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. )

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.

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 18:21-35)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 18:21-35:

“Forgiveness times seven is surely enough
       to offer anyone who offends me,” said Peter.

“Try seven times that amount!” answered Jesus,
“and listen to this story about the Ultimate Kingdom.”

       The CEO of a big corporation called in his employees
              to account for their use of the company funds.
       One of them came up fifty million dollars short,
              and he was broke.

       “His wife and children are just as guilty,” said the CEO.
       “Lock all of them up and throw away the key,
               until he pays back every cent he owes.”

       But the man begged for mercy
       and swore he’d repay every cent.
              So the soft-hearted CEO forgave his debt.

       On the way out of the office, the man happened to meet
              an office boy who owed him a measly fifty bucks.
       With his hands around the throat of he boy, he shouted,
              “Pay me every cent you owe!”

       The boy begged for mercy and swore to repay every cent.
       But there was no mercy, and the boy was thrown into jail
              until he could repay the full amount.

       Some other employees found out what had happened,
       and they reported the matter to the CEO,
              who called the man in and said, “You’re evil!
       When you begged for mercy, I forgave every penny.
              Isn’t that what you should have done for this boy?
       I’ll have your hide for this!
       You, your wife, and your family of four
              will perish impoverished in prison.”

“Listen up!” exclaimed Jesus.
“If you don’t forgive others with all your heart,
       my Father above will treat you like this.”

Translation commentary on Matthew 18:35

“And Jesus concluded” is introduced by Good News Translation as a means of indicating the end of the parable and a transition to its application. In Greek this is accomplished by two words which Revised Standard Version translates So also (Good News Translation “That is how”; New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible “And that is how”). Translators can also render this whole verse as “That’s the way it will be with God my heavenly Father. If you do not forgive your brother from your heart, God will deal with you as the king did with that man” or “That’s the way God my heavenly Father will deal with you….”

Will do to every one of you: translations vary considerably, since the verb do has a wide variety of meanings, dependent upon the context in which it is used. Both New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible have “will deal with you”; Moffatt and Barclay have “will do the same to you.”

From your heart (so also Good News Translation) or “from your hearts” (New English Bible, An American Translation) represents a literal rendering of the Greek text and is followed by most English translations. An exception is Barclay, who translates “genuinely.” In the same vein are “sincerely” or “completely.” A similar expression is used in the command to love God (22.37), and it is used here to underscore the absolute nature of forgiveness. One scholar concludes his remarks on this section with the comment, “God’s forgiveness is not for decoration but for use.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 18:35



18:35

In 18:35, Jesus gave the application of his parable. In some languages, it may be natural to make this clearer. For example:

And Jesus concluded (Good News Translation)

Before you translate 18:35, consider what the most natural order for the parts of this verse is in your language. In some languages, it may be more natural to put 18:35b first. For example:

35bIf you do not forgive your brother from your heart, 35amy heavenly Father will do the same thing to every one of you.

18:35a

That is how: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as That is how also means “likewise” or “in this manner.” It indicates that the way that God will treat people who do not forgive their brother is similar to what the king in the story did.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

So also (English Standard Version)
-or-
Like that
-or-
In the same way

My heavenly Father: Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

my Father in heaven (Good News Translation)
-or-
my Father who is in heaven

This same phrase occurs in 15:13. You should translate it the same way in both places.

will treat each of you: This phrase refers to the way that God the Father will treat people. He will treat them harshly like the king treated the unforgiving servant harshly.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

will do to every one of you (English Standard Version)
-or-
will deal with you (Revised English Bible)

18:35b

unless you forgive your brother: In Greek, the pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your is literally “his” (as in the King James Version). But because the final phrase has “your heart,” the Berean Standard Bible (and almost every other English version) translates it as your. You should follow these versions.

from your heart: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as from your heart is an idiom. It means that your forgiveness should be sincere. It should be true forgiveness. Use a word or phrase that best describes that in your language.

Here are some other ways to say this in English:

with all your heart (Contemporary English Version)

-or-

sincerely (God’s Word)