complete verse (Psalm 91:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 91:15:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “He will call me, and I will answer him;
    I will stay with him in problems,
    I will save him and respect him.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “When they will call me, I will answer them,
    When they are in trouble, I will be with them,
    I will rescue and honor them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “If he/she calls me, I will-answer him/her;
    if he/she (is) in trouble, I will-be-with him/her;
    I will-save him/her and honor-(him/her).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “He will call me, and I answer him,
    I will stay with him in his trouble,
    I will help him, and I honor him.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Wakati ananiita mimi, nitamjibu,
    wakati yuko katika shida, nitakuwa naye,
    nitamwokoa ili aheshimiwe na watu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “When they call out to me, I will answer them.
    I will help them when they are experiencing trouble;
    I will rescue them and honor them.” (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”.

Translation commentary on Psalm 91:14 - 91:16

In these verses God is the speaker, which Good News Translation has made explicit (see also New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant). The Hebrew text throughout has the personal object, me, in the singular (see Revised Standard Version), which Good News Translation has taken as generic and so translated by plural forms, “those who”; Dahood interprets the Hebrew singular as reference to the king.

In verse 14a cleaves to me in love is parallel with knows my name in verse 14b; here the verb “know” is used in the sense of “confess, accept.” The two verbs deliver (see 17.13) and protect (see 20.1b) are parallel.

It is possible to reduce verse 14 to say, for example, “I will save and protect those who love me and know me.”

For rescue in verse 15c see “save” and comments in 6.4. Honor means that God will provide blessings, such as victory or success, that will bring honor and fame to the person.

Long life (verse 16a) is an indication of God’s pleasure (see 21.4); Dahood takes it here to refer to immortality, which is possible. The verb satisfy is the one used in 90.14a.

Show … my salvation in verse 16b may mean, as Good News Translation has it, “I will save.” Bible en français courant translates “I will make him see that I am his savior.” However, the verb form translated show is understood by many to mean “drink deeply” in a figurative sense of “enjoy to the fullest” (New English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Dahood); this provides a better parallel for the verb in line a.

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 .