rabbi

The Hebrew word that is transliterated in Greek and typically in English as “rabbi” is translated in Indonesian and Malay as guru — “teacher” — or bapak guru — “father teacher” in recent translations. (The only exception that is the Alkitab Versi Borneo of 2015 that transliterates as rabi.) (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 335ff. )

See also teacher.

complete verse (Matthew 23:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 23:8:

  • Uma: “‘But you, don’t you want to be honored and called ‘Teacher,’ for only one person is your Teacher, and you all are all just relatives of each other.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “As for you, do not want to be called ‘Teacher’, for you all are like brothers and only one is your teacher, I.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Don’t you allow anyone to call you ‘Teacher’, because you are all brothers, and you have only one teacher, I, the one chosen to rule.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘But as-for you, don’t permit that teacher be the spoken-opinion/designation of your companions toward you, because you are all siblings and only I am your teacher.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But as for you, don’t you have yourselves called teacher, because I alone am your teacher. You are all like one brotherhood.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But as for you, do not want that you elevate yourselves so that people call you their teachers. Because there is only one who is your teacher, that one who is called the Christ. As for you, you are all brethren with each other.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

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. )

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Matthew 23:8

Verses 8-11 affirm that the Christian community is essentially a fellowship in which God is the “one Father” (verse 9) and Jesus alone is the teacher in an absolute sense. This means then that within this community there must be no striving for positions of authority. On the contrary, the “greatest” of believers is the one who humbles himself and becomes “servant” of all other believers (verse 11).

But you are not to be called may be better understood as an active statement: “But you must not let others call.” The command may be understood to mean being called teacher by anyone, and it can be translated “You must not let anyone call you.” Or the verse may be somewhat rearranged and “others” identified as “brothers” or “fellow believers”; for example, “But all of you are brothers (fellow believers), and so none of you should call the other ‘Teacher.’ You have only one teacher.” See also 5.22 for further discussion of brethren or “brothers.”

You have one teacher may be translated “there is only one person who is your teacher” or “you only have one teacher.”

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 .