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. Other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as 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

Why Do the People Rebel? Psalm 2

The following is an English translation of Psalm 2 into song by linguists & professional musicians under the auspices of The Spoken English Bible , an oral Bible translation designed to reach Americans who may not yet engage with Scripture and to serve as a model for Bible translation in minority languages.

Creative Commons Attribution license

Translation commentary on Psalm 2:4

The second strophe (verses 4-6) begins with a description of how God reacts to the plots of the pagan rulers. God is spoken of as He who sits in the heavens, that is, the one who sits on his throne in heaven (line a), and he is named the LORD (line b). Good News Translation has combined the two, to make clear that they refer to the same subject; New English Bible also, “The Lord, who sits enthroned in heaven.”

It should be made clear that sits means to reign, or rule, as king; it should not just indicate that the Lord is sitting in heaven rather than standing. That is why Good News Translation has “From his throne in heaven.” The plural form the heavens reflects the concept of a series of heavenly levels, three or seven in number, at the highest of which Yahweh lives.

In translation it is sometimes necessary to add the object on which one sits; for example, “stool,” “chair,” “mound,” or “log.” In languages where the particular term lacks the primary meaning of “authority,” it is better to say “place of authority.”

It should be noticed that Revised Standard Version the LORD translates the name Yahweh, which is found in many Hebrew manuscripts; Good News Translation has translated the traditional Hebrew text, the Masoretic text, which has the title “Adonai,” meaning “the Lord.”

The Lord laughs and makes fun of the pagan rulers. The two verbs are close in meaning, and a translation may use one verb, as Biblia Dios Habla Hoy does: “The Lord, who reigns in heaven, makes fun of them.” Good News Translation has “their feeble plans” as the object of the verb “mocks,” but it may be better to say “them,” that is, the rulers themselves.

In 1.1 “scoffers” are people who make fun of God; here it is God who mocks the pagan rulers. Nevertheless, in many languages the idiomatic expressions used for a person making fun of another person can equally be used of God ridiculing the rulers; for suggestions see 1.1.

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 2: 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 2.


Copyright © Scriptura


Copyright © Scriptura


Copyright © Scriptura

The overview in French (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

The overview in Russian (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

Psalm 2 as classical Chinese poetry

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)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“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 2 from the 1946 edition in the so-called Sao style (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either and underlined proper names):

順與逆

何列邦之擾攘兮。何萬民之猖狂。 世酋蠭起兮。跋扈飛揚。共圖背叛天主兮。反抗受命之王。 曰吾儕豈長甘羈絆兮。盍解其縛而脫其繮。
在天者必大笑兮。笑蜉蝣之不知自量。 終必勃然而怒兮。以懲當車之螳螂。 主曰吾已立君於西溫聖山之上兮。 君曰吾將宣聖旨於萬方。主曾告予兮。爾為予新得之元良。 予必應爾所求兮。如聲斯響。普天率土兮。莫非吾兒之宇疆。 爾當執鐵杖以粉碎群逆兮。有如瓦缶與壺觴。
嗚呼世之侯王兮。盍不及早省悟。鳴呼世之法吏兮。盍不自守法度。 小心翼翼以事主兮。寓歡樂於敬懼。 心悅誠服以順命兮。免天帝之震怒。何苦自取滅亡兮。自絕於康莊之大路。須知惟有委順兮。能邀無窮之福祚。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with the particle xī, that is characteristic for the Sao style, highlighted:

shùn yǔ nì

hé liè bāng zhī rǎo rǎng xī 。 hé wàn mín zhī chāng kuáng 。 shì qiú fēng qǐ xī 。 bá hù fēi yáng 。 gòng tú bèi pàn tiān zhǔ xī 。 fǎn kàng shòu mìng zhī wáng 。 yuē wú chái qǐ cháng gān jī bàn xī 。 hé jiě qí fù ér tuō qí jiāng 。
zài tiān zhě bì dà xiào xī 。 xiào fú yóu zhī bù zhī zì liáng 。 zhōng bì bó rán ér nù xī 。 yǐ chěng dāng chē zhī táng láng 。 zhǔ yuē wú yǐ lì jūn yú xī wēn shèng shān zhī shàng xī 。 jūn yuē wú jiāng xuān shèng zhǐ yú wàn fāng 。 zhǔ zēng gào yú xī 。 ěr wéi yú xīn dé zhī yuán liáng 。 yú bì yīng ěr suǒ qiú xī 。 rú shēng sī xiǎng 。 pǔ tiān shuài tǔ xī 。 mò fēi wú ér zhī yǔ jiāng 。 ěr dāng zhí tiě zhàng yǐ fěn suì qún nì xī 。 yǒu rú wǎ fǒu yǔ hú shāng 。
wū hū shì zhī hóu wáng xī 。 hé bù jí zǎo shěng wù 。 míng hū shì zhī fǎ lì xī 。 hé bù zì shǒu fǎ dù 。 xiǎo xīn yì yì yǐ shì zhǔ xī 。 yù huān lè yú jìng jù 。 xīn yuè chéng fú yǐ shùn mìng xī 。 miǎn tiān dì zhī zhèn nù 。 hé kǔ zì qǔ miè wáng xī 。 zì jué yú kāng zhuāng zhī dà lù 。 xū zhī wéi yǒu wěi shùn xī 。 néng yāo wú qióng zhī fú zuò 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.