Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 41:10:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“But Jehovah have mercy on me,
wake me up that I may repay them.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“O LORD!
Have mercy on me Heal [me] again.
And I will take revenge on my enemy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“But you (sing.), LORD, have-mercy-on me;
heal me so-that I can-repay my enemies.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru:
“Oh God! Request you feel merciful to me. Request you allow me to stand up and pay them back.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Laarim:
“But you LORD, have mercy on me,
raise me so that I would repay them.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Lakini wewe ee Bwana, unihurumie,
uniinue, niwashinde maadui zangu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“But Yahweh, be merciful to me, and enable me to become healthy again.
When you do that, I will be able to pay back my enemies/get revenge on my enemies/cause my enemies to suffer like they caused me to suffer.” (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 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 Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
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, -sete (せて) or “let/allow (for me)” 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. )
The psalm closes with a prayer; the psalmist is confident that the LORD will answer him because of his, the psalmist’s, righteous character.
For be gracious see comments on 4.1; raise me up means get me out of my sickbed, that is, restore me to health. The psalmist wants revenge (requite; see use of the term in 31.23; 35.12); he is sure that his enemies are the object of Yahweh’s anger also.
In some languages thou art pleased with me must be recast to say “I have pleased you” or “I have made you glad.”
For the psalmist the proof of Yahweh’s favor is the defeat of his enemies (verse 11). Good News Translation has reversed the order of the two lines of this verse, as a more natural order in English. Triumphed translates a verb that means “to shout in triumph.” My enemy has not triumphed over me may be recast sometimes as direct speech by saying, for example, “because my enemy has not been able to say ‘I have defeated you,’ ” or indirectly, “because you have not let my enemy say that he won the victory.”
In verse 12 my integrity describes the psalmist as one who follows the LORD’s will in everything (see 7.8c and comments). Revised Standard Version translates the verbs in verse 12 as perfects, thou hast upheld me … and set me; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates them as petitions; Bible en français courant and Good News Translation as future tense; New English Bible as present tense. Upheld translates a verb meaning grab hold of, hold on to, in the sense of helping or rescuing, or else to hold up, to keep from falling (see its use in 16.5b; 63.8b).
The meaning of verse 12b, in thy presence for ever, is the same as expressed in 16.11 and 23.6. Anderson comments: “he will be restored to God’s favour, and will enjoy his blessings as long as he lives.” Some take the word presence (literally “face”) here to mean the presence of Yahweh in the Temple.
Dahood takes the prayer to mean that the psalmist wants to be taken directly into the presence of Yahweh without dying, as were Enoch and Elijah, and there live forever, but this idea has not been proven. In thy presence must sometimes be translated “where you are,” or “in the place where you are,” or “in the place where people come to worship you.”
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 .
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 an imperative construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, the honorific form kudasai (ください) reflects that the action is called for as a favor for the sake of the beneficiary. This polite kudasai imperative form is often translated as “please” in English. While English employs pure imperatives in most imperative constructions (“Do this!”), Japanese chooses the polite kudasai (“Do this, please.”). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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