The Hebrew that is translated as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness” (Goldingay 2018: “commitment”) or similar in English is translated in a number of ways:
Vidunda: “love of enduring” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Bura-Pabir: “love which cannot be-changed” (hyirkur na a palidzi wa)
HausaCommon Language Bible “his love without changing” (kaunarsa marar canjawa) (source for this and above: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Elhomwe: “love that does not finish” (echikondi yoohisintheya) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Nyamwezi: chelu, combining “love,” “faithfulness,” “loyalty,” and “kindness” (source: James Lundeen)
Newari: dayāmāyā (दयामाया), a compound word made from two Sanskrit-derived terms: dayā (दया) or “compassion, mercy, kindness” and māyā (माया) or “love, affection” (source: Newari Back Translation)
In Pijintinghevi long or “think heavy about” is used. “The Pijin expression ‘think heavy about’ is very much within the domain of committed relationships. The relationship between father and child, husband and wife, God and His people. There is a very strong element of ‘loyalty’ in this expression.” (Source: Bob Carter)
In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “steadfast love” and grace.
In a number of languages, the terms for for “steadfast love” and mercy are used interchangeably.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
While the Englishmercy originates from the Latinmerces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan, Friulian) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
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 Psalm 31:16:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Shine your face on your servant;
save me by your everlasting love.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“Look kindly upon your servant.
With Your never ending love,
save me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“Show your (sing.) goodness to me your (sing.) servant;
because you (sing.) love me, save me.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru:
“Request you look upon me, a person who does your work, thru your mercy toward me. Save me thru your everlasting love.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Let your face to shine on your servant,
help me by your love which remains forever.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Unitazame kwa upole mimi mtumishi lako,
uniokoe kwa neema yako.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“Be kind to me
and rescue me because you always faithfully love me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “save” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-sukui (お救い), combining “save” (sukui) with the respectful prefix o-. In these cases, kudasaru (くださる) is also attached, a respectful form of a benefactive, emphasizing the respectful notion. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
The psalmist prays for Yahweh to help him, the LORD’s servant (verses 16-17b), and to punish his enemies and put them to death (verses 17c-18).
The plea in verse 16a, Let thy face shine, is similar to the expression in 4.6, which is used also in 67.1; 80.3, 7, 19; 119.135; it means to look on someone with favor, mercy, kindness. In many languages Let thy face shine on thy servant must be recast to say, for example, “be kind to me who serves you,” or idiomatically, “have a warm heart for me your servant.”
It should be clear in translation that thy servant is the psalmist himself.
In verse 16b in thy steadfast love indicates the reason, or motivation, which will lead Yahweh to save the psalmist. So a translation can say “because of your great love for me” or “since you love me.”
For the plea in verse 17 that the psalmist’s enemies, and not he himself, be put to shame, see verse 1 and 25.2-3. Put to shame must be rendered in some languages idiomatically; for example, “Do not give me a burning face” or “Do not make me hide my face.” Good News Translation reverses lines a and b of verse 17, and the translator should feel free to do the same if it is effective in the target language.
The language the psalmist uses in describing his enemies is standard, and it is impossible to know the exact nature of the lies about the psalmist that they were spreading. Whatever they were, he wanted his enemies to die.
In verse 17d the word translated dumbfounded may be taken to mean “lifeless,” although it usually means that one is so surprised as to be silent. New Jerusalem Bible translates “be silenced in Sheol,” and New Jerusalem Bible “go down to Sheol in silence.” Dahood derives the verbal form from “to hurl,” translating “be hurled into Sheol.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy is quite good: “hurl them into the silence of the grave.” Go dumbfounded to Sheol may be translated in some languages as “let them die and go silently to the grave” or “let them die and be put in the silent grave.” In some translations it may be more effective to make the prayer a direct plea to God: “Defeat and humiliate the wicked; send them down to the silent world of the dead.”
In verse 18a the Hebrew is “May those lying lips be bound” (the verb that is used of binding sheaves or grain). In some languages it is possible to use figures which approximate closely the Hebrew usage; for example, “Tie shut the mouths of those who speak lies.”
In verse 18b insolently translates a word found only here and in 1 Samuel 2.3; Psalms 75.5; 94.4. The basic meaning is that of arrogance, pride; those liars “speak with contempt” (Good News Translation) against righteous people.
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 .
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