pronoun for "God"

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 Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of system of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

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 the closely related 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. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中，第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的（tā），但是写法并不一样，取决于性别以及是否有生命，即男性为“他”，女性为“她”，动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”（在香港和台湾的汉语使用，动物则为“牠”）。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别（男人、女人、动物、无生命事物），而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止，基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本，当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”，偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā，而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物，因此他们明白这个字指出，三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分，而单单是上帝。

然而，最重要的新教圣经译本（1919年的《和合本》）和天主教圣经译本（1968年的《思高圣经》）都没有采用“祂”；虽然如此，许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字，另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。（资料来源：Zetzsche）

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”；这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成，整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯（Kramers）指出：“‘他’的这种新写法（即‘祂’）产生了一个小问题，就是在指称耶稣的时候，是否一律使用这个敬语代词？《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是，在称呼耶稣这个人的时候，用一般的‘他’，而在称呼耶稣神性的时候，特别是升天之后的耶稣，则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

3rd person pronoun with high register (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 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 Luke 12:5

Exegesis:

hupodeixō de humin tina phobēthēte ‘I will show you whom you have to fear.’ For hupodeiknumi cf. on 3.7. phobēthēte is aorist subjunctive, here used in a subordinate clause, see below.

phobēthēte ton … echonta … ‘fear him who has….’ Here phobēthēte is aorist imperative, used in a main clause. It is followed by an accusative and this may suggest that here a different type of fearing is implied, i.e. the fear of God, to whom ton … echonta is best understood to refer.

meta to apokteinai ‘after killing,’ takes up meta tauta in v. 4.

exousian embalein eis tēn geennan ‘power to throw into hell,’ dependent upon echonta. The phrase refers to the power to condemn, not the power to destroy. For exousia cf. on 4.32.

emballō ‘to throw into,’ with eis following.

geenna ‘hell,’ place of eschatological punishment.

nai, legō humin ‘yes, or, indeed, I tell you,’ cf. on 3.8. nai is added in order to stress that the subsequent statement serves to affirm emphatically the preceding one.

Translation:

Warn, or, ‘make clear/explain’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), or simply, ‘tell.’

Whom to fear, or, “the only One you need to fear” (Phillips), ‘who (it is) that you really should fear’ (Balinese). For fear with reference to God see 1.50.

Who, after he has killed, has power to cast, or, ‘who has power (first) to kill and then to cast,’ ‘who not only kills, but also has power to cast.’ Kills, or, ‘causes to die’; in Balinese God cannot be said ‘to kill a person,’ but ‘to take-away a person’s life.’ The verb may require an object, e.g. ‘you,’ ‘a man’ (Balinese), ‘your-body’ (Tae’ 1933). Cast, or, ‘hurl down,’ ‘send,’ ‘cause to descend/fall/go.’ Since the persons in question are envisaged now as dead, an object, if required, may have to be a specific term used to refer to dead persons, cf. e.g. Tae’ 1933.

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 12:5

12:5a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a contrast. In 12:4, Jesus told his disciples whom they should not fear. In 12:5, Jesus told them whom they should fear. Some English versions do not use an explicit conjunction to express this contrast. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.

I will show you whom you should fear: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as show here means “tell” or “make known.” It does not mean that Jesus would enable the disciples to see God visibly on earth. To make the contrast with 12:4a clear, you may wish to use a verb such as “tell” here, as well. For example:

I will tell you whom you should ⌊really⌋ fear.

The phrase I will show you emphasizes what follows. In some languages it may be more effective to express the contrast with 12:4a without repeating a clause such as “I will show/tell you.” For example:

God is the one you must fear. (Contemporary English Version)

12:5b

Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell: Jesus was talking here about God. Only God has the power and the authority to condemn a person to hell after ending his physical life on the earth. If your readers would not understand that this refers to God, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. (New Living Translation (2004))

has authority to throw you into hell: In Greek, this phrase is more literally “has authority to throw into Gehenna.” This phrase refers to God’s power/authority to punish people who deserve to be punished. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the word you as the object here. However, Jesus was referring in general to anyone who deserved to be punished. He was not referring specifically to his disciples.

In some languages it may be better to use a general expression as the object. This will clarify that Jesus was not talking specifically about the disciples. For example:

he has the power to end a person’s life and then to throw that person into hell

hell: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hell is literally “Gehenna,” the Hebrew name for the Valley of Hinnom. This was a valley south of Jerusalem where people threw the dead bodies of criminals and where garbage was dumped. Fires were always burning there. Jewish people used it as a symbolic name for the place where God will punish wicked people after they die. See hell, sense B, in Key Biblical Terms.

12:5c

Yes, I tell you, fear Him!: Here Jesus repeated what he had already said in 12:5b in order to emphasize how important this message was. Consider how to do this in your language without sounding redundant. Some ways to do this in English are:

Believe me, he is the one you must fear! (Good News Translation)
-or-
God is certainly the one you should fear! (Contemporary English Version)

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