inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 12:18)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (only referring to Paul and Silas). The Tok Pisin translation uses the dual form mitupela here. (Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999))

The Mal translators used an inclusive form. (Source: David Filbeck in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 401ff.)

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