1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

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. )

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 5:17-20)

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 5:17-20:

Don’t dream that I came to do away with your precious Bible!
I came to give full meaning to its every word
       and make everything happen, just as it says.
Fact is, before even a syllable is erased from the Bible,
       heaven and earth will have to first disappear.

So if you want an important place with the Great Rewarder,
obey and teach others to obey the Bible’s every teaching.
       Otherwise, you’ll have no standing within the Kingdom.
Do better than those self-righteous, religious snobs,
       or you’ll be snubbed by the Great Rewarder!

Translation commentary on Matthew 5:20

For I tell you is an emphatic transitional which serves to tie this verse with the preceding and to draw attention to the words that follow. Good News Translation inverts the order of the final two clauses in Greek, thus avoiding the more difficult “unless…” structure (see Revised Standard Version). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has adopted the same order as Good News Bible.

You is plural here, and in some translations appears as “you people” or “you all.”

Unless your righteousness exceeds appears in Good News Translation as “only if you are more faithful … in doing what God requires,” and in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “If you do not fulfil his will more perfectly than do the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.” Full discussion has already been given to the word righteousness (see comments on 3.15; 5.6, 10). A proper understanding of this righteousness is extremely important: it does not mean they are to adopt a greater number of commandments and prohibitions—Matthew in fact reduces all the commandments to one, the double commandment to love God and one’s fellow man. Jesus means that people must think in terms of a new and far more comprehensive righteousness. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “If you do not fulfil his will more perfectly than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.” In general the other translations follow along the same lines that they did in the earlier verses where “righteousness” was used. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, in its footnote on this verse, points out that the meaning is the same here as in 5.6, 10; it is the faithfulness of the disciples to the Law of God, a new faithfulness rendered possible and urgent by the authoritative interpretation which Jesus gives to that Law (7.29).

Both Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provide useful models for the phrase unless your righteousness exceeds. Similar sentences are “unless you make a greater effort in doing God’s will” or “unless you are more careful to do what God requires.”

Scribes (Good News Translation “teachers of the Law”) were first mentioned in 2.4. The word is here used in conjunction with Pharisees, and it should be kept in mind: Scribes and Pharisees are overlapping but not identical groups. Among the scribes or experts in the law were found both Pharisees and Sadducees, and only a small proportion of the Pharisaic party was composed of scribes. Elsewhere they are mentioned together in 12.38; 15.1; 23.2, 13, 14, 15. See 2.4 for a discussion of scribes, and 3.7 for Pharisees.

It is very important that enter the kingdom of heaven not be understood or translated as “go to heaven.” Of course, if “kingdom of heaven” is being translated as “rule (or, reign) of God,” the misunderstanding is not likely to arise. But on the other hand, it may be difficult to speak of “entering the rule.” Translators can say “will be one of those over whom God rules,” “will be one of the people under God’s reign,” or “God will not be able to make them part of his reign.” Another approach is to see the expression as meaning to become a part of the community of people over whom God rules: “become one of the people under God’s rule.”

As we pointed out above, Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have restructured the verse to avoid what would be a rather complex sentence if “unless” were used. Every language is different, and translators must restructure in ways that are natural. Some other examples may include “For I tell you all, that you will never be among those under God’s reign if you are not more careful to fulfil God’s will than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are” or “There’s no way you can be some of those people who are ruled over by God if you are not more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires.”

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 5:20

5:20

The Jews considered the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to be the most righteous people because they closely followed the commandments. So what Jesus said here would have shocked his hearers. He did not consider most of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees to be truly righteous.

5:20a–b

unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven: The Greek text has a negative in each clause:

if your righteousness does not surpass…, you will certainly not enter…

In some languages, it may be necessary to adjust the way the negatives are used in order for the correct meaning between the clauses to be clear.

Here are some other ways to translate these clauses:

you will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires. (Good News Translation)
-or-
your goodness must be a far better thing than the goodness of the scribes and Pharisees before you can set foot in the kingdom of Heaven at all! (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
You must obey God’s commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don’t, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. (Contemporary English Version)

5:20a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For indicates that the words in 5:20 are a further explanation of the ideas in 5:17–19.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

then (Good News Translation)
-or-
So
-or-
Therefore

Many English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate it either.

I tell you: The words I tell you emphasize the importance of the words that follow. This phrase is similar to “For I tell you truly” (in 5:18a) except that it does not have the word translated as “truly.”

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

I assure you
-or-
listen

unless your righteousness: The word righteousness refers here to doing what is right and good in God’s sight. A righteous person has good morals and is honest.

Here are some other ways to translate righteousness:

you do what is right
-or-
you do what God wills/desires
-or-
doing what God requires (Good News Translation)
-or-
you do what God considers right

This same word occurs in 5:6a.

exceeds: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as exceeds also means “surpasses” or “is better/greater than.”

Here are some other ways to translate exceeds:

is greater/more/better than
-or-
goes beyond (NET Bible)

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes refers to men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law of Moses. These men were called scribes because their original work was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. In New Testament times, this was no longer their main task.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

teachers of the law (New International Version)
-or-
teachers of the Law ⌊of Moses⌋
-or-
teachers of religious law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
experts in the law (NET Bible)

This word also occurs in 2:4. You should translate it here as you did there.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party known for teaching a very strict obedience to the law of Moses. See how you translated this term in 3:7.

5:20b

never: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as never is a stronger way to say “not.”

Here are some ways to translate these words:

certainly not (New International Version)
-or-
never (Revised Standard Version)

enter the kingdom of heaven: In this context, the word enter refers to “becoming a citizen of.” When people believe in Jesus, they become citizens/members of the kingdom of heaven.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven
-or-
become one of those who are in the kingdom of ⌊the one who lives in⌋ heaven

-or-

be added to those over whom God rules

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