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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.
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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is 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, o-rare-ru (おられる) or “is/be present” is used.
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 7:21-23:
Watch out for false prophets!
They’re sheep-skinned wolves waiting to attack.
But you can recognize them by their deeds.
Grapes and figs don’t grow on thorn bushes, good trees don’t produce bad fruit,
nor bad trees good fruit.
Trees covered with bad fruit
will be chopped down and burned.
Not everyone who swears that I’m the Gatekeeper
will enter into the Kingdom of God.
Only those who obey my Father above
will be allowed to enter the Ultimate Kingdom.
Although some liars may claim to have worked miracles
or forced out demons in my name,
I’ll have nothing to do with those evil people —
Instead, they’ll be sent far away.
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
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®).
The construction Not every one who says to me, “Lord, Lord’ may have to be expressed as “It will not be everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ ” “Not all people…,” or “Even some people who say to me ‘Lord, Lord’ won’t….”
There is some disagreement regarding the precise meaning of Lord in this verse. The Lukan parallel (6.46) suggests the possible meaning of “teacher,” and some scholars believe that originally the meaning was either “teacher” or “master.” But apparently no translations follow this interpretation. The next verse is an obvious reference to the exalted Lord on the day of judgment, and this is surely the meaning that Matthew intends here. The majority of translations accept this interpretation.
The repetition of the noun of address, Lord, Lord, is somewhat unnatural following either the verb says or the verb “calls” (Good News Translation). The meaning is “not everyone who is in the habit of saying that I am his Lord….” Phillips translates “It is not everyone who keeps saying to me ‘Lord, Lord’….” Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition renders “Not everyone who constantly has my name in his mouth….” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “It is not sufficient to say to me: ‘Lord, Lord!’ ” One way that closely reflects the meaning is “It won’t be everyone who constantly says I am his Lord” or “… who is constantly acknowledging me as his Lord.” Another way is “It is not enough to always be saying I am Lord. Not all those who do that will enter the kingdom of heaven.” There will be languages where the idea will most easily be expressed as “Not all people who say to me ‘You are the one I serve.’ ”
Kingdom of heaven is synonymous with “Kingdom of God” (New American Bible). Most translations reproduce a literal rendering of the Greek text, but a few are dynamic: “… will come into God’s new world” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “… will become a member of God’s people” (INCL), and “… will enjoy the blessings of God’s rule” (Malay common language version).
We discussed enter the kingdom of heaven at 5.20. In addition to the suggestions there and the ways that we cited above, other ways to express this phrase include “will be among the people who receive the blessings of God’s rule” or “will be a part of God’s reign.”
The contrast signaled by but sometimes is shown by a new sentence, as in “It is (only) the person who does what God my Father in heaven wants who will be a part of God’s reign.”
Does the will means simply to do what God requires or wants done.
Note that as we have seen elsewhere, my Father who is in heaven refers to God. This fact may have to be made explicit as “God my Father….”
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 .
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter: The clause who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ means “who calls me their Lord/Master.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Among those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ not all of them will enter
-or-
Some people who say to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will not enter
In some languages, it may be more natural to make Lord, Lord indirect speech. For example:
Not everyone who calls me his Lord/Master will enter
Lord, Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master,” “owner” or “a person who has great authority.” It is used to refer to someone greater in status or power. People used it to address God the Father and Jesus. See how you translated this word in 3:3 and 5:33.
The double address of Lord, Lord probably indicates honor, respect, and deep emotion. The speakers were insisting that Jesus is their Lord. But as 7:23 indicates, the people who said this were not true followers of Jesus.
In some languages this double address will indicate a different meaning. If that is true in your language, indicate the honor and respect in another way. For example:
my Lord
-or-
dear/beloved Lord
will 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.
The phrase the kingdom of heaven refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.
Here Matthew used the word heaven as a Hebrew idiom to humbly refer to God.
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
-or-
will God make part of his reign
This clause also occurs in 5:20.
7:21b
but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven: The verb and object from 7:21a are implied but are not repeated. The complete sentence would be: but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven ⌊will enter the kingdom of heaven⌋.
It may be more natural in your language to include some of the implied words. For example:
but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven ⌊will become one of the people whom God rules⌋
-or-
but ⌊the person whom God will make part of his reign is⌋ the person who does my heavenly Father’s will
does the will of My Father in heaven: This clause means “does what God desires.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
does what my Father in heaven wants (God’s Word)
-or-
obey my Father in heaven (Contemporary English Version)
My Father in heaven: The clause in heaven further describes Jesus’ Father, namely, God. It does not imply that there are other fathers of Jesus and only this one is in heaven. In some languages, it will be necessary to translate the correct meaning in a different way. For example:
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