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 7:1-6)

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 7:1-6:

Condemn others, and God will condemn you.
       God will be as hard on you, as you are on others.

Do you know someone with a sin the size of a speck?
If your sin is as large as a log, you’d better roll it away first,
       before you attempt to wipe away that tiny speck.
Otherwise, you’re a first-class hypocrite.
Don’t share what is sacred with wild dogs!
       They’ll turn and attack.
Don’t decorate pigs with earrings of pearls!
       They’ll trample those pearls in the mud.

Translation commentary on Matthew 7:6

This verse appears to have the order of a chiasm, as Revised Standard Version shows by means of a literal translation (see the discussion of chiastic arrangements under 5.45). Revised Standard Version makes it appear that the dogs do nothing, while the swine both trample and attack. This is, of course, possible, but it is more probable that the chiastic A-B-B′-A′ arrangement intends to say that the dogs (A) will turn to attack you (A′), while the swine (B) will trample them under foot (B′). A number of CLTs take this to be the meaning (Good News Translation, Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition, Bible en français courant, Bijbel in Gewone Taal), and they provide good examples of how the verse can be rendered meaningfully.

The term dogs is almost always translated literally. It is regularly used disparagingly in the Old Testament for street dogs, and in this context the meaning “unclean” seems to be implied, in contrast with holy. Thus dogs may well be rendered as “dogs, which are impure animals.” Some cultures use the term to refer to people of certain immoral behavior, which would not apply here, and so translators can say in those languages “unclean animals” or “compound (or, household) dogs.”

Translators often have to ask what things are being referred to as holy. Some have said “things that are for God” or “things that have to do with God.” Scholars are of divided opinion concerning whom or what is referred to by what is holy, dogs, pearls, and swine. However, what is holy should not be identified any more specifically than that, since the intention seems to be to refer to things in general that may be classified as holy.

The phrase do not throw your pearls before swine needs to be carefully analyzed before it is translated. There are, first of all, several metaphors here. Pearls may not be known, in which case they can be translated as “valuable stones” or “beautiful beads,” possibly with the addition “called pearls.” No one agrees exactly what pearls stand for in this verse, but since they are something valuable or precious, some have thought it might be “your experiences with God” or “your teachings from God,” or something similar. We do not recommend necessarily that this be included in the translation. We list it here merely to help translators have some idea of how to analyze the sentence before translating it. What may be helpful is to say “things that are precious to you like pearls.”

Throw … before then may best be translated as “share with” or “let others have.”

Swine (or, “pigs”) is often understood to stand for people who have no appreciation of truly valuable things, much as pigs are thought to eat both garbage and good food with equal pleasure. Translators can say simply “pigs,” “pigs who can’t tell what is valuable and isn’t,” or “pigs that can’t appreciate valuable things.”

The whole phrase can be rendered “Don’t share what is valuable to you, like pearls, with swine who can’t tell the value” or “… with people who, like swine, can’t tell what is of value.” But to repeat our advice above, translators should not be more specific than this about what pearls and swine actually refer to.

The warning lest they trample them under foot may be expressed as “so they won’t just trample them under foot” or “if you do, they will only trample them under their feet.”

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 7:6

Paragraph 7:6

7:6a–d

Do not give dogs what is holy…and then turn and tear you to pieces: Before you translate 7:6a–d, there are two main issues to consider:

Issue 1: Interpretation issue

There are three ways to interpret the way that the clause and then turn and tear you to pieces (7:6d) is connected to the rest of the verse:

(1) It is connected to 7:6a and refers to what dogs will do. The dogs will turn and tear you to pieces. According to this interpretation, the four clauses in 7:6 are arranged in a special order called a “chiasmus.” In this chiasmus, the first clause (7:6a) goes together with the last clause (7:6d), and the two middle clauses go together. For example:

6aDon’t give holy things to dogs, 6band don’t throw your pearls before pigs. 6cPigs will only trample on them, 6dand dogs will turn to attack you. (New Century Version)

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, and many commentaries)

(2) It is connected to 7:6b and refers to another thing that pigs will do. According to this interpretation, this verse is not a chiasmus. Swine/pigs will both trample the pearls (7:6c) and turn to attack you (7:6d). There is no description of what dogs will do. For example:

6aDo not give dogs what is holy; 6band do not throw your pearls before swine, 6clest they trample them under foot 6dand turn to attack you. (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

(3) It, together with 7:6c, is connected to 7:6a–7:6b and refers to another thing that both dogs and swine/pigs will do. Dogs and swine will both trample pearls underfoot (7:6c) and turn and attack you (7:6d). For example:

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Most commentaries follow this interpretation. Another way to translate this verse is:

6aDon’t give to dogs what belongs to God. 6dThey will only turn and attack you. 6bDon’t throw pearls down in front of pigs. 6cThey will trample all over them. (Contemporary English Version)

Issue 2: Metaphor

Verse 7:6 is a proverb-like saying using metaphors of dogs, pigs, and pearls. The “dogs” and “swine” refer to people. They probably refer to people who have rejected the gospel of Jesus. The phrase “what is holy” and the word “pearls” refer to the truths of the gospel of the kingdom.

