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 6:32

Gentiles (Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible “pagans”) is made from the same stem as the noun used in 5.47 (see comments there), and the two words mean the same. The more general use of the term simply means “Gentiles” as opposed to Jews. However, in the present context it is apparently used in a derogatory sense of people who have not learned to trust in the God of the Jews. Barclay translates “the people who don’t know God” (so also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch); New American Bible has “The unbelievers”; New English Bible renders “the heathen.”

Seek (Good News Translation “are … concerned about”) is given a dynamic translation by many: “running after” (New American Bible), “set their hearts on” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “keep thinking about” (Barclay). Elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew this same Greek verb is found only in 12.39 and 16.4, where it is translated “ask for (a miracle)” by Good News Translation.

Seek can also be “worry about,” “keep thinking about,” or “preoccupied with.” Many languages will use an idiomatic expression such as “Those things fill their hearts (or, minds).”

All these things is translated “These are the things” by Good News Translation. But Good News Translation includes the force of all by the rendering “always” in conjunction with the verb (so also New American Bible).

Some translators have rendered all these things as “These are the very things that Gentiles are always worrying about” or “It is all these kinds of things that concern the Gentiles.”

Heavenly Father, as elsewhere in this passage, refers to God. He knows that you need them all, that is, “He knows that you should have these things” or “He is aware that it is necessary for you to have these things.”

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 .