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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, akashite (明かして) or “reveal” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 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 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. ).
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
ouchi hē kardia hēmōn kaiomenē ēn ‘was not our heart burning, or glowing.’ For ouchi cf. on 4.22. kaiomenē is used metaphorically and indicates both enthusiasm and expectation.
hōs elalei hēmin en tē hodō ‘while he talked to us on the road.’ elalei is durative imperfect. en tē hodō ‘on the road,’ i.e. ‘while/as we were going along’ (cf. also peripatountes in v. 17).
hōs diēnoigen hēmin tas graphas ‘while he opened up the scriptures to us,’ temporal clause co-ordinate with the preceding clause and explaining it.
Translation:
Our hearts burn within us (or, “glow”, An American Translation), or, ‘a boiling comes to our hearts inside’ (Marathi, an idiom for joy and enthusiasm), a metaphor that has to be handled with caution. In Bahasa Indonesia, for instance, ‘a burning heart’ and ‘a hot heart’ indicate anger (similarly in Zarma), but ‘a flaming heart’ refers to fervour. Often terms for fire, glow, or heat must be discarded altogether; hence e.g., ‘drawn, as it were, our mind’ (Balinese), ‘hurt (i.e. longing) our hearts’ (Ekari), ‘something was-consuming in our-heart’ (Tae,’ an idiom for ‘we were profoundly moved’), ‘we have our hearts captivated’ (as might have been said in Shona), ‘our heart was beating for joy’ (Sranan Tongo). Our hearts is distributive, ‘the heart of each of us,’ or, since they are speaking to each other, “your heart” (Phillips 1952).
He opened to us the scriptures, or, ‘opened-for-us the meaning of the words of God’s book’ (Kele), ‘was making clear to us the books’ (Fulah). In Zarma a literal rendering is possible since in this language one uses ‘to open’ in the sense of ‘to interpret (a foreign language)’ or ‘to explain (a written message).’
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.
They asked each other: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as They asked each other is literally, “and they said to each-other.” It introduces a rhetorical question. Probably one of them asked the question, and the other agreed. Introduce this rhetorical question in natural way in your language. Some other ways to introduce it in English are:
They exclaimed to each other -or-
They said to each other (Good News Translation)
24:32b
Were not our hearts burning within us…?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes the disciples’ feelings as Jesus talked to them. They had intense feelings, which probably included awe, joy, hope, and excitement. The phrase our hearts burning is a figurative way to describe their feelings as Jesus explained the Scriptures to them.
Some ways to translate these intense feelings are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Weren’t our hearts glowing…? (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
• As a statement or realization. For example:
So that’s why we felt such burning/shining ⌊joy⌋ in our hearts -or-
Our hearts were blazing ⌊with joy/awe⌋
• As an exclamation. For example:
No wonder we felt such ⌊joy/awe⌋ burning in us…!
Translate this emphatic joy and excitement in a way that is natural in your language.
our hearts burning within us: The phrase our hearts burning within us is a figure of speech. It describes very strong, good feelings. These feelings can include joy, awe, love, hope, and excitement. However, in some languages “fire” or “burning hearts” may imply anger or misery. If a literal translation implies a wrong meaning in your language, you should translate it in a different way. Some other ways to translate it are:
• Use a simile. For example:
our joy was like a ⌊beautiful⌋ fire in us
• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
we (two) felt great/strong awe/comfort -or-
how thrilled we were
• Use a figure of speech that has the same meaning in your language. For example:
we were deeply moved -or-
we were so stirred up
Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.
24:32c
The clause in 24:32c gives the reason for the disciples’ feeling of joy and excitement in 24:32b. In some languages it is more natural to give this reason before the result in 24:32b. See the General Comment on 24:32a–c below for an example.
as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us: This statement indicates that as Jesus talked to the two disciples, he helped them to understand the meaning of the Scriptures. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the phrases spoke with us and opened the Scriptures to us with one phrase. For example:
while he was explaining to us the written word of God
on the road: The phrase on the road refers to the walk/journey toward Emmaus. Other ways to translate it are:
while we were walking -or-
during our journey here
opened the Scriptures to us: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as opened the Scriptures is an idiom. It means “explained the Scriptures.” It indicates that Jesus taught the two disciples from the OT Scriptures and explained the meaning so they could understand it. It does not imply that Jesus opened the pages of a book. It also does not indicate that Jesus had a copy of the Scriptures with him. Jesus was teaching the men from his own memory and knowledge of what the Scriptures mean.
Other ways to translate this phrase are:
explained the Scriptures to us (Good News Translation) -or-
helped us understand the Scriptures
Scriptures: For help in translating the word Scriptures, see the note at 24:27d.
General Comment on 24:32a–c
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in this verse. For example:
32aThey said to each other, 32c“When he talked with us along the road and explained the Scriptures to us, 32bdidn’t it warm our hearts?” (Contemporary English Version)
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