22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
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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.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ko-rare-ru (来られる) or “come” is used.
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. 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. ).
hapanta ton laon ‘all the people,’ often in Luke in a context describing the reaction of the people upon, or attitude towards, John the Baptist (here) or Jesus (elsewhere). In these phrases laos is used not in a strictly religious sense. pas or hapas is not to be taken too literally; it expresses that a great number or a majority of those present takes the attitude which the clause describes. For laos cf. on 1.10.
aneōchthēnai ton ouranon ‘that the heaven was opened.’ The underlying picture may be that of a veil being rent (cf. Mk. 1.10) or of a door of a temple or palace being opened (cf. Rev. 4.1), preferably the latter. It is to be noted that Luke describes the opening of the heaven and the coming down of the Spirit as something which everybody saw or could see, whereas Mark represents them as something which only Jesus saw.
katabēnai to pneuma to hagion … ep’ auton ‘that the Holy Spirit came down upon him.’ Nowhere else is katabainō ‘to come down’ used in connection with the Holy Spirit and it may well be that the verb is used here because of the fact that the Spirit shows the outward appearance of a dove. For katabainō cf. on 2.51.
sōmatikō eidei hōs peristeran ‘in bodily form like a dove.’ The addition sōmatikō eidei which is not in Mark stresses the fact that the Holy Spirit was in the appearance of a dove. The ambiguity of the Greek text in Mk. 1.10 is avoided by Luke, peristera, cf. on 2.24.
sōmatikos ‘bodily’ with the connotation of ‘real.’
eidos (also 9.29) ‘outward appearance.’
phōnēn ex ouranou genesthai ‘that a voice came from heaven.’ For phōnē cf. on 1.44. Here the voice is the voice of God.
su ei ho huios mou ho agapētos ‘you are my son, the beloved one,’ a public proclamation, not only for the sake of the person addressed but also for those present. ho agapētos may be interpreted as attributive to ho huios mou “my beloved Son” (Revised Standard Version), or as an apposition to it, “My son, the Beloved One” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or “my Son, my Beloved” (New English Bible). The latter interpretation is preferable since it brings out the two parts of the clause: su ei ho huios mou ‘you are my son’ (Ps. 2.7) a formula pertaining to the enthroning of a king, and ho agapētos reflecting Is. 42.1 (not a literal quotation!), which refers to the suffering servant.
agapētos (also 20.13) ‘beloved,’ tending toward the meaning ‘only-beloved.’ Hence several commentators advocate the rendering ‘only,’ but the great majority of translators favours ‘beloved,’ which also fits the thought of Is. 42.1 better. This is to be preferred.
en soi eudokēsa ‘in thee I am well pleased.’ The aorist is best rendered as a present.
eudokeō (also 12.32) ‘take delight,’ especially of God’s delight in somebody, with the connotation of favour (cf. New English Bible) and choice (cf. An American Translation).
Translation:
The verses link up with v. 18, not with vv. 19f, which are a kind of parenthesis. Consequently it may be necessary to use a transitional that suggests the resuming of the thread of the narrative, such as, ‘it-is-told’ (Javanese), “meanwhile” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘now.’ For the same reason one may have to add a reference to the agent of the baptising, where necessary shifting to active forms, e.g. ‘at the time that all the people were baptised by John, Jesus was baptised also. Now, when Jesus was praying (afterwards), the heaven….’ Where a co-ordinating sentence structure is preferable one may say e.g., ‘It is told further, Jesus received baptism/was baptised with all other people (or, John had baptised all the people and Jesus also). After that he (or, Jesus) was praying. At that very moment…’ (cf. Chinese, Kituba).
All the people, where necessary qualified, e.g. ‘all those people,’ ‘all people there (or, which came to him),’ ‘all those present.’
The heaven was opened, intransitive, cf. “heaven opened” (New English Bible), or, ‘the door of heaven opened’ (Chuj for Acts 7.56, in which language a literal rendering would merely indicate a clearing away of the clouds).
(V. 22) Descended upon him, or, ‘alighted upon him,’ as said of birds, ‘came down … on top of his head’ (Sranan Tongo).
Him. In some languages the use of a pronoun in referring to a person to whom reverence is due sounds impolite, vulgar, or is simply unidiomatic. Then one may have to substitute the name, or a title, such as ‘the Lord’ (which the Greek often employs of Jesus, e.g. in 7.13, cf. also on 1.6), or use some other device, such as a verbal form with implicit subject, or with a pronominal suffix (which in some languages is acceptable where the free form of the pronoun is not). Cf. also above on 1.8.
