complete verse (Psalm 83:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 83:9:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Do to them what you did to the Midians,
    like you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Just as You did to the Midianites
    and to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon river,
    so also do just like that to them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Defeat them, LORD, like what you (sing.) did to the Medianhon and to Sisera and to Jabin at Kishon [linker] place-where- water -flows.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “You do to them the matters which you did to the people of Median,
    as you did to Sisera and Jabin at river of Kishon,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Ufanye kama ambavyo uliwatendea wamidiani,
    Sisela na Yabini katika mto Kishoni,” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “God, do to those people things like you did to the Midian people-group,
    like you did to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon River.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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.

Japanese benefactives (yō ni shite)

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, yō ni shite (ようにして) or “do so (so that) / make it like” 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. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 83:9 - 83:12

In verses 9-18 the psalmist calls down on Israel’s present enemies the same defeats suffered by their enemies in the past. “The Midianites” (verse 9) were defeated by Gideon (Judges 6–8); Oreb and Zeeb were two Midianite princes killed by the Ephraimites (Judges 7.24-25); Zebah and Zalmunna were two Midianite kings whom Gideon killed personally (Judges 8.21).

Sisera was the commander of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor; Jabin’s army was defeated by Barak and Deborah at the river Kishon, while Sisera was killed by Jael, as he hid in Jael’s tent (Judges 4.1-24). En-dor is not mentioned in the account of the defeat of the Midianites in the book of Judges; it was a town near Mount Tabor, where the Israelites gathered before the battle against Sisera (Judges 4.12), and this may be the reason why it is mentioned here. Some emend the text to “En-Harod,” the place where Gideon camped with his army (Briggs, New English Bible; see Judges 7.1). It is better to stay with the Hebrew text as it is.

In verse 10b who became dung for the ground is a vivid way of expressing the fact that the corpses were not buried but left to rot where they fell (see similar expressions at 79.2-3).

If the one sentence of verses 11-12 is too long for a given language, a full stop can be placed at the end of verse 11, and verse 12 can begin “They said….” Verse 13 can then begin “Therefore” or “And so.”

The phrase pastures of God in verse 12b for the land of Israel recalls the idea of Israel as the flock of God, grazing in his pastures. An American Translation and Dahood take ʾelohim here as a superlative: “the very finest meadows.”

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 .

imperatives (kudasai / 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 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. )