VIII. Individual Renderings
A. We use goshisoku (ご子息) instead of the typical miko (御子) used by other translations for “Son” when referring to Christ. When speaking of Christ as the Son of God, wherever possible we use ご子息 instead of 御子. However, when Christ is referring to Himself as "son of man" we use 人の子 because of certain vulgar implications of the word 息子.
1. 御子 is used to refer to the Japanese emperor’s children, according to the dictionary. 「天皇の子供を敬っていう語。」[1] Though the same dictionary lists the Bible meaning, we feel it best not to use a word with a core meaning that refers to an earthly ruler.
2. 御子is technically genderless, but ご子息 is clearly male. We do not want Christ to be portrayed as genderless, especially in these modern times where gender is said by some to be fluid.
3. Furthermore, there is a homonym for 御子 which is clearly female, 巫女.
B. We used カップ for “cup” instead of the usual sakazuki (杯), which was originally a small cup for sake (酒), and still has this usage. One authoritative Japanese dictionary has this definition for sakazuki: 酒を注いで飲む小さな器。[2] The truth is that a cup in the first century Roman Empire often looked very much like a modern coffee mug (マグカップ).
C. We used oukoku (王国) for “kingdom” (βασιλεία) instead of the usual mikuni (御国), which does not seem appropriate for Christ’s eternal Kingdom.
1. This is because 御国 does not technically mean “kingdom,” but 王国 does.
2. The Japanese dictionary defines 御国 this way: 「①国を敬っていう語。②日本国を敬っていう語。」[3]
D. At the suggestion of Miyakawa Sensei, we used budou no kaju (ぶどうの果樹) for “wine” (οἶνος) because the word traditionally used in Japanese translations, budoushu (ぶどう酒), actually has the kanji in it which means alcohol. However, the Greek word does not strictly mean “alcohol,” but is a general term for liquids coming from grapes, and can mean “grape juice.”
1. Our rendering allows the reader (rather than the translator) to decide in each case whether the liquid was alcoholic wine or grape juice.
2. Furthermore, modern “wine” (ぶどう酒 or ワイン) has a higher alcoholic content than the typical alcoholic wine usually had in the first century.
3. Also, ancient wine was usually diluted with water, normally eight parts water to one part wine. Therefore, the “wine” in the New Testament era was very different from modern wine. (See: Wine throughout history: What were ancient wines really like?)
E. For leprosy, we coined the word repurabyou (レプラ病), because the old word raibyo (ライ病) has become a taboo word, which in linguistics is “a word known to speakers but avoided in some, most, or all forms or contexts of speech, for reasons of religion, decorum, politeness, etc.”[4]
1. Our word was taken from the word for leprosy in New Testament Greek, which is lepra (λέπρα).
2. The word in the revised Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) version, tsalaato (ツァラアト) was coined by the translators from the Old Testament Hebrew word for leprosy (צרעת, tsâra‛ath), but we felt it was an awkward word.
F. For the word for “blind,” we used the modern me ga fujiyuu (目が不自由) instead of the traditional moumoku (盲目), which has become a taboo word in recent years.
G. For “will” (θέλημα or βουλή) of God we use goishi (ご意志) instead of 御心, since the Japanese word 心 (as in みこころ) is too broad in its range of meaning.
H. For κηρύσσω, "to preach, proclaim," we use 説くinstead of 宣べ伝える or 語る.
I. For “baptize/baptism” (verb βαπτίζω and noun βάπτισμα), we use shinrei (浸礼) with the furigana, バプテスマ. This is because immersion is the literal, historical meaning of the word.
J. For λίμνην τοὺ πυρὸς (“lake of fire”) in Rev. 19 and 20, we translate 火の湖 instead of 火の池 as the other translations. It is not a “pond.”
K. For παράκλητος (“Comforter”) in John 14-16, we translate 慰め主 in line with the KJV, since this is a perfectly acceptable meaning of the Greek word.
L. ὁ πνεῦμα (“The Spirit”) ＝ 御霊
M. ἀπειθέω ＝ 信頼しない
N. μονογενής (“only begotten”) ＝ 唯一生まれたご子息
O. μετάνοια (“repentance”) ＝ 回心, since it is actually a change in thinking
P. βάρβαρος (“barbarian”) ＝ 外国人
Q. εὐαγγέλιον ＝ 福音 or 宣教, depending on the context
R. μη γένοιτο (“God forbid”)＝ 断じて違います。
[1] 松村明、「大辞林」、第2版（東京：三省堂, 1995), 2464.
[2] Ibid, 1001.
[3] Ibid., 2465.
[4] P. H. Matthews, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 400.
A. We use goshisoku (ご子息) instead of the typical miko (御子) used by other translations for “Son” when referring to Christ. When speaking of Christ as the Son of God, wherever possible we use ご子息 instead of 御子. However, when Christ is referring to Himself as "son of man" we use 人の子 because of certain vulgar implications of the word 息子.
1. 御子 is used to refer to the Japanese emperor’s children, according to the dictionary. 「天皇の子供を敬っていう語。」[1] Though the same dictionary lists the Bible meaning, we feel it best not to use a word with a core meaning that refers to an earthly ruler.
2. 御子is technically genderless, but ご子息 is clearly male. We do not want Christ to be portrayed as genderless, especially in these modern times where gender is said by some to be fluid.
3. Furthermore, there is a homonym for 御子 which is clearly female, 巫女.
B. We used カップ for “cup” instead of the usual sakazuki (杯), which was originally a small cup for sake (酒), and still has this usage. One authoritative Japanese dictionary has this definition for sakazuki: 酒を注いで飲む小さな器。[2] The truth is that a cup in the first century Roman Empire often looked very much like a modern coffee mug (マグカップ).
C. We used oukoku (王国) for “kingdom” (βασιλεία) instead of the usual mikuni (御国), which does not seem appropriate for Christ’s eternal Kingdom.
1. This is because 御国 does not technically mean “kingdom,” but 王国 does.
2. The Japanese dictionary defines 御国 this way: 「①国を敬っていう語。②日本国を敬っていう語。」[3]
D. At the suggestion of Miyakawa Sensei, we used budou no kaju (ぶどうの果樹) for “wine” (οἶνος) because the word traditionally used in Japanese translations, budoushu (ぶどう酒), actually has the kanji in it which means alcohol. However, the Greek word does not strictly mean “alcohol,” but is a general term for liquids coming from grapes, and can mean “grape juice.”
1. Our rendering allows the reader (rather than the translator) to decide in each case whether the liquid was alcoholic wine or grape juice.
2. Furthermore, modern “wine” (ぶどう酒 or ワイン) has a higher alcoholic content than the typical alcoholic wine usually had in the first century.
3. Also, ancient wine was usually diluted with water, normally eight parts water to one part wine. Therefore, the “wine” in the New Testament era was very different from modern wine. (See: Wine throughout history: What were ancient wines really like?)
E. For leprosy, we coined the word repurabyou (レプラ病), because the old word raibyo (ライ病) has become a taboo word, which in linguistics is “a word known to speakers but avoided in some, most, or all forms or contexts of speech, for reasons of religion, decorum, politeness, etc.”[4]
1. Our word was taken from the word for leprosy in New Testament Greek, which is lepra (λέπρα).
2. The word in the revised Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) version, tsalaato (ツァラアト) was coined by the translators from the Old Testament Hebrew word for leprosy (צרעת, tsâra‛ath), but we felt it was an awkward word.
F. For the word for “blind,” we used the modern me ga fujiyuu (目が不自由) instead of the traditional moumoku (盲目), which has become a taboo word in recent years.
G. For “will” (θέλημα or βουλή) of God we use goishi (ご意志) instead of 御心, since the Japanese word 心 (as in みこころ) is too broad in its range of meaning.
H. For κηρύσσω, "to preach, proclaim," we use 説くinstead of 宣べ伝える or 語る.
I. For “baptize/baptism” (verb βαπτίζω and noun βάπτισμα), we use shinrei (浸礼) with the furigana, バプテスマ. This is because immersion is the literal, historical meaning of the word.
J. For λίμνην τοὺ πυρὸς (“lake of fire”) in Rev. 19 and 20, we translate 火の湖 instead of 火の池 as the other translations. It is not a “pond.”
K. For παράκλητος (“Comforter”) in John 14-16, we translate 慰め主 in line with the KJV, since this is a perfectly acceptable meaning of the Greek word.
L. ὁ πνεῦμα (“The Spirit”) ＝ 御霊
M. ἀπειθέω ＝ 信頼しない
N. μονογενής (“only begotten”) ＝ 唯一生まれたご子息
O. μετάνοια (“repentance”) ＝ 回心, since it is actually a change in thinking
P. βάρβαρος (“barbarian”) ＝ 外国人
Q. εὐαγγέλιον ＝ 福音 or 宣教, depending on the context
R. μη γένοιτο (“God forbid”)＝ 断じて違います。
[1] 松村明、「大辞林」、第2版（東京：三省堂, 1995), 2464.
[2] Ibid, 1001.
[3] Ibid., 2465.
[4] P. H. Matthews, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 400.
) So I'm going to share some things I do, some teaching methods, that an AI computer program could never do. Why? Because they have to do with wisdom, something even the best AI programs can never have because it is spiritual.
) It is a special coffee cup they had made for me, with the above "Never Give Up" comic on one side, and two words I use quite often in class on the other side: "Context!" (I have them yell it out) and the Greek word for amen, which is Ἀμην.
