"Why do you call me Lord?" Part 5: Translating kurios in languages of the world
Previous posts in this series:
- Part 1: Introduction
- Part 2: Two sides to being a slave
- Part 3: Defining kurios
- Part 4: Cultural context of kurios
In this post, I’d like to ask you, my esteemed readers, to share examples of how κύριος is translated in Bible translations around the world. In addition to the accepted translation I’d like you to propose an alternative word for translation and state how that word is used today. I will give an example from Portuguese and Nyungwe, two languages that I know something about.
Translating κύριος in Portuguese
In most Bible translations in Portuguese, κύριος is translated with the word senhor. Senhor is quite a common term of respect in modern Portuguese with a meaning somewhere between “mister” and “sir.”
Here are some examples:
- “O senhor Silva chegou hoje.” (Mr. Silva arrived today.)
- “Como está o senhor?” (How are you, sir?)
The usage of senhor in Portuguese differs from the English words sir and Lord in an interesting way. Senhor has continued to be used in modern speech, as a polite form of address but has lost the original meaning of “someone of high social rank.” In English, Lord is never used as a polite form of address. And as far as I can tell it has an extremely limited use for “someone of high rank” in British and affiliated dialects.
I can’t speak for Portugal or Brazil, but in Mozambique some alternative ways that κύριος might be translated include:
- dono (owner)
- patrão (boss)
Translating κύριος in Nyungwe
Nyungwe is a Bantu language spoken by about a quarter-million people in Mozambique. The most common way to translate κύριος in Nyungwe is with the word mbuya.
While mbuya is a well-known word its usage is largely archaic and restricted to the Bible. It is never used as a polite form of address.
Several words are worth considering for translating κύριος in Nyungwe:
- mkulu or baba-mkulu (”great one” or “great father”: These are common polite forms of address.)
- mtumbe (”Lord”: This is a slightly archaic way of addressing the king.)
- mwenakaciro-nyumba (”man of the house”: This is a common way of referring to the head of household.)
Translating κύριος in a language you know about
Now it’s your turn. Please share an example from another language of how this word is translated in the Bible. What are some alternative words that might better capture the meaning of the original biblical term?
You might consider looking through some of the previous posts in this series for ideas of how κύριος was used in the Bible. (See the list at the start of this post)
Please include the following in your comments:
- The name of the language and a bit of information about where it is spoken.
- How the word κύριος is translated in that language.
- Modern usage of that word.
- Alternative words in that language that might better capture a particular sense of the word κύριος.
In the Cheyenne language of North America, there is a 100 year history, begun by missionaries, of using the word Tsene’taestse for ‘Lord.’ This word means ‘the one who is outstanding.’ It would be used, for example, for an outstanding player on a basketball team.
Cheyenne culture is strongly egalitarian. Not even chiefs (and they do have multiple chiefs, no one of them higher in status than any other) are higher in any hierarchy. So it is difficult to find an adequate word for ‘lord’ which comes from hierarchical cultures of biblical times.
Cheyenne chiefs are to be counselors and to help people.
Cheyennes do use the word for chief for the modern concept of a work boss. In our translation of the Cheyenne Bible we have used the word for chief for ‘king’, ‘pharaoh,’ and ‘emperor’, adding a modifier to the word which means ‘big.’ So the Cheyenne term for ‘big chief’ is another possibility for ‘lord.’ But since there is a 100 year tradition of using Tsene’taestse for ‘Lord,’ there would probably be some resistance to changing to a different word.
In Standars French, as spoken in most frencophone countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada and pacific Islands, two words are used: Seigneur and Maitre.
Seigneur is considered a little archaic, and these days is really only used to title a pre-revolution monarchic aristocratic land owner, or maybe the governor of an ex-colony…………..And of course our Lord Jesus Christ.
Maitre, in currant every day French, usually describes a primary school teacher, or as in English, the full meaning of the same word ‘Master’.
I think the most accurate French word that would be best understood today would be Souverain. (http://www.atilf.fr)
Though I am not a part of the translation project here, and my knowledge of Ciyawo (or Chiyao) is very wanting in many areas, I believe the way it is translated here would be “Ambuje”. Commonly meaning “lord” (lower case “l”). People do greet one another here to show respect in such a term.
Ciyawo is spoken by about 2 million people in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It has been influenced greatly by nearby languages like Chichewa especially. Swahili, Arabic and more recently English also have added or taken the place of many words used in the past.
I found this discussion in my search for interesting bible translations issues. I’m teaching a course on Christianity and Culture in a Japanese university, and in preparation for a visit from some Wycliffe reps to the class, we’re going to do some exercises next week to see the cultural considerations that must be taken when translating scripture.
So I’m going to use kurios. I’ll let you know how it goes.
In Japanese, kurios is translated as shu 主 when used for Lord, in the sense of the Lord Jesus or addressing God as sovereign in any way. Curiously, it’s about the only way the word shu is used in the Japanese language on its own to identify a person. It could be that it has an archaic sense of addressing aristocracy in the same way that English uses Lord, or other European languages with their equivalents: Seigneur, Señor, Heer, etc. However, none of the Japanese people I ask seem to have a sense of that in any way. It could be that the chosen word goes back to the first Japanese Bible translation done by Jesuits 450 years ago and it just stuck. In most modern dictionaries, the first entry identifies it as a Christian term for Jesus Christ.
Shu is used in the vernacular now as a noun indicating the main idea or point in an a written argument, essay or argument. Or it can be the chief or principal thing in any situation. It is used in compound nouns such as chief whatever.
In the Bible, when translating kurios in the master/owner sense, Japanese uses shujin 主人 , literally Lord-person. No one can serve two shujin. Shujin is also one of the current Japanese terms for husband.
Anyway, what I’m thinking is it’s probably easier to find terms to translate kurios
when the culture of the target language is hierarchical. I’ll give my students the Cheyenne example and see what they think.
I’ll try and update this in a few days when I have more input. Great thread. Thanks.
Jay,
I look forward to hearing how your class goes. Your research shows me that Shu is a fossilized religious term without active connotations much like English Lord. What’s interesting is that a term related to Shu is used for husband and seems to be a very accurate translation of the “head of household” sense of kurios.
Keep us posted on your findings.
Feedback on the kurios class: The class liked the topic a lot. At the end of the course, that particular class period ranked high in their final feedback and suggested when I teach this same course next year, I spend more time on bible translation issues. They found it fascinating in many ways. So I’ll be checking out Lingamish regularly to get some ideas. I do like the kissing thread. Japan is not traditionally a kissing culture, although it is gaining in popularity in the last couple of generations. The word for kiss is kisu, which says a lot. The concept is imported from the west.
A side issue. One student commented that when YHWH is translated in the OT, it is also translated Shu, but is in bold font, similar to our writing it in all caps, LORD.
Glad to hear the news, Jay. Greetings to your class from Mozambique.