formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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 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 Mark 10:29

Text:

After patera ‘father’ Textus Receptus and Kilpatrick add ē gunaika ‘or wife,’ which is omitted by all other modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

The words of this verse have already been dealt with: for aphiēmi ‘leave’ cf. 2.5; agros ‘field’ cf. 5.14; heneken ‘for the sake of’ cf. 10.7; euaggelion ‘gospel’ cf. 1.1.

Translation:

For truly as an emphatic introductory particle see 8.12.

The construction no one who … who will not … is difficult to reproduce as such in many languages. Frequently a conditional construction must be substituted, e.g. ‘if any one does…, he will…’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave). In other languages it is advisable to break this long sentence (consisting of verses 29 and 30) as ‘a man may…; he will certainly receive…’ or ‘those who have left…, they will receive….’ The difficulty with the Greek construction is not only its length but the double negative.

House refers to a man’s own home, translatable in some languages as ‘home village,’ rather than literally his ‘hut,’ for a man may leave one house for another, but this passage refers to a more permanent separation from the close village and family ties.

In languages which have special distinctions for ‘brothers and sisters’ this verse becomes somewhat more complex. For example, there may be special words for younger versus older brothers and sisters. Also, brothers and sisters may be classed not as two groups, but as one, namely, siblings. Accordingly, if in some languages one wishes to include all possibilities, the corresponding phrase must be somewhat altered, e.g. ‘older siblings and younger siblings,’ ‘older brothers and older sisters and younger siblings,’ in which older siblings are distinguished as to sex, but not younger ones (Tzeltal, Copainalá Zoque), or ‘older and younger brothers and older and younger sisters’ (Tzotzil).

For my sake may be treated either as causal ‘because of me…,’ or purposive ‘for the benefit of’ or ‘for the sake of….’ In some instances for my sake and for the gospel may be combined as ‘to help me and the good news.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 10:29

10:29a

Truly I tell you: Jesus used the phrase Truly I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and totally reliable, and that people should listen carefully to it. Jesus used this phrase eight times in Mark. Sometimes it introduces a serious warning or prediction. Here it introduces Jesus’ promise that his disciples would receive a great reward for leaving things to follow him.

In some languages you may need to translate the phrase differently in different contexts. Do not translate in a way that implies that Jesus had not been telling the truth at other times.

Here are some ways that English versions have translated the phrase in this context:

I tell you the truth (New International Version)
-or-
I can guarantee this truth (God’s Word)
-or-
I assure you (New Living Translation)

See how you translated this phrase in 3:28a or 10:15a.

Jesus replied: The Berean Standard Bible places the words Jesus replied after the words “Truly I tell you.” In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 10:29. Place the words Jesus replied where it is natural in your language.

10:29b–30a

no one who has left home or brothers or sisters…will fail to receive a hundredfold: These verse parts have two negatives:

(a) no one

(b) will fail to receive

These two negatives are an emphatic way to say, “anyone…will certainly receive.” For example:

anyone who has left home or brothers or sisters…will certainly receive a hundredfold…

Several English versions have translated it in this way (Good News Bible, New Living Translation, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version).

10:29b

no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields:

There is a textual issue here. It concerns the word “wife.” (1) Some Greek manuscripts do not include this word. For example, the New Century Version says: “houses brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms” (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, New Century Version). (2) Other Greek manuscripts include the words “and wife” after “father.” For example, the King James Version says: “house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands” (King James Version) It is strongly recommended that you follow option (1) and not include the word “wife” in your translation here.) The verb left means “left behind” or “abandoned.” This is the same word as in 10:28. Jesus included family, as well as possessions, in the list of things that someone might leave behind to serve God. In this context, leaving family members probably implies being away from them for a long period of time.

brothers or sisters: The words brothers and sisters refers generally to all siblings: older and younger, male and female. Use the words which include all these siblings.

fields: The word fields usually refers to land where people grow food. But this word can also refer to land in general. Here this word probably refers to any land which someone owns.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

lands (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
family/clan-land

10:29c

for My sake and for the gospel: The phrase for My sake and for the gospel means “in order to serve me and the cause of my gospel.” This person leaves home and family in order to serve Jesus and tell more people about his gospel.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

for my sake and the gospel’s (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
because of me and the Good News (God’s Word)
-or-
for me and for the good news (Contemporary English Version)

gospel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gospel means “good news” (as in the Good News Bible). In Mark, this word refers to the good news about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

good/sweet news
-or-
good news about Jesus Christ
-or-
good news from God
-or-
message/report that causes joy

Be sure that the term you choose does not refer only to a news report or to a story that is not true.

See how you translated this word in Mark 1:1.

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