In bodily form as a dove. Possible alternatives are, ‘having-form like the body of a dove’ (Tae’), or, since the bodily form may be taken to be implied in the comparison, ‘its shape like (that of) a dove,’ ‘in the form of a dove’ (Hindi, similarly Balinese), ‘appearing to-have-a-form as a dove’ (Javanese), ‘looking like a dove,’ ‘just like a dove.’ When using the last mentioned rendering one should take care that the phrase does not qualify the process but the agent. — Dove, see above on 2.24; here probably symbolizing purity, innocence, peace.
A voice came from heaven cf. ‘there-was/happened a voice from on-high’ (Batak Toba), ‘they heard a voice which originated in heaven’ (Manobo), ‘there-was a saying-in the ether’ (Balinese, using an idiomatic phrase for a message of supernatural origin), ‘someone called/spoke from heaven.’
Thou art my beloved son, with thee I am well pleased. In some honorific languages (e.g. Hindi, Marathi) the terms used, especially the pronouns, are the intimate, non-honorific ones that any father, royal or other, would use to his son, but others (e.g. Balinese) model their use of honorifics on the case of a royal father addressing his son in public. My beloved son, preferably, ‘my son, the beloved (one),’ as in ‘my Son, the Chosen’ in 9.35. For beloved, or, ‘(the one) whom I love,’ see on 6.27. In Ekari the best rendering turned out to be ‘own,’ which carries the meaning of especially one’s own and beloved.
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.
the Holy Spirit descended on Him: The clause the Holy Spirit descended on Him indicates that the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and perched/sat upon Jesus. The New Century Version has translated this is as:
the Holy Spirit came down on him
Holy Spirit: You should translate the term Holy Spirit here in the same way as you did in 3:16d.
in a bodily form like a dove: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in a bodily form like a dove:
(1) The Holy Spirit took the bodily form of a dove and came down on Jesus. This is why people often use a picture of a dove to represent the Holy Spirit. For example:
in the form of a dove (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation (1996); probably King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible)
(2) The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus in the same way that a dove would come down. God’s Spirit took some bodily form, but it was not necessarily the form of a dove. For example:
in bodily form, descended on him like a dove (New Living Translation (2004))
(footnote in NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), probably Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
dove: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as dove refers to several different species of birds. In English, these birds are sometimes called “doves” and sometimes called “pigeons.” The dove here refers to the same kind of bird that the Berean Standard Bible calls a “pigeon” in 2:24b. (See the note there.) It is recommended that you translate it in the same way here as you did there.
For Jews, doves/pigeons were a symbol of something that is gentle and peaceful. Doves/pigeons that we know today are often not gentle. They can be aggressive and attack other birds. It is important to consider this here where the Holy Spirit is described like a dove.
Here are some ways to translate this word:
• If your readers know doves/pigeons and they are considered good birds, you should use your word for a dove/pigeon.
• If doves/pigeons are unknown, or if they are considered bad, you may want to use the general word for “bird.”
3:22b
a voice came from heaven: The voice was the voice of God the Father. God spoke from heaven and talked to Jesus. The words in 3:22c are what God said to Jesus.
Some other ways to say a voice came from heaven are:
a voice spoke from heaven -or-
they heard a voice speaking from heaven -or-
God spoke from heaven
heaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as heaven is also used in 3:21b. It can have two different meanings, depending on the context:
(a) heaven, the place where God dwells;
(b) the sky.
Here the word heaven refers to the place where God dwells. In some languages, you may need to use a different word than the word you used for “heaven” in 3:21b.
See heaven in the Glossary.
3:22c
You are My beloved Son: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You are My beloved Son is literally “You are my son, the loved-one.” The words “the loved-one” indicate that Jesus was God the Father’s dear son. Be sure that it is clear in your translation that the word You refers to Jesus. Other ways to translate this part of the verse are:
You are my own dear Son. (Good News Translation) -or-
You are my Son. I love you.
beloved: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as beloved refers to the concern and affection that God the Father has for God the Son, Jesus.
Consider the most appropriate term to describe this type of love. In some languages there may be an idiom for it. It is possible that you may need to use different expressions to refer to God’s love and human love.
3:22d
in You I am well pleased: There is a textual issue here:
(1) Some Greek manuscripts have “with you I am well pleased.” Almost all English versions follow this reading. For example:
I am pleased with you (Good News Translation)
(2) Other Greek manuscripts have “I today have fathered you.” For example:
today have I fathered you (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). It has the earliest and most widespread manuscript support, and the majority of English versions follow these manuscripts.
The phrase in You I am well pleased means “I approve of you” and “I am very happy with you.” God the Father was expressing his joy that he receives from his Son. Many English versions say “with you” rather than “in you.” For example:
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