3rd person pronoun with high register (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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”

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

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on Mark 15:12

Text:

Before, poiēsō ‘I shall do’ and Kilpatrick Textus Receptus add thelete ‘you wish,’ which is omitted by all other modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

ti oun poiēsō hon legete…; ‘what then shall I do with him whom you call…?’: the relative hon serves both as the object of poiēsō ‘I shall do’ and as the object of legete ‘you call.’ The proper translation is (as Revised Standard Version has it) ‘what shall I do with him…’ and not ‘what shall I do to him…’ (cf. Lagrange); but in many languages it is quite impossible to reproduce such a fine distinction.

Translation:

Said may need to be shifted to ‘asked,’ because of the following question.

Shall … do with must often be recast, e.g. ‘cause to happen to’ or ‘decide how this man … will fare.’

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 15:12

15:12

So Pilate asked them again: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as So Pilate asked them occurs at the beginning of 15:12. Some versions place the words Pilate asked them at the end of this verse instead, after quoting his words. Place these words where it is most natural in your language.

What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?: There is a textual issue in this verse. Some Greek manuscripts include a word that means “you wish”:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts do not include this word. They have only “What should I do…?” For example:

Then what shall I do with the man…? (Revised Standard Version)

(New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts include this word, as the Berean Standard Bible does. They have “What do you wish/want I should do…?” For example:

What do you want me to do with this man…? (Contemporary English Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Revised Standard Version, King James Version, NET Bible)

Option (1) has the strongest manuscript support. However, there is no significant difference in meaning between the two options. So you may follow whatever option is more natural in your language.

Pilate asked the crowd what he should do with Jesus if he released Barabbas. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

If I release Barabbas, what shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?

then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then is literally “therefore” or “so.” For example, the New Century Version says:

So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews? (New Century Version)

It does not mean “next.”

In Greek, this word occurs after the word “what,” as the Berean Standard Bible translates it. You should place it where it is natural in your language.

the One you call the King of the Jews:

There is a textual issue in this part of the verse. Many major Greek manuscripts (and the UBS4 page 185 and Majority Text) include the phrase “the one you call” here. However, many others do not include it. Of the versions consulted, only the God’s Word omits this phrase.
Pilate used the phrase the One you call the King of the Jews to indicate that he was using the same title for Jesus that the Jews used. (However, the leaders of the Jews did not call Jesus that.)

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

this man you call the king of the Jews (New Living Translation)
-or-
this man you say is the king of the Jews (Contemporary English Version)

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