זֶ֥רַע יַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ יְסֻפַּ֖ר לַֽאדֹנָ֣י לַדּֽוֹר׃
30Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 22:30:
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 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 .
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
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:
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).
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
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. )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘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.”
See also Father / Lord.
In verse 30a the Hebrew for Posterity is simply “seed, generation”; but one Hebrew manuscript and the Septuagint have “my seed”; so New English Bible, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy. In some languages Posterity or “Future generations” may be rendered “people who are not yet born.”
In this verse Lord is the title (see comment at 8.1), not the proper name Yahweh.
The coming generation (verse 30b) involves a slight change in the text. The Masoretic text has “to the generation 31 they will come”; instead of the Masoretic text “they will come,” Good News Translation follows the Septuagint, which indicates “coming” as part of verse 30.
In verse 31 the word which Revised Standard Version has translated deliverance and Good News Translation “saved” is taken here by Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible to mean “justice, righteousness”; the interpretation of Revised Standard Version seems preferable in this context. Care should be taken in line a not to appear to say that some people, before they are born, will be told of how Yahweh saved his people. Something like the following may be said: “In the future, people who at this time have not even been born will be told….” In languages where passive constructions are rare or not used, one may say, for example, “people will tell others who have not yet come into the world, ‘The Lord saved his people.’ ”
That he has wrought it: the psalm ends with the declaration “that (or, because) he acted” (that is, he intervened and saved his people). Good News Translation puts this into direct discourse, “The Lord saved his people.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “they will tell of his justice and of his deeds.”
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 .
The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview and the second an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 22.
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)
“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”
“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’
“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.
“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.
“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”
A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”
The translation of Psalm 22 from the 1946 edition is in the so-called Sao style (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either and underlined proper names):
受天下之垢
主兮主兮。胡為棄我如遺。發呻吟於危急兮。何惠音之遲遲。 朝籲主而不應兮。暮惆悵而無依。 夫主固吾族之所口碑兮。精靈夙彪炳乎歌詩。 稽先人之遐迹兮。孰不托聖澤而優游。 但聞籲主而見拯兮。焉有倚主而蒙羞。 謇予乃蚯蚓而非人兮。為萬民所唾棄而受天下之垢。 覩予者皆大施其嘲嗤兮。相與反其唇而搖其首。 曰彼既托命於天主兮。應蒙天主之援手。苟為天主之所寵兮。當見天主之營救。
