Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 65:2:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“You who hears prayer,
to you all the people will reach.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“O God, who hears our prayers,
all people will come to You.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“All people will-come-near to you (sing.) for you (sing.) have-answered prayers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“You, who hear prayer,
all people will come to you.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Kwa maana ni wewe ambaye unasikia maombi,
watu wote watakuja kwako.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“because you answer our prayers.
People everywhere will come to you” (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.
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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. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-moto (みもと) referring to the location (of God) in the referenced verses.
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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, kik-are-ru (聞かれる) or “hear” is used.
The psalm opens with a declaration that it is the duty of God’s people to praise him and to keep the promises they made to him. Revised Standard Versionis due translates the Hebrew consonants of the Masoretic text with a slight change of vowels (as suggested by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate); the Masoretic text word means “silence” (so Aquila and Jerome). This departure from the Masoretic text is adopted by New Jerusalem Bible and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and is supported by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (“B” decision).
Zion, the name of the fortified hill in Jerusalem which David captured from the Jebusites (see discussion at 2.6), was later applied to Mount Moriah, the hill on which the Temple stood, and was extended to mean the city of Jerusalem. In some languages it will be appropriate to use a classifier such as “city” with Zion. In any event, it is advisable to include Zion in the glossary and to indicate that in certain passages it is to be equated with the city of Jerusalem. The vows to God may have been made because of droughts or some other disasters; they are now being fulfilled with the offering of praise and sacrifices.
Revised Standard Version takes verse 2a as a description of God, O thou who hearest prayer; Good News Translation translates it as a statement, connecting it with verse 1 (also New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant).
In verse 2b all flesh is a phrase that usually means “all humankind,” “People everywhere,” “all the world.” But it may be that here it is used somewhat exaggeratedly for all Israelites (so Anderson). “To come (or, go) to God” means to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. To thee shall all flesh come will be ambiguous in many languages without stating clearly the purpose in their coming; for example, “all people will come to you to worship you” or “… to make sacrifices.”
Sins in verse 3a and transgressions in verse 3b translate two words that are used also in 51.1-2; see discussion there.
For expressions similar to that of verse 3b, see 38.4; 40.12. The meaning is that no one can deal with his or her sins without divine help; only God can deal effectively with them. The expression When our transgressions prevail over us may sometimes be rendered “When our sins are too heavy for us to carry” or, expressing sins as a verb phrase, “When we do bad things very much.” The Masoretic text in verse 3b has the pronominal suffix “me”; Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation and others prefer the Septuagint and Vulgate “us.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, however, translate the Masoretic text, which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project also prefers.
The Hebrew verb translated forgive originally meant either “to cover” or else “to wipe off.” In theological usage it means in the Hebrew Scriptures to remove the effects of sin, which are thought of primarily as a blot, or stain, which makes the person spiritually unclean, thus breaking the fellowship which exists between that person and God. The restoration of that broken fellowship can be effected only by God; God alone can remove, remit, cover up, wash away, forgive human sin. Thou dost forgive them in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation makes the sins the goal of forgiveness. In some languages it is not the sins that are said to be forgiven, but rather the person who does the sin. There are often idiomatic expressions for forgiveness; for example, “heal the neck,” “cause one’s heart to be soft,” “hand back someone’s sins to him,” and “throw away evil.”
Some believe that the text in verse 4 refers to the priests, who actually lived in the Temple area when on duty, but it seems more probable that the worshiping congregation is meant.
In verse 4 the psalmist uses three different expressions to speak of the Temple: thy courts (verse 4b), thy house (verse 4c), and thy holy temple (verse 4d). The expression to dwell in thy courts (verse 4b) refers to entering the Temple for the purpose of praise and worship (see 15.1; 24.3).
In verse 4c the goodness of thy house means the good things, that is, the blessings, that the people receive in the Temple. This could include sacrificial feasts, of which the people partook, but it seems likely that the spiritual benefits are being spoken of.
In some languages the various terms used referring to the Temple may be rendered, for example, “your holy place,” “your house,” “your great singing house,” or “your big prayer house.” In line dGood News Translation has filled out the parallelism with “the blessings of.” In some languages it may be helpful to follow this model. If so, it may be necessary to repeat the verb from the previous line. In both lines c and d it will be necessary in many languages to make the relation between “your house” and the “good things” more explicit than in Good News Translation; for example, “the good things that we receive in your house,” and in line c “the blessings you give us in your sacred Temple.”
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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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 of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, mairu (参る), a humble form of kuru (来る) or “come” is used.
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