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. )

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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 are (され) 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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 7:9

Exegesis:

ho Iēsous ethaumasen auton ‘Jesus marvelled at him,’ rather than ‘admired him.’

strapheis tō akolouthounti autō ochlō ‘turning to the crowd that he followed him.’ autō is dependent upon akolouthounti.

strapheis (7.9, 44; 9.55; 10.23; 14.25; 22.61; 23.28) aorist participle of strephomai ‘to turn,’ in Luke always in this form and always referring to Jesus, used to denote that Jesus turns his attention to others, or to some people specifically.

legō humin ‘I say to you,’ cf. on 3.8.

oude en tō Israēl tosautēn pistin heuron ‘not even in Israel have I found faith so great.’ Israēl refers to the Jewish nation as a geographical and religious entity. tosautēn lit. ‘so great,’ is best understood in a qualitative sense, cf. Revised Standard Version. For pistis cf. on 5.20. heuron, aorist, expresses that the action is completed and now regarded as a whole in contrast with what Jesus found at that very moment.

Translation:

Marvelled at, see on “wondered at” in 1.21.

Turned and said to the multitude, or, ‘turned (around) towards the multitude, saying/and said.’ To turn (or, ‘to turn the face,’ ‘to look back’), i.e. in order to address, hence in some cases, ‘to address.’

Followed, or, ‘went along with him,’ ‘was/walked behind (him),’ referring to accompaniment, not to discipleship.

Not even in Israel have I found such faith, or, ‘even in (the people) Israel I have not found a man who believed so strongly (in me),’ or, ‘this man believes very firmly (in me); even amongst Israelites I have not met/come-across the like of him.’ — Even is often expressed by an intensive particle indicating what might not be expected, and/or by giving emphatic position to the word(s) it qualifies. — In Balinese such faith is idiomatically rendered as, ‘faith that is so dense.’

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 7:9

Paragraph 7:9–10

7:9a

When Jesus heard this: The word this refers to what the officer said in his message.

He marveled at the centurion: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the centurion is literally “him” in Greek. You may find it helpful in your own language to use a clarifying word rather than the pronoun “him.” For example:

Jesus was amazed at the officer (God’s Word)

He marveled: The phrase He marveled means that “Jesus was amazed.” The word marveled implies that he was very pleased and surprised. It pleased Jesus that the officer recognized his authority and had such great faith in him. Do not use a word that means to be amazed about something bad or displeasing.

7:9b

Turning to the crowd following Him, He said: Jesus turned around to look behind him at the crowd of people and to speak to them.

7:9c

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and that people should listen carefully to it. Some other ways to show this emphasis could be:

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

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

• Express the emphasis within Jesus’ statement. For example:

In all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I have certainly not found such great faith, not even in Israel.

If you have another way in your language to emphasize an important statement, consider using it here.

not even in Israel have I found such great faith: The phrase not even in Israel have I found such great faith implies, “I have not found any Israelites who believe ⌊in me⌋ as much ⌊as this Gentile does⌋!” The phrase implies that Jesus expected the Jews to believe in him. He did not expect a Gentile (non-Jew) to believe in him more than the Jews did. Many Jews believed that Jesus could heal sick people by touching them. However, this Gentile believed that Jesus could heal from a distance just by speaking a word.

in Israel: The phrase in Israel means “among the Israelites.” It does not refer to location. This officer lived in Israel, but he was not one of the people (descendants) of Israel.

great faith: The word faith refers here to confidence that Jesus/God can do a certain thing. Here the officer had great faith because he was completely sure that Jesus had the authority to heal his servant with a word. See believe, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

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