familiar friend

The Hebrew in Psalm 55:13 that is translated as “familiar friend” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with bwenzi langa la pondaapanʼpondepo, lit. “a friend of step-here-I-also-step-there,” i.e. someone with whom one is a deep friendship with. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also close friend.

complete verse (Psalm 55:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 55:13:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “But you my friend, a travelling companion,
    my best friend, you are the one doing these.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “[But] it is you,
    my equal,
    my friend,
    my friend and closest kin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “But my fellowman/countryman, companion himself, and close friend (are) the-(ones-who) are-insulting me.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Instead you are a person who is like me,
    my friend, friend of my heart,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Lakini kumbe ni wewe, ee mwenzangu,
    wewe rafiki yangu, ambaye tuko marafiki sana.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “But it is someone who is just like me, my companion,
    someone who was my friend who is doing this to me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Psalm 55:12 - 55:13

The psalmist now speaks of a former friend who had betrayed him (it is assumed that verses 20-21 refer to the same person). His distress is all the greater because it is not an enemy or an adversary (literally “one who hates me”) who is mocking him.

The two parallel couplets of verse 12 are roughly synonymous; but line d hide from him is not the same as bear it in line b. Instead of hide the translation can be “I would avoid him,” “I would be able to stay away from him.”

The expression an enemy who taunts me in some languages can be translated by terms referring to body gestures; for example, “an enemy who shakes his head at me” or “… who points his nose at me.” In some languages it is possible to say “… who tells funny things about me.”

The idea of “boasting” (deals insolently) is common in all languages and is sometimes said “he makes himself big” or “he looks down on me.”

The worst thing about the psalmist’s situation is that he is being reviled and mocked by one who used to be an equal, a companion, a familiar friend. New English Bible translates: “a man of my own sort, my comrade, my own dear friend”; New Jerusalem Bible “my equal, my companion, my friend.” The three terms equal, companion, and familiar friend may not be easy to translate in some languages where the people one associates with are almost entirely one’s local blood group or persons related by marriage. However, it is sometimes possible to say “you who are like me,” “you, the one I go around with,” and “you who are like my brother.”

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 .