8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
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 Translator2002, 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, Herod addresses the wise men (Magi) with the formal pronoun, expressing respect.
The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.
Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):
Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:
For Mark 15:19 and Matt. 2:8 and 2:11: “uh’idma-rrama llia’ara” — “to kiss the fingernail and lick the heel”
For Acts 16:14: ra’uli-rawedi — “to praise-talk about”
The town name that is transliterated as “Bethlehem” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the signs signifying “manger + town” (referring to Luke 2:7). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
In American Sign Language it is translated with the signs for “bread” and “house,” referring to the original meaning of “Bethlehem” as “house of bread.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Bethlehem” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 2:8:
Uma: “After that, he commanded them to go to Betlehem, he said to them: ‘Go to Betlehem, investigate well where that Child is. When you find him, come here and tell me, so that I also may go worship him.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Herod told them to go to Betlehem, he said, ‘Go and really search for the child. When you have found the child, tell me, so that I can also go to praise him.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when he found out, he ordered them to carefully search for the child and he said, ‘If you find him, let me know so I can find him because I will worship also.’ Then he let them continue on to Bethlehem.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then he sent them to Betlehem saying, ‘Go there, and carefully search for that baby. When you find-him, return here to tell me so that I will go there also to worship him.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When he now knew, he sent them to Betlehem. He said, ‘Look carefully for that child. When you have found him, inform me, so that I can also worship him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Upon being told, Herod said to them: ‘Go to Bethlehem now and search for the baby until you have found him. When you have found him, then come here to tell me all about it so that I also can go and worship him,’ he said to them.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 ta (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential ta (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one 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 in the following way: “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. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both 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. ).
And he sent them … saying is represented by Good News Translation by “Then he sent them…,” or it may be rendered “After that, he told them to go….” There are languages where it must be made explicit that the wise men answered Herod’s questions before he sent them to Bethlehem. In these, translators will add “The wise men answered his questions, and then Herod sent them to Bethlehem.”
As a way of translating saying, some languages say “He said to them…” or “He told them that they should go and search….”
In some languages it will be better to make to Bethlehem a part of the direct discourse of what Herod said: “After that, Herod said to them, ‘Go to Bethlehem. There, look carefully for the child….’ ”
Go and search translates a participle followed by an imperative. However, this is a common structure in Semitic Greek and is best translated in English by two imperatives, as Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other English translations have done. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has the same structure as the English.
Search translates a verb which is used only two other times in the New Testament (Matt 10.11; John 21.12). In itself the verb means “to search carefully,” though in the present context its meaning is intensified by the inclusion of the adverb diligently. New American Bible translates “Go and get detailed information about the child,” and Phillips “search for this little child with the utmost care.” Good News Translation has “make a careful search for the child.” A simple phrase may prove easiest in some languages: “Look everywhere for this child.”
The Greek word translated child may mean “very young child” or “infant,” as is indicated by its usage of an eight-day-old child in the Septuagint of Genesis 17.12. In John 16.21 it has the meaning “baby.” However, the word normally means “child,” without reference to its age. The context implies that Jesus is no longer a baby at the time the men arrive; they seem not to have set off from their homeland in the east until the star signifying his birth had appeared. The same word is used of Jesus in verses 9, 11, 13, 14, 20, 21. In verse 16 it is the equivalent of a masculine plural form and is translated “male children” by Revised Standard Version and “boys” by Good News Translation.
When you have found him may be “When you have found where he is.”
Bring me word can be “Come and tell me (about it)” or “You should come back here to tell me where the place is.”
In Greek the pronoun I is emphatic, as is indicated by the inclusion of the intensifier too in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
That clearly indicates purpose. Herod wants the wise men to tell him where the new king is, “So that I also can worship….” “When you tell me where he is, I also will be able to worship…” is another way, or “I want you to tell me so that I will be able to worship….”
Herod is in Jerusalem as he speaks. Many languages cannot have him say that he will come to Bethlehem, but rather that he will “go” there.
Worship is the same verb used in Matthew 2.2.
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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