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. )

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 15:1-7)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 15:1-7:

A mixed crowd — some politically incorrect
and others simply street scum —
       were hanging around, listening to Jesus teach.
A group of religious snobs came up and started griping,
“This guy goes around with the wrong crowd,
       and he even eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this story:

       What would you do, if you had a hundred sheep,
              and one of them wandered off?
       Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine out in the field
              and look for the lost sheep, until you found it?
       Sure you would, and you’d be so glad when it was found
              that you’d throw it on your shoulder and carry it home.
       Then you’d say to your friends, “Let’s celebrate!
              I’ve found my lost sheep.”

“That’s how it is with God,” declared Jesus.
“God gets more excited over one person
who has a change of heart
       than over ninety-nine self-righteous bigots.”

Translation commentary on Luke 15:7

Exegesis:

legō humin ‘I tell you,’ cf. on 3.8.

houtōs ‘in just that way,’ ‘in the same way.’

chara en tō ouranō estai ‘there will be joy in heaven.’ No distinctive meaning is to be attached to the shift to the future tense (cf. v. 10, ginetai).

epi heni hamartōlō metanoounti ‘over one sinner who repents.’ For metanoeō cf. on 10.13.

epi enenēkonta ennea dikaiois ‘over ninety-nine righteous persons.’ dikaios contrasts here with hamartōlos; both words are to be understood in terms of relationship to God.

hoitines ou chreian echousin metanoias ‘who do not need repentance,’ probably meant ironically. For metanoia cf. on 3.3.

Translation:

There will be … joy in heaven, or, when a personal subject is required, ‘those in heaven will have joy.’

Over one sinner who repents expresses the reason of the joy; hence e.g. ‘because (of) one sinner (who) repents’ (Thai 1967, Tae’ 1933), ‘because/when they perceive (or, see) that one sinner has repented.’

More joy … over one … than over ninety-nine … The reference to ‘joy’ may have to be repeated, e.g. .’.. than joy in heart because of 99’ (Tzeltal), .’.. than they will have joy over 99 …’ (Sranan Tongo). Radical changes of structure may be necessary, cf. e.g. ‘in comparison with the 59, one bad person having repented, in heaven surpassing joy’ (Ekari).

Righteous, cf. 5.32.

Who need no repentance. If the saying is interpreted in accordance with what Exegesis thinks probable, the irony may have to be made explicit, e.g. ‘who think they do not need to repent,’ ‘who seem not to need repentance.’

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 15:7

15:7

In 15:6 the parable ended with the shepherd’s words. In 15:7 Jesus concluded the parable and showed how it applied to his listeners. If this is not clear in your language, you may want to supply a separate quote introduction. For example:

⌊Jesus concluded⌋

See the note on “in the same way” in 15:7a for more information.

15:7a

In the same way: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the same way here introduces the important truth that the parable illustrated. A shepherd cares about a sheep that is lost, and he searches for it until he finds it. Then he celebrates. In the same way, God cares about each sinful person, and he celebrates when any sinful person repents.

A sinner is like a lost sheep because he has stopped following (obeying) God, just as the sheep left the shepherd and became lost. God is happy when each sinner repents and turns to him.

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. He was asking people to listen with extra attention. Some ways to show this emphasis could be:

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

Let me tell you this
-or-
Listen
-or-
I assure you

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

In the same way there will certainly be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner…

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 how you translated this expression in 10:12.

15:7b–c

there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones: These two verse parts are a comparison. Jesus said that God and his angels rejoice very much when a sinner repents. They are even happier about this than they are about all the righteous people who do not need to repent. In languages that do not use comparisons in this way, you may be able to reorder the verse parts and translate the comparison like this:

7cThere is already rejoicing in heaven over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent. 7bBut there will be great rejoicing over one sinner who repents.

15:7b

there will be more joy in heaven: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as joy in heaven refers primarily to God, but it also includes the angels, who are with him in heaven. It indicates here that God and those in heaven with him will be very happy. In some languages you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

those in heaven will be happier
-or-
God and his angels in heaven will rejoice greatly

See heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

repents: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repents means that a person “changes his mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to a person’s changing his mind and heart about sin and about God. When a person repents, he is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and obey God.

Some ways to translate repents in this context are:

changes his thinking/mind/heart
-or-
rejects his sins

In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:

turns from sin to God
-or-
leaves his sinning behind

The word repent also occurs in 13:3b.

15:7c

righteous ones who do not need to repent: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous ones refers to people who live according to God’s standards.

Jesus may have referred here to people who wrongly think that they are righteous. According to their thinking, they do not need to repent. However, Jesus may have referred to people who had already repented and so God considered them to be righteous. In some languages it may be helpful to add a footnote that gives these two options.

See the note on “the righteous” at 5:32a, where the context is similar.

Some ways to translate the word righteous are:

those who obey God’s law
-or-
those who do what is right

In some languages people use an idiom to express this meaning. For example:

those who follow a straight path
-or-
upright people

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