formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Revelation 22:16

Have sent my angel to you: in English this appears to say the same thing, in direct speech, that is said in narrative in 1.1, that is, you is John, the writer of the book. But in Greek you here is plural and means the believers, the readers of the book. So Good News Translation has “to announce these things to you in the churches,” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “declare all of this to the churches.” Some take the plural you here to mean the prophets as a group, of whom John is one (see Rev. 22.9); this is possible but does not seem likely. The churches are the seven churches of chapters 2-3. See 1.11 for information on the translation of “churches.”

With this testimony: this translates the Greek infinitive “to testify” (see the same verb in verses 18 [“I warn”] and 20). Instead of the precise sense of “testify,” the more general meaning of “declare,” “announce” is intended here.

I am the root and the offspring of David: the phrase the root and the offspring means “the descendant.” Here root is used in the sense of what comes from the root, that is, a shoot (see 5.5; Isa 11.10; Rom 15.12 “a root of Jesse”). And the word translated offspring is used also in Acts 17.28-29, “we are indeed his offspring” (Good News Translation “we are God’s children”). If the figurative language of root or “shoot” can be kept in translation, it should be done. But if this is not a natural way of speaking of a descendant, the translation should say “the descendant of” or “the one who descends from.” This is not merely genealogical information; it is the assertion that he is the Messianic King, “the Son of David.” For “descendant of David” or “Root of David” see 5.5.

The bright morning star: this also seems to have Messianic overtones (see Num 24.17). See the use of the phrase “the morning star” in 2.28. As the morning star announces the day, Jesus is the sign and evidence of the coming of God’s new Day. One may also say “the one who is like the star that shines at sunrise.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• “I, Jesus, have sent my messenger (or, angel) to announce these things to you [plural] who are in the groups of God’s people. I am the descendant of King David; I am the one who is like the star that appears (or, shines) at sunrise.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 22:16

Paragraph 22:16

22:16a–b

to give you this testimony: The Greek phrase is literally “to testify these things to you.” The word “testify” means “to tell/report what one saw.” The word is often used when the person speaking is expected to be truthful and accurate. The angel showed everything in Revelation to John. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

faithfully report these things to you
-or-
accurately explain those things to you

for the churches: Here the word for means “for the benefit of.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:

for the sake of the churches (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
on behalf of the churches

churches: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as churches refers generally to gatherings of people. Someone summoned the people for a particular purpose. Here, as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

congregations
-or-
groups of believers
-or-
gatherings of believers

See how you translated this word in 1:4.

22:16c

the Root and the Offspring of David: This phrase combines two symbolic titles for Jesus. Jesus is the Root…of David, as in 5:5b. He is also the Offspring of David. This second title indicates that Jesus is the promised descendant of King David who saved his people. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

I am the root and the descendant of David (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
I am both the Shoot of David and the heir to his throne

the Root…of David: Here the word Root probably refers to a shoot that grows from the root of a plant when the main plant has been cut off. This phrase is a combination of Isaiah 11:1 and 11:10. This title refers to the promised leader of God’s people who was to be a descendant of David.

In some languages the meaning of the Root…of David is not clear. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

the ⌊special/unique⌋ Descendant of David
-or-
the ⌊promised⌋ Heir of David
-or-
the one who renews/restores David’s kingship

• Translate the literal meaning and explain its figurative meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

This phrase is a combination of Isaiah 11:1 and 11:10. It indicates that Jesus was the promised leader of God’s people who was to be a descendant of David.

Translate this phrase as you did in 5:5.

22:16d

the bright Morning Star:
This title is a symbol for the Christ, perhaps based on Numbers 24:17. You may want to explain the symbolic meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

The “Morning Star” is a symbol for the Christ here.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.