1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

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 14:24

Text:

After mou ‘my’ Textus Receptus adds to ‘the,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Before diathēkēs ‘covenant’ Textus Receptus adds kainēs ‘new,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

to haima mou tēs diathēkēs ‘my blood of the covenant’: the phrase is perhaps consciously modelled after Ex. 24.8 “Behold the blood of the covenant (Septuagint to haima tēs diathēkēs) which the Lord has made with you.” “The blood of the covenant” is the blood which ratifies, or seals, the covenant God made with his people.

diathēkē (only here in Mark) ‘will,’ ‘testament,’ ‘compact,’ ‘covenant’: it is agreed that the meaning of the word in New Testament is to be derived from the use and meaning of berith in the O.T., with reference to the ‘covenant’ which God made with the people of Israel. Rather than translate the Hebrew word by sunthēkē, the normal Greek word for ‘agreement,’ ‘covenant,’ the Septuagint uses diathēkē, perhaps with the purpose of avoiding the implication in sunthēkē of an agreement reached by a settlement between two parties who stand as equals; for in the O.T. God’s berith with his people is, so to speak, drawn up, proposed and executed by God alone.

to ekchunnomenon (only here in Mark) ‘the (blood) poured out’: several commentators translate the present participle ‘(the blood) which is now being poured out,’ as though in the mind of Jesus his blood were already being shed. It is better, however, to take the participle as having a future force, in accordance with Aramaic usage, ‘(the blood) which will be poured out’ (cf. The Modern Speech New Testament, Goodspeed).

huper pollōn ‘in behalf of many,’ ‘for many’ (cf. the discussion on anti pollōn in 10.45).

Translation:

There are a number of expressions used to signify covenant, some of which closely resemble the force of the Greek diathēkē, while others are simply general terms for a contract or agreement, e.g. ‘to put mouths equal,’ signifying complete assent on the part of all (Conob); ‘helping promise’ (More); ‘a thing-time-bind,’ that is to say, an arrangement agreed upon for a period of time (Vai); ‘an agreement’ (Loma (Liberia)); ‘agreement which is tied up,’ i.e. secure and binding (Northwestern Dinka); ‘a word which is left’ (Chol); ‘a broken-off word,’ based on the concept of ‘breaking off a word’ and leaving it with the person with whom an agreement has been reached (Huastec); ‘a death command,’ a special term for testament (Tetelcingo Nahuatl); ‘a promised word’ (Piro); ‘a word between’ (Eastern Krahn); and ‘promise that brings together’ (Yaka).

Perhaps a more difficult problem than finding a term for covenant is relating this expression to the preceding, namely, ‘blood,’ for the of in English cannot be reproduced by any possessive construction, as some translators have tried to do. The covenant does not possess the blood; it is only that the covenant is established or ratified by means of the blood. This relationship must be made explicit in some languages, e.g. ‘blood which establishes the promise…’ (Yaka), ‘blood which arranges…’ (Central Pame), ‘blood that makes the word between us strong’ (Eastern Krahn), and ‘blood which confirms the covenant’ (Mitla Zapotec). In Northern Grebo the entire construction is recast as ‘agreement made by shedding my blood.’

Poured out must be carefully translated to make sure that this does not refer to the pouring of blood from a glass or other type of receptacle. This is not a reference to the pouring out of animal’s blood, but the shedding of Jesus’ own blood, translated in some languages as ‘running out,’ ‘coming out,’ and ‘gushing out.’

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 14:24

14:24a

He said to them: In Greek this verse begins with the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “He said to them.” The Berean Standard Bible puts this phrase at the beginning of 14:24 and the New International Version puts it at the end of 14:24. Place it where it is natural in your language. See the General Comment on 14:24a–d at the end of 14:24c for ways to reorder the parts of this verse.

