or command to his disciples. He told them not to be afraid of human beings. Some ways to show this emphasis are:

• As a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:

Remember this, my friends, you should not be afraid…
-or-

Listen, my friends, do not be afraid…

• As an emphatic word within Jesus’ statement. For example:

My friends, you should certainly not be afraid…

If you have another way in your language to emphasize a statement or to alert people to listen with special attention, consider using it here. See also the note on 10:12.

My friends: Here Jesus addressed his disciples directly as My friends. In some languages it may be more natural to include this direct address at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

My friends, I tell you…

Jesus was already talking to the disciples when he addressed them as his friends. In some languages it may not be natural to use a direct address like this. You may need to include the information within Jesus’ statement to the disciples. For example:

To you who are my friends I say… (Revised English Bible)

do not be afraid of those who kill the body: In this context the phrase those who kill the body refers to human beings. Human beings are able to kill the disciples’ bodies, but 12:4b–5 implies that they cannot take away the disciples’ eternal life with God. See also the parallel passage in Matthew 10:28, which explicitly mentions the soul.

In some languages it may be unnatural to speak of killing the body. Try to find an expression in your language that refers naturally to physical death and also contrasts with death that lasts forever in hell. For example:

do not be afraid of people, even though they can end your life on this earth

12:4b

and after that can do no more: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as after that can do no more means “after killing the body, they cannot harm you any more.” People can only kill someone’s body; they cannot prevent him from living forever with God. Other ways to translate this expression are:

who can do nothing more to hurt you (New Century Version)
-or-
who…cannot afterward do anything worse (Good News Translation)

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