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 Translator2002, 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 most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
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 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. ).
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®).
kai eipen autois ‘and he said to them,’ best understood as a continuation of the preceding clause.
houtōs gegraptai ‘thus it is written,’ i.e. ‘this is what is written.’
pathein ton Christon kai anastēnai ‘that the Messiah should suffer and rise.’ Although in the aorist the infinitives refer to prophecies to be fulfilled in the future. For the phrase itself cf. on v. 7.
(V. 47) kai kēruchthēnai … metanoian kai aphesin hamartiōn ‘and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed,’ still dependent upon gegraptai. For kērussō and metanoia cf. on 3.3; for aphesis and hamartia cf. on 1.77.
epi tō onomati autou lit. ‘upon his name,’ hence, ‘on the basis of (all that) his name (implies),’ cf. Plummer, and Acts 5.28, 40.
eis panta ta ethnē ‘to all nations,’ going with kēruchthēnai. In contrast to 12.30 and 21.24 ta ethnē here includes Israel.
arxamenoi apo Ierousalēm ‘beginning from Jerusalem,’ either to be understood as going with kēruchthēnai as a rather strong anacoluthon, implying that the unnamed agents of the preaching are to be the disciples, or to be taken with v. 48, ‘beginning from Jerusalem you are witnesses to these things.’ The former is preferable, cf. Plummer.
Translation:
Rise from the dead, see on 9.7f.
(V. 47) That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached … to all nations, cf. on 3.3; where rather radical changes in sentence structure are required one may say, ‘that you should preach to all nations, “Repent and God will forgive you your sins.” ’ — All nations, or, ‘all (different) peoples/races/tribes,’ ‘the people of all (different) countries, or, places.’ In Toraja-Sa’dan a poetic idiom emphasizing totality is used, i.e. ‘all inhabitants (lit. contents) of the world, covered by the sky and supported by the earth.’
In his name, or, ‘calling upon his name’ (see Exegesis). In several languages ‘name’ cannot be used here (cf. on 1.49); then one may say something like, ‘appealing to him, or, to all that he has said and done,’ ‘because of what he has promised.’
Beginning from Jerusalem, i.e. that preaching should begin (or, you should start preaching) in J. and from there go further.
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.
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces another event that was prophesied in the Scriptures. Other ways to introduce it are:
Then -or-
It is also written that -or-
The Scriptures also say that
Connect 24:47a to the preceding verse in a way that is natural in your language.
in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed: In Greek this clause is more literally, “to be preached in his name repentance for forgiveness of sins.” This clause is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to translate it in an active way. For example:
In the Messiah’s name, his followers will preach to other people about repentance and forgiveness of sins
In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to tell what the Messiah’s followers must preach. For example:
With the Messiah’s authority, they will tell people: “Repent of your sins and God will forgive you.”
in His name: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in His name means “with/using his authority.” The phrase His name refers to the authority of the Messiah/Christ, who was mentioned in 24:46. The Messiah/Christ will give his followers authority to preach about repentance for forgiveness of sins. They will preach as his representatives. The phrase in His name is emphasized in this clause.
Some other ways to translate in His name here are:
with the Messiah’s authority -or-
by the authority of Christ
repentance and forgiveness of sins: The phrase repentance and forgiveness of sins indicates that people must repent of their sins so that God will forgive them. God’s forgiveness is a result of their repentance, and many English versions make this connection more explicit. In some languages it may be necessary to translate the actions of repentance and forgiveness as clauses and to indicate who will repent and who will forgive them. For example:
that when people repent of their sins, God will forgive them
repentance: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repentance means for a person “to change his/her mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to a person 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 repentance in this context are:
change their thinking/mind/heart -or-
reject their sins
In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:
turn from sin to God -or-
leave their sinning behind
forgiveness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forgiveness refers to God pardoning or removing the guilt of people’s sins. God cancels their guilt and treats them as though they had never offended him. Some ways to translate this are:
pardoning of sins -or-
canceling sins/guilt -or-
release ⌊people⌋ from ⌊the bad consequence⌋ of ⌊their⌋ sins
In many languages there may be an idiom to refer to forgiving sins. For example:
erase sins/guilt -or-
wiping away ⌊people’s⌋ sins
sins: The Greek word that English versions translate as sins refers to anything that people do or do not do that is against God’s will. This includes acts, thoughts, and attitudes that break God’s laws or are contrary to what God wants or approves. A person also sins when he does not do what God wants him to do.
You should translate sins with a general term that can include any wrongdoing against God or another person. Here are some problems to avoid:
(a) The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also sins.
(b) The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.
Some ways to translate sins are:
wrong acts -or-
evil deeds
In some languages it may be more natural to translate sins with a phrase that includes a verb. For example:
doing evil/wrong
The word sins also occurs in 7:47 and 11:4.
proclaimed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaimed means to publicly tell people something important. The word should not only refer to what a preacher does in church. Some other ways to translate proclaimed are:
announced -or-
proclaimed -or-
tell people
24:47b
to all nations: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nations refers to ethnic groups or people groups rather than to political states or geographic regions. Jesus was sending his disciples to preach the message to all the different groups of people on earth.
24:47c
beginning in Jerusalem: Here Jesus told his followers that he wanted them to begin preaching this message in the city of Jerusalem. Then they would also go to other places, as Acts 1:8 indicates. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
You must begin to proclaim it in Jerusalem. -or-
Start this preaching in Jerusalem.
General Comment on 24:46–47
In 24:46–47 Jesus summarized some prophecies in the OT Scriptures. At the time Jesus was speaking, some of the events had already happened (24:46b), and some had not yet happened (24:47). In your translation of these verses, it is important to use appropriate verb forms to make this clear. For example:
Jesus told them, “It is written in the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again on the third day. ⌊It is also written⌋ that repentance and forgiveness will be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”
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