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, the crowd (or individuals within the crowd) addresses Jesus with the formal pronoun, expressing respect.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:57:
Noongar: “As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, ‘I will follow you everywhere you go.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “On their journey, there was a person who said to Yesus: ‘Wherever you (sing.) go, Lord, I want to follow you (sing.).'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “While they were traveling, a person spoke to Isa, he said, ‘Sir, I want to follow you wherever you go.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And while they were walking, there was a person who said to Jesus, ‘I will go with you wherever you go.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “As they were walking-along there was a man who said to Jesus, ‘I will follow you (sing.) even wherever you (sing.) go.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “While they were still traveling, someone said to Jesus, ‘I really will go along with you wherever you go.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 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, ik-are-ru (行かれる) or “go” is used.
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 poreuomenōn autōn en tē hodō ‘and as they were going along the road.’ Subject is Jesus and his disciples, as in v. 56. poreuomenōn is best understood as a continuation of poreuesthai, in v. 51, since from that verse on till 19.27 Luke’s theme is that of Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem (see commentaries, especially Grundmann).
akolouthēsō soi hopou ean aperchē ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ For akoloutheō cf. on 5.11.
aperchomai here ‘to go’ with the implication of going to some place (cf. 17.23). Elsewhere usually ‘to go away,’ ‘to go back.’
Translation:
As they were going along the road, or, “as they went on their way” (Good News Translation), ‘as they were travelling on,’ ‘on their journey’ (Tae’).
Him, i.e. Jesus, who is referred to by his proper name in the next verse; this order may have to be reversed or otherwise adjusted.
Wherever you go may have to be translated, ‘on all journeys you make,’ ‘to all places that you go to.’
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.
In the previous section, Luke spoke about the unwillingness of people in a Samaritan village to receive Jesus. In this Section 9:57–62, Luke told about three men who said that they were willing to follow Jesus. However, they did not understand the difficulties involved. Jesus warned each of them that it would not be easy. He told them that they must put the kingdom of God above everything else in their lives.
Some other examples of headings for this section are:
The Difficulty of Following Jesus -or-
Three People Who Wanted To Be Jesus’ Followers
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 8:19–22.
Paragraph 9:57–58
The previous Section 9:51–56 indicated that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, so “the road” that Luke mentioned in 9:57a may be the road to Jerusalem. However, the setting for the parallel passage in Matthew 8:19–22 is different, so specific details about the location should not be made explicit here.
9:57a
As they were walking along the road: The pronoun they refers to Jesus and his disciples. The phrase the road does not refer to any specific place or time. You should translate this setting in a general way. For example:
As they were walking along (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
⌊One day⌋ as they walked along the road
someone said to Jesus: Luke does not identify this man in any way. The text does not indicate whether he was walking with Jesus and his disciples or whether he approached Jesus at some place along the way. In some languages it may be necessary to introduce this man into the story in a general way. For example:
⌊there was⌋ a man ⌊who approached⌋ Jesus and said
9:57b
I will follow You wherever You go:
The phrase I will follow You indicates here that the man wanted to be one of Jesus’ disciples. In Jesus’ time, a disciple followed his master wherever he went and learned from him. In some languages some of this information may need to be made explicit. For example:
I will ⌊be your disciple and⌋ follow you anywhere you go. -or-
I want to become your follower ⌊always⌋. Wherever you go, I will go also.
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