formal pronoun: crowd and Pilate

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, the crowd and Pilate address each other with the formal, respectful pronoun.

complete verse (Matthew 27:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 27:21:

  • Uma: “So, Governor Pilatus asked the crowds, he said to them: ‘From these two here, who would you like me to release to/for you?’ They answered: ‘Barabas!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Pilatus asked them again, he said, ‘Which one of these two do you want me to set free?’ ‘Barabbas,’ they said.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the governor, Pilate, asked them again, he said, ‘Which one of these two do you want that I should set free?’ And they said, ‘It is Barabbas.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So when Pilato inquired again saying, ‘Which of these two do you want me to release?’ ‘Barabbas!’ they said in reply.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore on Pilato’s asking them again, he said, ‘Well, which of these two do you want me to release?’ That crowd replied, ‘Barrabas.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The governor again said to the people: ‘Which of these two people do you want to be released now?’ The people said: ‘Let Barabbas be released.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

2nd person pronoun with low 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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Matthew 27:21

Verses 21-23, the fourth in the series of five scenes, narrates the demands by the crowd: “Free Barabbas and put Jesus to death!”

As previously noted, Matthew likes to emphasize the position which Pilate held, and so he frequently refers to him as governor throughout this chapter.

Care should be taken that them and they are understood to be the crowd.

Which of the two do you want me to release for you? is found in Matthew but not in the Marcan parallel. The point of reference is the custom mentioned in verse 15.

The reply of the crowd (“Barabbas”) is also found only in Matthew. Here again Matthew utilizes direct discourse as a means of allowing Jesus’ opponents to condemn themselves.

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 .