Vahe H. Apelian
Recently Pope Francis made waves when he approved an updated translation of the Lord’s Prayer changing it to read “Do Not Let Us Fall Into Temptation” instead of the customarily recited “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”. One cannot argue against his choice of the verbiage. Surely the Lord does not lead us into temptation.
Historians claim that the Bible was first translated in Armenian in 434, naturally after the discovery of the Armenian alphabet. Linguists claim the original translation of the Bible in Classical Armenian is so pristine that it is called the “the Queen of the Translations” (Թագուհի Թարգմանչաց). The Armenian Apostolic Church uses this version of the Bible to this day.
The Armenian vernacular translation of the Bible came about in the 19th century due to the movement that gave birth to the Armenian Evangelical Community. The translation from the classical to the vernacular inevitably brought in words that appear not to convey the same or not to convey the intent with same intensity and depth.
It was interesting for me to read recently an exchange between my maternal cousin Jack Chelebian and paternal cousin Ara Apelian. Both are physicians and both are avid readers both in Armenian and in English. Their exchange highlighted nuances in the wording of the Proverb 1:2 which the Armenian tradition claims, is the very first phrase that the translators translated. They found that the Proverb in the Vernacular Armenian is not as eloquent as the original in Classical Armenian and does not coney the same depth. Such is my opinion as well.
Years ago, my mother pointed out to me a similar situation between the Classical and Vernacular Armenian translations of the Lord’s Prayer, pertaining to the following sentence.
«Եւ թող մեզ զպարտիս մեր, ՈՐՊԷՍ և մեք թողումք մերոց պարտապանաց» (Գրաբար)
« Եվ մեզ ներիր մեր պարտքերը, ԻՆՉՊԵՍ մենք կներենք մեր պարտապաններին» (Աշխարհաբար)
“and forgive us our trespasses, AS we forgive those who trespass against us”
First, let me dwell on the word AS in English. Often, whenever I recite the Lord’s Prayer in English, I am reminded of the following when it comes to the word AS. A physician telling his patient: “Do AS I tell you, but do not do AS I do”. In the first instance, the word AS conveys instruction by the higher authority, the physician, to the patient. In the second instance, the word AS conveys not acting as the person does. In the latter case the word AS links two actions, much like saying “ I was listening to music AS I was reading”. In both instances, I find the use of the word AS in the Lord’s Prayer, out of place because the one who prays seems to tell the Lord to do towards the person as the person does toward others; consequently, the person presents himself or herself as a role model for the Lord to emulate. Or at best, invites the Lord to do as the person does. In both instances, I believe, the use of the word AS violates the essence of the prayer because I believe that a person prays the Lord to forgives his trespasses SO THAT he can forgive others. Surely someone whose trespasses the Lord has not forgiven cannot possibly have a devine authority in the person’s sinful self, to forgive the tresspasses of others.
The Lord’s Prayer in Vernacular Armenian vernacular conveys what AS conveys in the English and hence uses the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), which means AS.
The Lord’s Prayer in Classical Armenian, on the other hand, uses a completely different word, ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). All the rest of the words of the Lord’s Prayer both in Classical and Vernacular are phonetically similar to each other and mean the same with the exception of these two words ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES) and ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). Although phonetically difference does not necessary means differences in the meaning. Sounding the Lord’s Prayer in Classical and in Vernacular Armenian, I remain under the impression that I am not reciting the same. I remain under the impression the word VORBES in Classical Armenian is more closely related to the Venracular Armenian word VORBESZI (ՈՐՊԷՍԶԻ), meaning SO THAT, than the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), meaning AS.
Let us face it. Words in a language have inherent nuances that evolve over time and have profound implication in our daily use. For an example. Both of my parents have passed away. During their lifetime I could not, nor would I do now, use the word love as a verb when addressing my affection to them. Let me state it in Armenian “Hayr gam mayr yes tzezi shad ge serem” (Հայր կամ Մայր ես ձեզի շատ կը սիրեմ). But in English one could use the verb love with the same comfort as loving a certain ice cream flavor or expressing affection to one’s Dad or Mom.
I continue to remain unsure whether VORBES in Classical Armenian and INCHBES in Vernacular Armenian, when reciting the Lord’s Prayer, convey the same.
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