In the sentence "We exist to serve God," is 'God' a direct object or an indirect object?

I'm writing an essay for my Spanish class about the beliefs of the Abrahamic religions, and I'm not sure whether, in this case, I whould write "servir a Dios", "servirle a Dios" or "servir Dios." I'm using "servirle a Dios," with the reasoning that one is serving *for* God, not serving God in the same sense that one might serve chicken at dinner time. However, I did a search of all three possible ways of saying "to serve God" in Spanish on the internet and found that all three forms are used. Are they all correct, or is one preferred?

If it is an indirect object, why can't way say "We exist to serve to God" in English?

Well, we could pse this as the question: "We live to serve whom?" "Whom?" is answered with a direct object, because the serving is happening to God. A direct object answers "Whom?" or "What?" An indirect object answers "To whom?" or "To what?"

'Serve' has several meanings - run it through the Merriam-Webster link at the top of the page. It is true that one does not serve God in the same way as one serves chicken, but nor does one serve chicken in the same way as one serves a tennis ball or two years in jail!

To serve God in your example carries the meaning of 'to give the service and respect due to (a superior)' and requires a direct object.

I realize this reply of mine is a belated one, and perhaps of no further use to you. I hesitated, though, to intrude on Juan's turf, since he can speak with far greater authority about Spanish than I can. He seems to have missed this question, so I'll show you what I've found.

I checked the Spanish translation (in several different versions) of three biblical passages. These were (1) Deuteronomy 10:20, containing the phrase "him shalt thou serve" (KJ version); (2) Joshua 24:15, containing the clause "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"; and (3) Deuteronomy 10:12, addressed to the Aaronic priesthood, "to serve the Lord."

These were translated repectively as (1) a él solo servirás; (2) pero yo y mi casa serviremos a Jehová; and (3) para ser sacerdotes a Jehová.

In the first two cases, then, Jehová (or sometimes el Señor) are treated like direct objects of the verb servir in Spanish, and marked with the usual direct object marker "a". However, in the special context of (3), where "serve" really means to serve as priests, the Spanish seems to be equivalent to "to be (priestly) servants to the Lord, and there is really no transitive verb "serve" and no objects, either.

[This message was edited by maiku on 02-11-03 at 01:10 PM.]

Thanks, Maiku! That was a really helpful answer - I think I'll have to buy me a Spanish Bible!

Juan actually did answer this question - somehow I accidently posted the question twice, but didn't notice until after the time limit passed. His answer is the other thread with the same question. However, yours was also helpful to me, and very interesting. Thanks!

quote:

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Originally posted by Sarai: - I think I'll have to buy me a Spanish Bible!

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Sarai: I don't own a Bible in Spanish myself, much less the three different versions I referred to above. But at absolutely no expense, you can find a translation of the Bible in Spanish in no less than 8 different versions by clicking here

You may have to register at this website to gain access to these. I can assure you that even though the sponsors of this site have certain evangelistic goals in mind that will not go down well with all of our members here, they will not, as a result of your registering, bombard you with unwanted proselytising nonsense. I get an E-mail from them about once a month, and it is sometimes very informative about new translations available. If they knew that I put their truly astonishing efforts to work mainly for my own mundane, secular, and linguistic purposes, they might cancel my registration! But I think not. They do not spam.

Their project is an ongoing one, and they now have available, for free, translations of the Bible in 28 different languages. Considering the richness of the text of the Bible, this site can serve as an invaluable tool for the language student. Try it.

Wow! Thanks!