39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 26:39:
Uma: “After that he went a little ways and he lay-face-down praying, he said: ‘My Father, if possible, make-far-away this suffering that is about to strike me. But let it not be my [emphatic] desire that happens, rather your (sing.) [emphatic] desire.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then he went a-little-ways-away and he prostrated on the ground and he prayed to God, he said, ‘O Father, if it is possible don’t let me be persecuted (with intent to kill). But not my will shall be followed but your will.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus went ahead nearby only, and he fell down on his face, and he prayed. He said, ‘My Father, if it can only be, do not let me pass through this torment you have destined for me. However, not my will be followed, but rather your will be followed.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then he went a little-ways-off and lay-face-down praying. ‘Father,’ he said, ‘if possible, please permit that I not undergo this hardship of mine that is coming. But may it not be what I want but rather what you (sing.) want that is fulfilled.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Jesus went away a bit from them. He went down prone and then prayed saying, ‘My Father, hopefully if it’s possible/acceptable, cause this hardship which I am to experience to go far from me. However not my will is to be followed/obeyed but on the contrary, your will.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Jesus went a bit farther on. He went face down on the ground to pray to God. He said: ‘Listen, my Father, if you look well on it, save me from the death I must pass through. But it isn’t what I decide that must be, rather that which you decide must happen.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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. )
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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.
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
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 morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are 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, nozom-are-ru (望まれる) or “desire/hope” and ino-rare-ru (祈られる) or “pray” are used.
Other uses of honorifics in this verse include:
The choice of an imperative construction. Here the honorific form kudasai (ください) reflects that the action is called for as a favor for the sake of the beneficiary. This polite kudasai imperative form is often translated as “please” in English. While English employs pure imperatives in most imperative constructions (“Do this!”), Japanese chooses the polite kudasai (“Do this, please.”).
The choice of a benefactive construction. Here, nasatte (なさって) or “do” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). Also, -sete (せて) or “let/allow (for me)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
The usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words. In this verse, nasaru (なさる), the respectful form of suru (する) or “do” is used.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
“Threw himself face downward on the ground” of Good News Translation is more literally he fell on his face. In place of on his face, Mark has “on the ground” (14.35). The problem with a literal translation in English is that it implies accidental falling, whereas the text indicates the intentional assumption of this position for fervent prayer (see Gen 17.3, 17; Num 14.5; 16.4; Josh 7.6). Barclay is similar to Good News Bible: “flung himself face down on the ground in prayer.”
Matthew presents Jesus’ prayer in direct discourse, whereas Mark uses first indirect discourse (14.35b), which he follows with direct discourse (14.36). My Father recalls the address “Our Father” of the Lord’s Prayer (6.9). Noticeably absent from Matthew is the Aramaic word for Father (“Abba, Father”), which is found in the Marcan parallel (14.36).
The impersonal form of if it be possible is natural in many languages, as in “if it can be done,” but often it needs to be transformed to an active clause, in which case God is the agent: “if you can do it.”
“This cup of suffering” (Good News Translation) is literally this cup (see comment at 20.22). In the Old Testament a cup is sometimes used as a symbol of punishment and revenge (Isa 51.17; Jer 49.12; Ezek 23.32), but here it is used of suffering, and several modern language translations make this clear (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, INCL, Malay common language version, Bible en français courant). Some translations have dropped the image altogether and said “this suffering.” Barclay, for example, has “this bitter ordeal.”
Let this cup pass from me can be expressed somewhat literally as “allow it to happen that this cup of suffering will leave me” or “allow me to not have to take this cup of suffering.” It may be more natural, however, to use an imperative or request form; for example, “please take this cup of suffering away from me,” “don’t make me take this cup of suffering,” or “let me avoid having to go through this experience of suffering.”
Sometimes the whole request needs to be restructured: “My Father, permit me, if you can, to escape this cup of suffering.”
Not as I will is a short way of saying “things should happen not in the way I want” or “it is not what I want that should happen.”
The clause but as thou wilt (Good News Translation “but what you want”) is without a verb in Greek, and one must be supplied from the previous clause (not as I will). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch inverts the order of the two clauses: “But what must happen is what you want, not what I want.”
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 .
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