Most High

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Ge’ez, or Greek that is translated as “(God) the Most High” or “Most High God” in English is translated in various way:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “he, the completely glorified God”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “Father God who is high in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has such tremendous authority”
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “he who is the native of the highest place”
  • Palantla Chinantec: “the Big God Himself”
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “God who has authority over all”
  • Estado de México Otomi: “most exalted God”
  • Isthmus Mixe: “God who is in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has a great rule” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Sa’a: “God, the Surpassing One” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Elhomwe: Mulluku Muullupalli or “God the Great” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa: Wammwambamwamba: A name of God. While this word is difficult to translate into English, its sense implies that God is highly above everything in his power and greatness. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Psalm 82:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 82:6:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “‘I said, ‘You are God,
    all of you are children of the One in the Highest.’” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “I said, ‘You are gods,
    you are all sons of the Most High.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “I, the Most High God, said to you (plur.) that you (plur.) (are) gods and all of you (plur.) (are) my children.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “I say you are gods.
    All of you are the children of God Almighty.’” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Niliongea nilisema, ‘Basi ninyi, enyi miungu,
    wote mko watoto wa Mungu mkuu!’” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I the all-powerful God, previously said to them, ‘You think you are gods!
    It is as though you are all my sons,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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 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 82:6 - 82:7

Dahood and Revised Standard Version take verses 6-7 to be the psalmist’s words, not God’s. It seems better to take them as God’s words.

Verse 6a is quoted in John 10.34.

In these two verses God, in a slightly ironic fashion, admits to having once acknowledged their divine status: gods … sons of the Most High. It is not necessary to think that the language of verse 6b means that God acknowledges the gods as his own “sons”; here, as often, sons of denotes membership in a class. But Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates quite straightforwardly, “You are gods, you are my sons, sons of the Most High!” They are divine beings, they are gods, as is God himself (see Job 1.6). For the Most High see comments on 7.17.

Verse 7 would make no sense if the ʾelohim who are being addressed are human beings, since death is the inescapable lot of all human beings. The gods are reduced to mortal beings. In verse 7a like men could be “like Adam” (New English Bible footnote); the Hebrew ʾadam can be generic “humankind” or specifically “Adam.” In verse 7b fall is parallel with die in verse 7a. The word prince in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation does not necessarily mean the son of a king, but rather a “ruler,” and probably focusing upon the ordinariness of the ruler. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “incapable official,” and Bible en français courant has “an ordinary minister of government.”

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 .