acrostic in Psalm 111

The Hebrew text of Psalms 9/10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145 uses acrostics, a literary form in which each verse is started with one of the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. According to Brenda Boerger (in Open Theology 2016, p. 179ff. ) there are three different reasons for acrostics in the Hebrew text: “for ease of memorization,” the representation “of the full breadth and depth of a topic, all the way from aleph to taw (tav),” and the perception of “the acrostic form as aesthetically attractive.” (p. 191)

While most translations mention the existence of an acrostic in a note or a comment, few implement it in their translation. The Natügu translation is one such exception. Boerger (see above) cites a strong tradition in singing the psalms and the fact that Natügu, like Hebrew, also has 22 possible initial letters as motivating factors to maintain the acrostics in that language.

Click or tap here for the complete psalm in Natügu

1 Awi Yawe! Glqpxku Yawe!
Bilvzx nide mz nabznge atwrnrngr, mz nzyrlwr-lxblr-krgr badr leplz nedeng.
2 Clvele nrlc x da kcng tqwz-ngrde, tqaletileng nzmyalzng.
Delc, leplz amrlx na-aotingr drtwrdr da lcng mz nzabrtzlvz-krdrleng.
3 Eu, da lcng amrlx nzaelwapx-ngrdr zmrlue x zmatq rde.
Glqpxku nztubq-krde kc tqvzpe tqvzpe.
4 Ipqle nigu mz zmrlz ngrde kxmyalz x ycngr drtwrde nigu.
Jzsle nigu x nayc zvz mz drtwrgu rkx ngrdeng.
5 Kabzle dakxnzng mz leplz kcng tzamrluelr nide.
Lolvz-amqngile mz drtwrde da kx esalz-ngrbzle badr.
6 Mz nzaprc-krbzle drtc’ ngr lr mrkzbleng mz doa nedeng,
Nide kc tqaelwapx-ngrbzle zmatq rde badr.
7 Okatrle nidr mz nzaclve-krdeng kxtubq.
Prlxpx-zvzle da angidr x nzrsakrlrngr.
8 Rkapx zvz natq kx rsakrlrngr.
Sa na-atutrleng murde nqmq krde mrlz x tubq.
9-10 Takitrde nzangio-krgu drtqde kxtr mz nzamrluengr murde
Vz-nqblq-zvzle nzesalz-krde x
Witi nelzde nzarlapx-krde leplz nedeng.
X aelwapx-ngrgu nzyrplapx-krgu mz nzamrlue-krgu nide.
Yawe kabzle nzrkrlz-angidrngr mz krkcng tzyrlq-angidrlr natqde.
Zbq kalvz nzrglqpxngr nide navz zvz x tqvzpe, tqvzpe.

© 2008, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Danish Bibelen på Hverdagsdansk (publ. 1985, rev. 2015 et al.) translated Psalm 111 into an acrostic. Iver Larsen who worked in this translation explained (in Roelie Van der Spuy in Old Testament Essays 2008, p. 513ff. ) the choice of letters: “We don’t use c, q, w, x and z. On the other hand we do use the extra Danish vowel symbols æ, ø and å, and the y is a vowel, not a consonant. Since Danish has more than 22 letters, we cannot use all the letters, so among those last ones (æ, ø, å) I chose what fits best.”

Click or tap here for the complete psalm in Danish with its English translation

1. Af hele mit hjerte vil jeg takke Herren,

[From all of my heart I will thank the Lord]

berømme ham midt i de gudfrygtiges forsamling.

[extol him in the midst of the assembly of the God-fearing.[

2. De ting, han gør, er vidunderlige,

[The things he does are wonderful,[

enhver, der oplever dem, må juble og glæde sig.

[all who experience them rejoice and are happy.]

3. Fantastiske er alle hans undere,

[All his wonders are fantastic,]

glem ikke hans uendelig godhed.

[never forget his unending goodness.]

4. Herren er nådig og barmhjertig,

[The Lord is compassionate and merciful]

ingen må glemme hans velgerninger.

[no one should ever forget his good deeds.]

5. Jeg ved, at han altid sørger for sit folk.

[I know that he always provides for his people,]

Kan han nogensinde glemme sin pagt med dem?

[Could he ever forget his covenant with them?]

6. Landet, som tilhørte de fremmede, gav han til sit eget folk,

[The land that belonged to foreigners he gave to his own people,]

med magt drev han de andre væk for øjnene af sine udvalgte.

[he forced them away before the eyes of his chosen ones.]

7. Når han handler, gør han altid det rigtige,

[When he acts, he always does what is right,]

ordene fra ham kan man stole på.