信夫吾平生之所仰望兮。惟在天主之躬。主既出予於母胎兮。又教予仰聖恩於慈母之懷中。 溯自予之有生兮。向承吾主之恩撫。即予之尚在胎中兮。主亦未始非予之所怙。 今大難已臨而援手無人兮。吾主寧能捐棄而不顧。
健牡紛紛兮。圍我周匝。來自巴珊兮。洶洶相逼。 猛如餓獅兮。張口欲食。 體渙解兮骨脫。心消融兮如蠟。 喉焦如礫兮舌貼齶。身被委棄兮轉溝壑。 惡犬環縈兮。群小蜂聚。 手與足兮洞穿。骨嶙峋兮可數。眾人旁觀兮。舉瞪目而視予。 分我外衣兮。鬮我內服。 求主毋我遐棄兮。祈恩佑之神速。 保吾魂於刀劍兮。脫吾命於狂畜。 出我於獅口兮。拯我於兕角。 會當宣聖名於諸弟兮。誦大德於會中。 願凡虔敬之人兮。播揚仁風。願雅谷之苗裔兮。聖道是弘。願義塞之子孫兮。惟主是崇。 惟天主之慈憫兮。樂拯厄而濟窮。信乎其有求而必應兮。何曾掩其天容。 吾欲申讚歎於廣眾之中兮。還夙願於諸聖之前。上以報罔極之恩。下以踐平生之言。 必使謙謙君子。飲和飽德。懷主之徒。絃歌不絕。心靈日健。永生不滅。 行見普天率土兮。幡然憬悟而來歸。列國萬民兮。翕然致眷戀於庭闈。 蓋主乃天地之宰兮。又為萬國之君。 世之豐席厚履者固當飲水而思源兮。困苦瀕死者亦應俯伏而投誠。勗哉吾魂。為主而生。 來胤後嗣。事主惟勤。世代緜緜。恭聆福音。 父以傳子。子以傳孫。念念毋忘。主之經綸。
Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme and the particle xī, that is characteristic for the Sao style, highlighted:
shòu tiān xià zhī gòu
zhǔ xī zhǔ xī 。 hú wéi qì wǒ rú yí 。 fā shēn yín yú wēi jí xī 。 hé huì yīn zhī chí chí 。 zhāo xū zhǔ ér bù yīng xī 。 mù chóu chàng ér wú yī 。 fū zhǔ gù wú zú zhī suǒ kǒu bēi xī 。 jīng líng sù biāo bǐng hū gē shī 。 jī xiān rén zhī xiá jì xī 。 shú bù tuō shèng zé ér yōu yóu 。 dàn wén xū zhǔ ér jiàn zhěng xī 。 yān yǒu yǐ zhǔ ér mēng xiū 。 jiǎn yú nǎi qiū yǐn ér fēi rén xī 。 wéi wàn mín suǒ tuò qì ér shòu tiān xià zhī gòu 。 yì yú zhě jiē dà shī qí cháo chī xī 。 xiāng yǔ fǎn qí chún ér yáo qí shǒu 。 yuē bǐ jì tuō mìng yú tiān zhǔ xī 。 yīng mēng tiān zhǔ zhī yuán shǒu 。 gǒu wéi tiān zhǔ zhī suǒ chǒng xī 。 dāng jiàn tiān zhǔ zhī yíng jiù 。
xìn fū wú píng shēng zhī suǒ yǎng wàng xī 。 wéi zài tiān zhǔ zhī gōng 。 zhǔ jì chū yú yú mǔ tāi xī 。 yòu jiào yú yǎng shèng ēn yú cí mǔ zhī huái zhōng 。 sù zì yú zhī yǒu shēng xī 。 xiàng chéng wú zhǔ zhī ēn fǔ 。 jí yú zhī shàng zài tāi zhōng xī 。 zhǔ yì wèi shǐ fēi yú zhī suǒ hù 。 jīn dà nán yǐ lín ér yuán shǒu wú rén xī 。 wú zhǔ níng néng juān qì ér bù gù 。
jiàn mǔ fēn fēn xī 。 wéi wǒ zhōu zā 。 lái zì bā shān xī 。 xiōng xiōng xiāng bī 。 měng rú è shī xī 。 zhāng kǒu yù shí 。 tǐ huàn jiě xī gǔ tuō 。 xīn xiāo róng xī rú là 。 hóu jiāo rú lì xī shé tiē è 。 shēn bèi wěi qì xī zhuǎn gōu hè 。 è quǎn huán yíng xī 。 qún xiǎo fēng jù 。 shǒu yǔ zú xī dòng chuān 。 gǔ lín xún xī kě shù 。 zhòng rén páng guān xī 。 jǔ dèng mù ér shì yú 。 fēn wǒ wài yī xī 。 jiū wǒ nèi fú 。 qiú zhǔ wú wǒ xiá qì xī 。 qí ēn yòu zhī shén sù 。 bǎo wú hún yú dāo jiàn xī 。 tuō wú mìng yú kuáng xù 。 chū wǒ yú shī kǒu xī 。 zhěng wǒ yú sì jiǎo 。 huì dāng xuān shèng míng yú zhū dì xī 。 sòng dà dé yú huì zhōng 。 yuàn fán qián jìng zhī rén xī 。 bō yáng rén fēng 。 yuàn yǎ gǔ zhī miáo yì xī 。 shèng dào shì hóng 。 yuàn yì sāi zhī zǐ sūn xī 。 wéi zhǔ shì chóng 。 wéi tiān zhǔ zhī cí mǐn xī 。 lè zhěng è ér jì qióng 。 xìn hū qí yǒu qiú ér bì yīng xī 。 hé zēng yǎn qí tiān róng 。 wú yù shēn zàn tàn yú guǎng zhòng zhī zhōng xī 。 huán sù yuàn yú zhū shèng zhī qián 。 shàng yǐ bào wǎng jí zhī ēn 。 xià yǐ jiàn píng shēng zhī yán 。 bì shǐ qiān qiān jūn zǐ 。 yǐn hé bǎo dé 。 huái zhǔ zhī tú 。 xián gē bù jué 。 xīn líng rì jiàn 。 yǒng shēng bù miè 。 xíng jiàn pǔ tiān shuài tǔ xī 。 fān rán jǐng wù ér lái guī 。 liè guó wàn mín xī 。 xī rán zhì juàn liàn yú tíng wéi 。 gài zhǔ nǎi tiān dì zhī zǎi xī 。 yòu wéi wàn guó zhī jūn 。 shì zhī fēng xí hòu hòu lǚ zhě gù dāng yǐn shuǐ ér sī yuán xī 。 kùn kǔ bīn sǐ zhě yì yīng fǔ fú ér tóu chéng 。 xù zāi wú hún 。 wéi zhǔ ér shēng 。 lái yìn hòu sì 。 shì zhǔ wéi qín 。 shì dài mián mián 。 gōng líng fú yīn 。 fù yǐ chuán zǐ 。 zǐ yǐ chuán sūn 。 niàn niàn wú wàng 。 zhǔ zhī jīng lún 。
With thanks to Simon Wong.
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