Ps 19:13 – TIPs

complete verse (Psalm 19:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 19:13:

Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Protect your servant also from sins committed knowingly;
they should not rule over me.
Then I will be innocent,
not guilty of a great sin.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“Also, please keep me, your servant,
far away from deliberate sins.
do not let them control me,
and I will be one who has no guilt.
and I will be one who is free from great sin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“Help me also-that I can- not -do intentional sin
and do- not -permit this which enslaves me,
so-that my life (is) without blame
and free from many kinds of sins.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru:
“Request God to guard me so that I avoid sin that I think by myself to do. Don’t allow that sin to still rule over my life. Then I will be able to obey always you and avoid doing bad works.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Laarim:
“You stop me from bad matters which I am doing intentionally,
do not allow them to rule over me.
And I will be completely innocent,
not will be great sin in me.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Uniepushe mimi mtumishi wako kuwa na kiburi,
unizuie kuwa nisitawaliwe na mabaya.
Basi nitakuwa bila hatia,
sitakuwa na kosa lolote kubwa.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“Keep me from doing things that I know are wrong;
do not let my sinful desires control me.
If you do that, I will no longer be guilty for committing such sins,
and I will not commit the great sin of rebelling terribly against you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

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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.

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 Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

Japanese benefactives (mamotte)

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 show different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, mamotte (守って) or “protect” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Japanese benefactives (yō ni shite)

Here, yō ni shite (ようにして) or “do so (so that) / make it like” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 19:13

The initial plea, Keep back, means “Restrain,” “Do not allow,” “Don’t let.”

Presumptuous sins (in contrast with “hidden faults” in verse 12b) are those that are committed knowingly and deliberately (Good News Translation “willful sins”). The Hebrew says only “from arrogant (ones),” which some take to refer to people (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New Jerusalem Bible footnote); but it seems more likely that it refers to sins. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “pride.” The idea of “willful sins” may sometimes be rendered as “bad things which I do and know I do” or “evil things I know I do.”

Let them not have dominion over me in line b portrays sins as living beings, or powers, that can rule a person.

The verb be blameless means “faultless, complete, lacking nothing”; in 9.6 it is used in a bad sense, “vanished, finished.” I shall be blameless may be expressed negatively in some languages as “I will not have done anything evil,” or idiomatically, “I will be a person without any bad marks on me.”

Shall be … innocent translates the same verb used in verse 12b, “clear.”

Transgression translates a word meaning “rebellion, disobedience” (see 5.10, where the term occurs also in a context of rebellion). Dahood translates “the great crime,” which he defines as idolatry, and this is quite possible. The difficulty in translating it simply “grave, serious sin” is that this implicitly allows the possibility of the psalmist’s committing little sins; so Good News Translation has “the evil of sin.” “Evil of sin” as two nouns that are rather synonymous in meaning is difficult to express in translation. However, since the component of “sin” is here rebellion against God, it is possible to say, for example, “I will not be guilty of disobeying God” or “I will not be guilty of turning away from God.”

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 .

Psalm 19: Layer by Layer

The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview, the second an introduction into the poetry, and the third an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 19.