[his words are trustworthy.]

8. Pas på, at I trofast adlyder hans bud,

[Be careful to faithfully obey his commands,]

retsindighed har evighedsværdi.

[uprightness/justice is of eternal value.]

9. Sit folk har han sat i frihed,

[He has given his people their freedom,]

til evig tid varer hans pagt med dem.

[his covenant with them will last forever.]

Underfuld og hellig er Herren.

[Wonderful and holy is the Lord.]

10. Visdom udspringer af ærefrygt for Gud.

[Wisdom results from respectfully honoring God.]

Ypperlig er den indsigt, man får ved at adlyde ham.

[The insight you get from obeying him is superb.]

Æren er hans for evigt!

[He is to be honored forever!]

There are two Dutch translations that maintain the acrostic: Naardense Bijbel (publ. 2004) and the Tot Lof van God by Frans Croese (publ. 2010).

Click or tap here for the complete psalm in the Dutch translations

Naardense Bijbel:

1
Alleluia, ik dank de Ene van ganser harte, ✡
binnen de kring der oprechten,
een samenkomst;
2
groot zijn de daden van de Ene, ✡
doorvorsbaar
voor elk met behagen daarin;
3
en glans en luister straalt van zijn werk, ✡
fleur houdt zijn gerechtigheid
voor altijd;
4
genadig en barmhartig is de Ene, ✡
hij doet zijn wonderen voorgoed gedenken;
5
indachtig is hij voor eeuwig zijn verbond, ✡
ja, wie hem vrezen gaf hij teerkost; de
6
kracht van zijn daden
heeft hij zijn gemeente gemeld; ✡
leende hun
het erfdeel van volkeren;
7
machtig zijn zijn handen in trouw en recht, ✡
nooit onbetrouwbaar zijn
al zijn inzettingen;
8
ondersteund voor altijd en eeuwig, ✡
product
van trouw en oprechtheid;
9
redding, loskoop zond hij zijn gemeente,
sloot voor eeuwig zijn verbond, ✡
te vrezen en heilig is zijn naam!-
10
vreze voor de Ene
      is het beginsel van wijsheid,
weg tot goed inzicht
voor wie daarnaar dóen; ✡
zijn lof
blijft staande voor altíjd!

Tot Lof van God translation:

Looft Jah!

Aan Jehovah betuig ik dank, van ganser harte prijs ik Hem,
bij het beraad der oprechten, maar ook in vergadering bijeen.
2
De daden van Jehovah zijn waarlijk groots,
en fascinerend voor een ieder die er behagen in schept.
3
Fenomenaal is Zijn werk in luister en pracht,
gezien ook Zijn rechtvaardigheid die voor alle eeuwigheid staat.
4
Hij stelde voor Zijn wonderdaden een gedachtenis in
– inderdaad, Jehovah is goedgunstig en barmhartig,
5
ja, zoals Hij proviand verschafte aan hen die Hem vreesden –
kortom, Hij zal Zijn verbond voor altijd gedenken.
6
Louter de kracht van Zijn daden al, zoals Hij die Zijn volk verhaalde,
met daarbij hetgeen Hij hun gaf: het erfdeel der natiën.
7
Naar waarheid en recht, dat zijn de werken van Zijn handen;
onveranderlijk zijn al Zijn voorschriften,
8
pal en onwrikbaar staan die, voor altijd en eeuwig;
recht en waarachtig, zo zijn zc gemaakt.
9
Schonk Hij Zijn volk destijds de verlossing,
toen was daar tevens Zijn blijvend verbond.
Uniek, ontzagwekkend en heilig, dat is Zijn naam.
10
Vrees voor Jehovah is het begin van de wijsheid,
waarbij allen scherp van inzicht zijn die daar ook naar doen.
Zijn lof staat voor alle eeuwigheid!

With thanks to Thamara van Eijzeren

In the Zürich German dialect (Züritüütsch) of Swiss German, the Psalms were translated while maintaining the acrostic by Josua Boesch (publ. 2009 ).

