The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing,” because “to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )
In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )
In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding the Lord.
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed.
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or modern 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.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking.” (Source Philip Noss)
In the most recent Manchu translation of 1835 (a revision of an earlier edition from 1822), God is never addressed with a pronoun but with “father” (ama /ᠠᠮᠠ) instead. Chengcheng Liu (in this post on the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology blog ) explains: “In Manchu tradition, as in Chinese etiquette, second-person pronouns could be considered disrespectful when speaking to superiors or spiritual beings. Manchu Shamanist prayers avoided si [‘you’] and sini [‘your’] for this very reason. To use them for God would be, in Lipovzoff’s [one of the two translators] words, ‘the most uncouth and indecent way to speak to the Almighty — as if He were a servant or slave.’ There was also a grammatical problem. In Manchu, si and sini could refer to both singular and plural subjects. For a faith that insisted on the singularity of God, this was potentially confusing. By contrast, repeating ama removed any ambiguity.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 9:16:
Kupsabiny: “But our grandfathers were proud people and their heads were hard/dry (stubborn)! They refused to observe your commandments.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But they who were our (excl.) ancestors became arrogant, hard-headed, and not faithful to your (sing.) commands.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But our (excl.) ancestors became-stubborn and they refused to obey your (sing.) command.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “‘But our ancestors were very proud and stubborn , and they did not do what you commanded them to do.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
But they and our fathers …: The response of the people to God’s promise and to his provisions for them was rebellion. This verse begins with the Hebrew connective conjunction in a contrasting sense (But). It is followed by an independent third person plural masculine pronoun. The conjunction and should be understood with the meaning “that is.” Our fathers explains further what is meant by the pronoun they. New International Version and New English Bible therefore translate “But they, our forefathers” while Good News Translation simplifies and says only “But our ancestors.”
Acted presumptuously: Ironically, this is the same word translated as “acted insolently” in verse 10 where it was used of the Egyptians. “Grew proud” (Good News Translation) or “became arrogant” (New International Version) is a good current English equivalent.
Stiffened their neck is what oxen do when resisting the guidance of the yoke. This expression is a metaphor meaning to act stubbornly (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible).
Did not obey thy commandments: The word for obey in both verses 16 and 17 has a basic meaning of “listen” (compare New International Version). It has the implication that those who listen will also obey and do what is ordered. Here the Israelites did not listen to God’s commandments (mitswah), that is, they did not obey God’s commands. New Jerusalem Bible expresses this emphatically: “[they] flouted your commands.” “[They] refused to obey your commands” in Good News Translation is simpler and is a good model to follow.
In some languages each of the three actions in this verse may be portrayed idiomatically; for example, “they made themselves big, they made their livers become hard like stone, and they whitened your words [by not obeying them].”
Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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