14:24b–d

This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many: The words My blood…which is poured out for many refer to the fact that Jesus would bleed and die a sacrifice. The phrase blood of the covenant indicates that he would bleed and die in this way so that the new covenant could begin. (When God made a covenant with his people in the Old Testament, God told them to sacrifice an animal. He told them to sprinkle the animal’s blood on themselves. That would cause the covenant to begin. Through Jesus’ death, God was making a new covenant with his people. When Jesus died as a sacrifice for them, his blood would cause the new covenant to begin.) This covenant was God’s promise and agreement to save those who trust in Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins. (This is a promise from a stronger person (God) to a weaker person (man). It is similar to the promise God gave to Abraham (Genesis 15:18). The “new covenant” is different from the Old Testament covenants that depended on two people or groups each fulfilling their part of an agreement (Key Biblical Terms). An example of an Old Testament covenant is the agreement between God and Israel at Mount Sinai when God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel. In English, people call this agreement at Mount Sinai “the old covenant” or “the old agreement” or “the old testament.”)

Here is one way to make some of this information explicit:

This wine is my blood. My blood will be poured out as a sacrifice on behalf of many people. It will confirm the covenant that God is making with his people.

blood of the covenant: The phrase of the covenant indicates that the covenant will be confirmed by Jesus’ blood. It indicates that the covenant is ratified, sealed or put into effect by means of the blood that Jesus shed when he died.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

which confirms the covenant between God and his people (New Living Translation)
-or-
that ratifies/seals God’s new covenant
-or-
and with it God makes his agreement (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
It causes God’s agreement with his people to go into effect

Many translators find an illustration helpful to understand the phrase “blood of the covenant.” The relationship between a signature and a proposed law is similar to the “blood of the covenant.” A proposed law cannot go into effect until a government leader signs it. In the same way, God’s new covenant did not take effect until Jesus’ blood “signed” or ratified it. See “covenant” in the Glossary.

14:24b

This is My blood: The word This refers to the wine that Jesus gave his disciples to drink. The phrase my blood refers to the blood that Jesus would shed when he died on the cross.

Churches have different views about exactly what the words This is my blood imply. Because of this, it is probably good to translate this clause literally.

14:24c

the covenant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as covenant means “agreement.” As part of this agreement, Jesus sacrificed his life to atone for people’s sins. Because of this sacrifice, God agreed or promised that he would forgive the people who trust in Jesus.

There is a textual issue in 14:24b that concerns the phrase the covenant:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have only covenant. This is followed by most English versions.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have new covenant. This is followed by several English versions.

(King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). This is the most likely text. However, the meaning of the word “new” is implied by the context. It may be good to include it if you need it to express the meaning in the most natural way in your language.

14:24d

which is poured out: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as poured out here refers to blood flowing freely from the body of a person or animal. The Jews often used this expression as an idiom to refer to a violent death or to dying as a sacrifice. In this context it indicates that Jesus was sacrificing his own blood, his life, to atone for our sins.

In this context the phrase poured out also associates Jesus’ blood with wine. People can pour wine out of a cup, and Jesus would bleed as he suffered and died the next day. In some languages a verb like “pour” may only be used of pouring liquids from containers. Use a verb that is appropriate to describe the way a person bleeds. Since Jesus had not yet died at the time he said it, you may need to translate this as a future event. For example:

will flow out

for many: The phrase for many means “on behalf of many people.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

for the sake of many people
-or-
so that many people may be saved

many: There are different ways to interpret the word many here. It is a Semitic (Hebrew/Aramaic) idiom that can mean “all people.” Some scholars think that this refers to every one of the many people who trust Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins. Other scholars think that “all people” refers to everyone who has ever lived.

Because churches disagree about the meaning, it is recommended that you follow most English versions and translate it literally as “many” or “many people.” You may also want to consult the major language version in your area.

General Comment on 14:24a–d

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the parts of this verse. For example:

24bThis wine is my blood. 24dMy blood will be poured out as a sacrifice on behalf of many people. 24cIt will confirm the covenant that God is making with his people, 24aJesus said to them.

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