One way to translate this verse is to put an explanation before the metaphors. For example:

Do not give ⌊what is holy to people who do not value the good news and even attack it. That would be like giving⌋ something holy to dogs or like throwing pearls to swine/pigs. If you do, the pigs will trample those things and the dogs will turn and attack you.

Some other ways to translate the metaphors are listed below.

7:6a

Do not give dogs what is holy: The word dogs is a metaphor. In this metaphor, certain people are compared to wild dogs. Like wild dogs attack other animals, certain people continually reject the message of the good news of the kingdom. They even attack those people who preach the good news.

Here the word dogs refers to wild or stray dogs. They are not dogs that people keep around their houses.

Here Jesus taught his disciples not to continue to teach the message of the good news to people who continue to reject and attack both the message and those who preach it.

Here are some other ways to translate this metaphor:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

Do not give what is holy to dogs (Good News Translation)
-or-
Don’t give holy things to dogs (New Century Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit the way that they are similar. For example:

Do not give what is holy to ⌊people who act like⌋ wild dogs.
-or-
Do not give what is holy to ⌊people who reject it like⌋ wild dogs.

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

Do not ⌊continue to⌋ give/teach the holy message of the good news to people who reject it.
-or-
Don’t give what is holy to unholy people. (New Living Translation (1996))

If you follow this option, you may want to include a footnote that gives the literal words. Here is a sample footnote:

Literally: “Do not give what is holy to dogs.”

what is holy: The word holy means “dedicated to God.” The phrase what is holy represents the good news of the kingdom of God.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

what belongs to God (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
holy things (New Century Version)
-or-
what is sacred (New International Version)

7:6b

In Greek, 7:6b begins with a conjunction that indicates that another negative clause is coming. This conjunction can be translated as “nor,” “and” and “or.” For example:

Do not give what is holy to dogs nor throw…
-or-
Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw… (NET Bible)
-or-
Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw… (New Revised Standard Version)

The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this conjunction, but connects 7:6a and b with a semi-colon (;).

do not throw your pearls before swine:

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

Don’t throw pearls down in front of pigs. (Contemporary English Version)

• Change the metaphors to similes and make explicit the way that they are similar. For example:

Do not give ⌊the valuable truths from God to people who do not value them. This is like⌋ throwing pearls to swine/pigs.

• Translate without the metaphor. For example:

Do not give the valuable truths from God to people who do not value them.

You may then want a footnote that gives the literal words:

Literally: “Do not throw your pearls to swinge/pigs.”

do not throw: The verb phrase do not throw implies carelessly throwing away something. The truths of the gospel are valuable like pearls. Jesus tells his followers not to carelessly share these truths with people who will not value them.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

Don’t give (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Do not scatter/toss
-or-
Do not share

your pearls: The word pearls refers to round, stone-like beads about 5–10 millimeters (quarter to half an inch) across. Pearls are found in a kind of shellfish called an “oyster.” Pearls are often very beautiful, and good ones are very valuable. People wear them in necklaces and as other jewelry.

In this context, the word pearls is a metaphor. Pearls represent the good news of the kingdom of God. They are similar in that both are valuable. The word pearls corresponds to the phrase “what is holy” in 7:6a.

Here are some other ways to translate the word pearls:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

valuable jewels called pearls
-or-
expensive beads
-or-
precious/costly stones

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit the way that they are similar. For example:

the good news of the kingdom which is valuable like pearls

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

the good news of the kingdom

before swine: The word swine means “pigs.” It is a metaphor. In this metaphor, certain people are compared to pigs, also called swine. Like swine do not value pearls and so trample them, certain people do not value the message of the good news of the kingdom.

7:6c

If you do: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as If you do links two actions. The first action was “throwing pearls before swine” in 7:6b. The second action is “they…trample them under their feet” in 7:6c. The first action prevents the second action from happening. Jesus was saying that a person should not throw pearls in front of swine/pigs (7:6b) to prevent the pearls from being trampled underfoot (7:6c).

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

lest (English Standard Version)
-or-
otherwise (NET Bible)
-or-
so that they do not

they: If you followed the recommended interpretation (1) in the note on 7:6a–d, the pronoun they refers to the pigs. In some languages, it will be good to make this explicit. For example:

Pigs will only trample on them (New Century Version)

trample them under their feet: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as trample them under their feet refers to purposely walking on something to crush it into the ground with your feet.

This clause continues the metaphor of 7:6b. Here are some other ways to translate this:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

trample them under their feet (New International Version)
-or-
stomp them into the ground
-or-
walk/step on them

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

They will not value those things.

7:6d

As mentioned above, this clause refers to what the dogs (in 7:6a) will do. In some languages, it will be good to make this explicit. For example:

and dogs will turn to attack you (New Century Version)

and then turn and tear you to pieces: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as turn and tear you to pieces refers to cutting flesh with the teeth.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

turn and tear you to pieces (New International Version)
-or-
and turn and bite you

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

and ⌊the people who act like dogs will⌋ turn and mock/disrespect you

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