“I think these modern translations are disrespectful of God by not capitalizing the personal pronoun”. I read that statement somewhere in all of the comments, emails, etc. that I received for my article on those missing verses in the NIV and ESV. So, I’d like to tackle that question today.
At one point it was customary in English to capitalize the personal pronoun when referring to deity. You wrote “Him” instead of “him”. Yet, that has fallen out of fashion and so many modern translations follow the contemporary rules of grammar and don’t capitalize the personal pronoun. So is this just another one of those places where these modernized Bibles are bending to culture instead of standing on God’s unchangeable Word?
No. It’s actually not.
First, the King James Version, as many modern versions, does not capitalize the personal pronoun. So that immediately shoots down the theory that this is those devilish modern translations dissing on the Almighty.
Secondly, the original Old Testament had no capital letters. There is no such thing as a capital letter in Hebrew. Likewise, when the New Testament was written in Greek it was written in all caps much like a screaming person on Facebook. So no caps and all caps.
The reason, then, why most translations do not capitalize is because they either want to keep with typical English usage rules or because they want to adhere to the original text as closely as possible. For those which choose to capitalize they do so because in their cultural context it is viewed as a sign of respect*.
So where does that leave us?
For me personally I still capitalize the personal pronoun (in most cases) because I realize this is a matter of offense for some people. I liken this to the disputable matters which Paul often talked about in Romans and 1 Corinthians.
I’m not bothered by “him” instead of “Him”. And I’m not bothered because I know the publishers or translators mean no offense—it is just following English usage and trying to stick to the original as best as possible. But not everyone has this knowledge (to use the language of 1 Corinthians). As such the “weaker brothers” might stumble and so I tend to capitalize the personal pronoun when referring to a deity.
But it is not because of disrespect that your modern translations (or even your KJV) do not capitalize the personal pronoun.
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*The New American Standard and the New King James are two that I know of which use “Him” instead of “him”. Also the HCSB capitalizes the personal pronoun.
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One of the benefits I see in capitalizing “You” within song lyrics that are projected onscreen is to make it clear that the song is being sung to the Lord when it could otherwise be interpreted as being sung to an earthly being. Some songs sound like earthly romance without the “you” capitalized; when “You” is capitalized, it indicates clearly the object of worship.
That’s a good point. Thanks for mentioning that.
If a worship song’s lyrics sound so much like ‘earthly romance’ perhaps that’s more the issue with that song than the capitalisation of the personal pronoun.
I concur. I used to labor over this issue, but I got over it. Sort of. 🙂
On a related note, can you explain why “heaven” is mostly left uncapitalized even though it is (or seems to be to me) a proper noun?
Ironic to have this discussion in English, which is one of the few languages in which the first person singular subject pronoun– I– is always capitalized and other pronouns normally aren’t!
I personally don’t like it when translations capitalise pronouns because it’s not always clear whether or not a particular pronoun is referring to the Lord. If the translator makes the call it can take the option of interpretation away from the reader. On the other hand, if pronouns are not capitalised, then both translation possibilities are open to the reader.
Yes! Yes!
You’ve got it!! See? That’s why it’s been a lot of debate among the jewish priests and take so many to read the same scripts again and again!
“Srarch the scriptures” says John 5:39-47
God bless you!
I am thirsty for the truth and would like to talk with people like you more!
I recently found some stuff in the bible.
For in case:
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I like the capitalizing. One for respect/honor, and another it just helps me keep track visually who is who. I like my NASB because it does capitalize the personal pronouns of God. However, if the ESV would change and do that, I would totally use the ESV as my primary. But until it does, I will stick with the NASB. It just helps for more fluid reading for me.
Mary, I would agree with you. For me it is not personally about respect so much as it aides my reading. In some translations I have to stop and think about which “him” is being referred to.
The HCSB capitalizes pronouns as well. I find it helpful when reading the gospels, particularly in areas of prolonged dialogue.
Holman Christian Standard Version also capitalizes the pronouns referring to God.
I find the “him” in the esv a little harder to follow in Job’s responses to his “friends”. I recently switched back to nasb just for the reading of Job so I could be a little less distracted while attributing the “him” and ” Him” appropriately. Especially when dialog enters, I find my grammar skills slowing me down.
It used to bother me a great deal to see pronouns referring to God not being capitalized. However, I have seen so many godly men who have my respect do this, and since many bible versions don’t capitalize either, I’ve come to accept it as a matter of preference.
Also, I do think the fact of the original languages makes the strong case that you can be respectful of God while still using lowercase pronouns.
I often forget to capitalize personal pronouns for God, but I intentionally do not capitalize the name of “satan”. Is that weird? I guess I do that because I do not think he deserves it.
The problem with not capitalizing “Satan” is that you are then giving his name special treatment…which he doesn’t deserve.
Another issue about capitalizing pronouns when the antecedent is God is when the persons quoted refer to God and mean him no respect at all (e.g. Job 1:10). Does the translator capitalize anyway, just to show our respect, when the speaker lacked it altogether?
I think we should follow the normal rules of grammar, and that it is not disrespectful to do so.
I agree that it may not really matter, but it certainly makes it MUCH easier to know who is speaking to who and about whom. that alone is reason enough to capitalize. We who do not know the original languages need all the help we can get to get things straight…
I often heard this accusation against modern translations, but found it ungrounded. I like it when pronouns referring to God are capitalized, for it helps to identify who or to whom it is referring. But while studying the causes for the differences between older translations (like the KJV) and modern translations (like the NIV), I discovered that there are much deeper yet always logical reasons for the really important differences. And Chris, I also write satan in lower case, even though it is against proper English grammar.
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