Click or tap here for the complete psalm in Zürich German

1 Halleluja! ER isch is mee wèrt als ales.
Au iich wil IMM tanke vo ganzem hèrze,
Bi siine friind i siinere gmäind.
2 Chumm lueg, was èr ales ttaa hät für öis.
Die, wo s ggluschtet, psined sich drüber.
3 ER hat ales herrlich und schöön gmacht.
Für eewig bliibt siini grächtigkäit fescht.
4 Gaar nie wil iich sini wunder vergässe.
Häsch ghöört, ER isch barmhèrzig und güetig.
5 I siinere hand isch z ässe fur d fründ.
Käine chunnt z chuurz, èr haltet s verschpräche.
6 Lueg, was er mit chraft fur siis volk tuet,
Mit welere liebi èr ine s land gitt.
7 Nüüt isch nöd zueverlèèssig und rächt vo dèm, won er gmacht hät.
Ooni siis soorge hett ales kä sinn.
8 Probier nöd z flicken a siineren oornihg, suscht hebt si nöd eewig.
Rue hetsch au nümen und ales gieng schieff.
9 Siim volk hät èr emaal d freihäit ggèè.
Tänk doch an bund, won èr mit em gschlosse.
Uurhäilig isch IMM sini nööchi bi öis.
10 Vo aafang aa hämer nur INN als mitti vo öisere wiishäit.
Wèr siich dernaa richtet, hät s imer guet.
Zum schluss wämer inn rüeme imer und eewig, ER isch is mee wèrt als ales.

The English Bible translation by Ronald Knox (publ. 1950) maintains most Hebrew acrostics (even though Knox’s translation itself is based on the Latin text of the Vulgate rather than the Hebrew). Due to the higher number of letters in the English alphabet, it skips the letters J, Q, X, and Z. (Click or tap here for the complete psalm in the Knox translation.)

1 All my heart goes out to the Lord in praise, Before the assembly where the just are gathered.
2 Chant we the Lord’s wondrous doings, delight and study of all who love him.
3 Ever his deeds are high and glorious, faithful he abides to all eternity.
4 Great deeds, that he keeps still in remembrance!
5 He, the Lord, is kind and merciful. In abundance he fed the men who feared him, keeping his covenant for ever.
6 Lordly the power he shewed his people,
7 making the lands of the heathen their possession. No act but shews him just and faithful; of his decrees there is no relenting.
8 Perpetual time shall leave them changeless; right and truth are their foundation.
9 So he has brought our race deliverance; to all eternity stands his covenant. Unutterable is his name and worshipful;
10 vain without his fear is learning. Wise evermore are you who follow it; yours the prize that lasts for ever. (Source )

Another English translation that maintains the acrostic is by Gordon Jackson (The Lincoln Psalter, 1997). (Click or tap here for the complete psalm in the Jackson translation.)

Hallelujah!

All that I am I offer in praise of the Lord,
Being in the band of the blessed, all good men and true.
Can we give adequate, accurate praise for his works?
Dearer and dearer he is to us, as we consider them.
Exalt him as much as we may he is always more worthy
For the meters of mortals are useless to measure his good with.
Great is his name, and yet he deserves a far greater;
Heaven’s his nickname, and Holiness, Mercy, Truth, Grace.
If those who fear him hunger, see how he feeds them!
Keeping his word for his own honour’s sake;
Look how he gave his people the lands of others,
Making them gifts of cities by his own strength.
Nothing he does that is not done deeply with justice;
On stone his laws are written, and they will not adjust;
People and fashions will change, but not his wisdom;
Right is right with him, and truth is truth.
Saving his people again and again he is faithful
To a promise his people have broken again and again.
Unworthy as we are, his holy name honours us;
Vital wisdom it is that we trust him and fear him,
Wanting his teaching, enjoying our own understanding,
Yielding our wisdom to his, and gaining by giving.

And lastly, Brenda Boerger (2024) translated this psalm while maintaining the acrostic:

1 Allelu-Yah! O, praise th’almighty King!
 Bless him! I’ll let all my thanksgivings ring;
 Companions of faith will join us and sing.
2 Dynamic — God’s deeds in every detail,
 Eagerly studied in all they entail,
 For deep delight is found there without fail.
3 God’s glory glows from every endeavor;
 His righteous holiness lasts forever.
4 Incomparable marvels make us recall,
 Just, gentle, good Yahweh, is Lord of all.
5 Kind Yahweh feeds all those who revere him,
 Loyally keeps his pledge, draws us near him.
6 Manifesting immense might to his clan,
 Now we inherit other nations’ land.
7 Outstanding loyalty, justice renowned;
 Precepts proven to rest on solid ground,
 Quintessentially trustworthy and sound.
8 Righteous, reliable, bound together;
 Securely they stand, established forever.
9 Truly he triumphed in saving his sheep,
 Upheld his covenant, ordained to keep;
 Victoriously, it is ever the same.
 Wonderful, holy, and awesome’s his name!
10 Exalting Yahweh shows wisdom’s growing;
 Yielding means understanding is flowing.
 Zealously then, let his praise be on-going.

Another published English translation with acrostics is The Psalms Chronologically Arranged by the “Four Friends” (C.T. Arnold, A.W. Potts, F.E. Kitchener, S. Philpotts) of 1870.

Another 19th century translation with maintained acrostics is the German 1883 commentary and translation by Franz Delitzsch . Unlike the other translations, he translates the acrostics of this and the other acrostic psalms by following an approximation of the German sound of the 22 letters (alef/א‎ = a; bet/ב‎ = b; gimel/ג‎ = g; dalet/ד = d; he/ה‎ = h; vav/ו = u; zayin/ז‎ = s; chet/ח‎ = h; tet/ט = t; yod/י‎ = i or j; kaf/כ = k; lamed/ל = l; mem/מ = m; nun/נ = n; samech/ס‎ = s; ayin/ע = e; pe/פ = f; tsadi/צ‎ = z; qof/ק = k; resh/ר = r; shin/ש‎ = sch; tav/ת = t).

This blog post mentions several English translation of Psalm 111 with an acrostic that were not published in official Bible translations. The above-quoted Van der Spuy also has his own Afrikaans translation with an acrostic (quoted in Old Testament Essays 2008, p. 513ff. ).

complete verse (Psalm 111:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 111:6:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them countries of the people of other races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “He has shown His power by giving His people
    the lands of other nations.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “He shows to his people how powerful (are) his works/deeds,
    by-means-of giving them the lands of the other nations.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “He showed his people the power of his works,
    he gave them the land of other people.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Amewaonyesha watu wake nguvu ya matendo yake,
    kuwapa nchi ya watu wengine kuwa makao yao.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “By enabling his people to capture the lands that belonged to other people-groups,
    he has shown to us, his people, that he is very powerful.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

power / strength

The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.

gentiles / nations

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

work(s) (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-ude (みわざ) or “work (of God)” in the referenced verses.

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

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("inform")

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) 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, shiras-are-ru (知らされる) or “inform” is used.

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

pronoun for "God"

God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).

Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.

In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.

While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”

In Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of system of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.

Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”

In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)

Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”

In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)

The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.

Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中，第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的（tā），但是写法并不一样，取决于性别以及是否有生命，即男性为“他”，女性为“她”，动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”（在香港和台湾的汉语使用，动物则为“牠”）。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别（男人、女人、动物、无生命事物），而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止，基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本，当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”，偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā，而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物，因此他们明白这个字指出，三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分，而单单是上帝。

然而，最重要的新教圣经译本（1919年的《和合本》）和天主教圣经译本（1968年的《思高圣经》）都没有采用“祂”；虽然如此，许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字，另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。（资料来源：Zetzsche）

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”；这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成，整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯（Kramers）指出：“‘他’的这种新写法（即‘祂’）产生了一个小问题，就是在指称耶稣的时候，是否一律使用这个敬语代词？《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是，在称呼耶稣这个人的时候，用一般的‘他’，而在称呼耶稣神性的时候，特别是升天之后的耶稣，则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

Translation commentary on Psalm 111:4 - 111:6

The statement in verse 4a probably refers to the festivals, during which there was a recital of Yahweh’s miracles and actions on behalf of his people; this was the way in which he constantly reminded his people of what he had done for them. But the Hebrew “He made a memorial for his wonderful deeds” can be understood to mean “He wants his wonderful deeds to be commemorated” (Bible en français courant) or “He has won renown for His wonders” (New Jerusalem Bible; similarly New English Bible). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “he has himself provided that his wonders should not be forgotten.”

Verse 4b uses the same two words that are used in 103.8a, but in reverse order.

The statement in verse 5a probably has as its background the quails and the manna that Yahweh gave to his people during the years of wandering in the wilderness. And in verse 5b the force of the statement is that Yahweh never fails to keep the promises he made in his covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai (see 25.10).

In verse 6 the psalmist singles out the conquest of Canaan as the supreme example of Yahweh’s power. The Hebrew phrase the power of his works may be taken to mean “his greatest power, his mighty power,” or “His powerful works” (New Jerusalem Bible); New English Bible has “what his strength could do.” Shown his people the power of his works must often be recast to say, for example, “He has shown his people how powerful he is.” If the translator is following Good News Translation, care must be taken that “his people” in verse 6a not conflict with “us” in verse 4a; if “us” is used in verse 4a, perhaps verse 6a should read “… to us, his people.”

The word heritage in line b refers to the territory occupied by the peoples of Canaan; the nations are the Canaanite people. In some languages “lands of foreigners” must be adjusted to say “lands that had belonged to foreigners” or “land that belonged to people of other nations.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .