form of address between the persons of the Trinity

In Hindi a differentiation is made between the way that the different persons of the Trinity are addressed by a regular person or by another person of the Trinity. When Jesus addresses God the Father or when God the Father addresses Jesus, a familiar form of address is used, unlike the way that any of them would be addressed with a honorific (pl.) form by anyone else.

Source: C.S. Thoburn in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 180ff.

complete verse (Matthew 11:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 11:26:

  • Uma: “because thus is your will, Father.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Yes, Father, I really praise you because this is your wish/will.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason I thank you is because you did this in this way because it was your desire because of your kindness.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And you (sing.) did this, Father, because that (concessive particle) is what you (sing.) wanted to be done.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “This is true, Father, for it’s what you determined which is your will.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Thus you did my Father because this is what you determined to happen.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Father (address for God)

The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )

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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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”

If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

will (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kokoro (みこころ) or “will (of God)” in the referenced verses. Two verses (Ezra 10:11 and Ephesians 1:9) use mi-mune (みむね) with the same honorific prefix and meaning.

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

See also will and doing the will of God.

Translation commentary on Matthew 11:26

Yea is an old form of “yes.” Barclay has “Yes, indeed, Father.” Of course, “Yes, my Father” will be better in some languages.

For such was thy gracious will represents the formal transfer of a Semitic expression, as does the alternate translation in the RSV footnote, “so it was well-pleasing before thee.” Several modern translations attempt a natural equivalent: “for that is what it pleased you to do” (New Jerusalem Bible), “You have graciously willed it so” (New American Bible), and “So you willed it to happen” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Other possibilities include “Yes, Father, because that was what you chose to do,” “… what you wanted,” and “… what you had decided to do.” Gracious is not specifically rendered in these models, for probably it does not need to be, since here it is really just a marker of the polite formality needed to address God. There have been translators who have used a sentence such as “for as God, this was what it pleased you to have happen.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .