Is the "US and WE" used in religious books a perfect example of the DANGER of translating Divine Revelation ?

Question

In Divine texts God refers to himself in the most majestic terms.

Just like in some ancient kingdoms the courts would refer to the King in the plural sense to show honor and majesty.

THIS is exactly why the words in Aramaic and Arabic (maybe also Hebrew) have words which refer to God in the Absolute single tense – they are impossible to be used in the plural sense but when they are TRANSLATED, to show their majestic meaning in the original language, they are made into WE and US .

This is an example of the EXTREME danger when Revealed books are translated and re-translated without keeping the original Aramaic or Arabic.


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Answer 1

They are no danger to me, and I know and revere the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You have words, but I have God.

Answer 2

The Hebrew word Elohim is the plural of El and is the Hebrew word used in the original text of Genesis 1. Like the first answer, a person can be dangerous if they don't know what they are talking about. This issue cannot be passed over by saying that there are so many different versions of the Bible, they can't all be right. In fact, the different translations are to different languages. Even in the English language there are different language styles. People read a Bible hoping to find a version that matches their reading style. You can take the Holy Bible in the KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, CEV, NASB, and RSV and they all have the same message in different wording. That is to help the reader. Then on top of that there are Study Bibles that have commentary alongside the passages, and those commentaries are written by religious scholars. Then there are Bibles with center column references to a previous place in the Bible that said the same thing. It is like citing other passages as the foundation of the passage that you are reading. There is still another Bible with outside column references for those who prefer that style. There is still another Bible with wide margins so that you can take notes yourself from something you heard in a sermon that made the passage become more alive. However in no case is the text compromised from this. The NKJV reads the same with commentary or without commentary. It is your choice depending on how deeply you wish to study the Bible. The OT was written in Hebrew except for 6 chapters of Daniel, and they were written in Aramaic in order that Israel's neighbors could understand it. The NT was written in Koine Greek, the classical language of the first century AD. grace2u

Answer 3

In my own language, when I was young, I still vividly remember to address a elderly in the plural form as a sign of respect. I am a filipino and when we try to ask an elderly his identity, We formally ask "SINO PO BA SILA?" literally translated as "WHO ARE THEY?" but this generation is much direct by asking "Sino po ba Kayo?' ( "kayo" is normally addressed to a group or crowd but it can also be used as a respect to a stranger or an elder) I hope you are right in your observations.
However, the "US and WE" in the Book of Genesis may also have been used to indicate a particular type people in the time of creation. The pre-Adamic period mentioned in Genesis 1 as the "male and female" whom God said let US make man in OUR own image and likeness may have been about the people who believed in many Gods and Godesses including the Lords of different nature and elements of nature. In this chapter of Genesis, animals were made first before the male and female on the same day.
In Genesis 2 In this accounts, Adam was made first before the animals and then Eve followed the animals. God was alone here meaning Adam was first to be enlightened by a single God belief or what we call Monotheistic religion. When the fall of man happened, God again said, "Now that they become like "us", knowing good and evil". Adam and Eve also fell to the old kind that knew evil. In his enlightenment, Adam is supposed to know only what is good unlike the first people who knew good and evil already. There word "us" here is being referred to how the first people were created.

Answer 4

I John highlights the use of the word of [[[we]]]

We the people, is the first word in the Law of Liberty.

Answer 5

Wef: that's bullcrap and you know it. The God you claim to "know" also comes from words, and those words are the only reason you believe in him. Give us a break.