The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew that is translated as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness” (Goldingay 2018: “commitment”) or similar in English is translated in a number of ways:
Vidunda: “love of enduring” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Bura-Pabir: “love which cannot be-changed” (hyirkur na a palidzi wa)
HausaCommon Language Bible “his love without changing” (kaunarsa marar canjawa) (source for this and above: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Elhomwe: “love that does not finish” (echikondi yoohisintheya) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Nyamwezi: chelu, combining “love,” “faithfulness,” “loyalty,” and “kindness” (source: James Lundeen)
Newari: dayāmāyā (दयामाया), a compound word made from two Sanskrit-derived terms: dayā (दया) or “compassion, mercy, kindness” and māyā (माया) or “love, affection” (source: Newari Back Translation)
In Pijintinghevi long or “think heavy about” is used. “The Pijin expression ‘think heavy about’ is very much within the domain of committed relationships. The relationship between father and child, husband and wife, God and His people. There is a very strong element of ‘loyalty’ in this expression.” (Source: Bob Carter)
In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “steadfast love” and grace.
In a number of languages, the terms for for “steadfast love” and mercy are used interchangeably.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
While the Englishmercy originates from the Latinmerces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan, Friulian) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 86:13:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“For your love is great to me;
you have saved me from the deep place of the grave.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“For Your unceasing compassion for me is great,
You have saved me from the grave.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“For your (sing.) love to me (is) great;
you (sing.) have-saved me from death.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Your love to me is very great forever,
you saved me from the tomb of death.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Kwa maana neema yako kwangu kuu,
umeniokoa katika wafu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“You faithfully love me very much;
you have prevented me from dying and going to the place where dead people are.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed.
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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or modern 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 the most recent Manchu translation of 1835 (a revision of an earlier edition from 1822), God is never addressed with a pronoun but with “father” (ama /ᠠᠮᠠ) instead. Chengcheng Liu (in this post on the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology blog ) explains: “In Manchu tradition, as in Chinese etiquette, second-person pronouns could be considered disrespectful when speaking to superiors or spiritual beings. Manchu Shamanist prayers avoided si [‘you’] and sini [‘your’] for this very reason. To use them for God would be, in Lipovzoff’s [one of the two translators] words, ‘the most uncouth and indecent way to speak to the Almighty — as if He were a servant or slave.’ There was also a grammatical problem. In Manchu, si and sini could refer to both singular and plural subjects. For a faith that insisted on the singularity of God, this was potentially confusing. By contrast, repeating ama removed any ambiguity.”
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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, sukuidashite (救い出して) or “save/rescue” 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).”
In verse 11 the psalmist prays for God’s guidance; line a is exactly like 27.11a; line b is almost exactly like 26.3b: “and I will walk in your ʾemet” (see 15.2 and comments). Some, as in 26.3, take the word here to mean “your truth” (Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Others, like Good News Translation, take it to mean “loyalty, faithfulness,” and take the phrase “your faithfulness” to mean “faithfulness to you” (so New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, New English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Dahood). In this context Good News Translation may have the better interpretation.
The last line of verse 11 in Hebrew is unite my heart to fear thy name. Good News Translation and others take the verb unite here to signify single-hearted, complete devotion; New International Version “an undivided heart,” New English Bible “let me be one in heart.” Some, following the Septuagint and Syriac, use different vowels for the Hebrew consonants, so that instead of “unite (my heart)” the text reads “(my heart) will rejoice” (Briggs, Oesterley, An American Translation). But the Masoretic text does make sense. And to fear thy name may mean either “to serve you” or “to worship you” (so New Jerusalem Bible); many have “to revere your name,” which means “to honor you” (see 85.9). Bible en français courant translates “Place in me this one preoccupation: to remain submissive to your authority”; and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, “Let my only concern be to honor you and to obey you.” In line cGood News Translation has repeated “teach me” for clarity and emphasis.
Verse 12a is almost exactly the same as 9.1a; and verse 12b makes use of words found in verse 9c. My whole heart in line a repeats the idea of “an undivided heart” in verse 11c. The expression glorify thy name may be rendered in some languages as “I will always tell everyone that you are great,” or in direct address, “I will always tell the people ‘You, God, are great.’ ”
For steadfast love in verse 13a, see 5.7 and comments.
The language of verse 13b (“you rescued my nefesh from the depths of Sheol”), if taken literally, means that God saved the psalmist from what seemed to be certain death, either from a near-fatal illness or else at the hands of his enemies (see next verse). It is possible that the language is figurative and that the psalmist is praising God for having saved him from a very difficult situation that did not necessarily threaten his life. In some languages “saved me from the grave itself” would be taken to mean that the psalmist was somehow resurrected from death. Since this can hardly be the meaning, it is better in many languages to avoid a figurative expression and to say, for example, “you kept me from dying” or “you rescued me when I was about to be killed.” For delivered see the same verb in 7.1.
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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