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 21:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 21:17:

  • Noongar: “All people will hate you because of me.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “At that time, all people will hate you because of your following Me. Even your parents, relatives, family, and friends will give you to your enemies. Some of you will be killed.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And you my disciples,’ said Isa, ‘you will be hated by all people because you follow me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “All people will be against you because you are my disciples.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All the many-people moreover, they will hate you because of your being-one with me.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “You really will be hated by all people because of your believing-in/obeying me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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 21:16 – 21:17

Exegesis:

paradothēsesthe de kai hupo goneōn ‘you will also be delivered up by (your) parents,’ i.e. apart from being persecuted by the opponents just mentioned; for paradidōmi cf. on v. 12.

kai thanatōsousin ex humōn ‘and they will put to death (some) of you.’ The subject is either the parents etc. named in the preceding clause (which would require the rendering, ‘they will cause to be put to death’), or those to whom the disciples will be turned over, i.e. the persecuting authorities. The latter is preferable. thanatoō. For ex humōn cf. on ex autōn in 11.49.

(V. 17) kai esesthe misoumenoi ‘and you will be hated,’ periphrasis for the future passive.

dia to onoma mou ‘because of my name,’ ‘on account of my name,’ equivalent to heneken tou onomatos mou, cf. on v. 12.

Translation:

The recipients of delivered up may have to be mentioned, cf. e.g. ‘even parents … will hand you over to the court-of-justice’ (Sranan Tongo).

Parents, see on 2.27.

And (thrice) here indicates alternatives; hence ‘or’ may be better (cf. Balinese).

For brothers and kinsmen see on 14.12.

If some of you they will put to death is translated literally, ‘they’ will be taken as a reference to the ‘parents,’ etc., not to the persecuting authorities (as preferred in Exegesis). To avoid this misunderstanding some versions shift to a passive construction, suggesting indefinite agents that as such must be different from the definitely named ‘parents,’ etc.; where this is apt to be still rather ambiguous one may render “put to death” by a technical term that implies persecuting authorities as its agents, e.g. ‘sentence to death,’ cf. also, “send to their death” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or one may explicitly refer to the agents, replacing “they” by ‘the judges/authorities/those-in-power.’

(V. 17) For hated see on 1.71.

All refers to people in general.

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 21:17

21:17

And you will be hated by everyone: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you will be hated by everyone is passive. It is literally “you will be hated by all,” as in the Revised Standard Version. You may use a passive form as the Berean Standard Bible does, or an active one. For example:

All men will hate you (New International Version)

Use the form that is most natural in your language.

will be hated: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be hated means “will be detested, will be opposed and be the object of hostility.” Jesus was warning his disciples that many people will oppose them and feel hostile toward them. Some other ways to translate this are:

will oppose you
-or-
be against you
-or-
reject you

In some languages there is an idiom to express the meaning of be hated. For example:

kill ⌊you⌋ in the heart

everyone: The word everyone here refers to people in general, including both men and women. The context implies that it refers to people who do not believe in Jesus and follow him. It may imply that all kinds of people will hate Jesus’ disciples, including both young and old people, rich and poor people, people of different cultures and occupations. The word everyone does not literally mean every person in every place.

because of My name: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as because of My name is very similar to the phrase in 21:12. You should translate it in a similar way here. See the note on 21:12b for translation advice.

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