wings (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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-te (御翼) or “wings (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

addressing God

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 Translator 2002, 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.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Psalm 61:4 - 61:5

The psalmist wants to spend the rest of his life in or near the Temple, in Jerusalem; for dwell in thy tent see discussion of the identical language in 15.1a, and for shelter of thy wings see the similar language in 17.8b; 36.7b. In verse 4a for ever means “all my life” (see the similar thought in 23.6). Dahood, however, takes the word to be an adjective which modifies “tent,” that is, “your eternal tent.” It is best to follow the meaning adopted by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

For Selah see 3.2.

The psalmist justifies his petition by reminding God of the psalmist’s vows, which probably are the promises he made to offer sacrifices to God in gratitude for God’s answer to his prayers.

It is not clear what the heritage in verse 5b means; it is usually taken to be the same as “possession” or “inheritance” (see comments at 16.6), which was originally a way of speaking about the Promised Land, and then was extended to mean all of God’s blessings for his people. Bible en français courant translates “their part of the holy land.” Here, then, it would mean that God has blessed the psalmist with the blessings that are given to those who obey him. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “You present rich gifts to all….” It should be noticed that the Masoretic text does not have the personal pronoun me (as Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy have); it says simply “You have given the heritage of those who fear your name,” which Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates “You have given to those who obey your name their heritage.” But Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation can be defended and are probably to be preferred.

Some, however, instead of taking the Hebrew word yerushah in its usual sense of “possession,” take it to be a variant form of ʾareshah “request, petition” (see 21.2b, the only place where the term clearly occurs) and understand verse 5b to be a request; so New Jerusalem Bible “grant the request of those who fear your name.” It certainly makes good sense to take verse 5b to mean “You have granted the wish of those who honor you” (New English Bible), but this involves changing the Hebrew text. New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Weiser are like Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, and these are preferred.

Those who fear thy name: “those who respect (or, obey) you”; for comments on name see 5.11. Line b can sometimes be translated “you have given me the good things you give to those who say you are great” or “… to those who 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 .