inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1Cor. 15:11)

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 himself.

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (1 Corinthians 15:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 15:11:

  • Uma: “So, whoever you heard the Good News from, whether from me or from another apostle, it doesn’t matter. The important this is, that is what we (excl.) preached, and that is what you believed.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And the message that we (excl.) preach is the same. I or the others, the message we (excl.) proclaim is the same. And also that is the message you believed-obeyed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And this doctrine which we preach, there’s not much difference in it, no matter which one of us apostles teach it to you, because it is still the doctrine all of us preach, and it’s still that which you believed in.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But there is no difference whether I was the one who preached or they, because what we (excl.) all are preaching is the same, and that is what you have believed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore as for me, and for them too, there is nothing else that we (excl.) teach except this Good News about the death of Cristo and his living again. And this indeed also is what you yourselves believed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And now whether it is I who have done much work or whether others have done much work, yet concerning this word we preach, it is the same word. And this is the word which you have believed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:11

Paul sums up the section before turning to the problem of disbelief in the resurrection of the dead.

They refers to the other apostles.

Whether then it was I or they may be expanded to “whether it was what I preached or what the other apostles preached.”

So may be expanded to “this is the message that.”

We: the context makes it clear that Paul is speaking of himself and other apostles or evangelists who had worked at Corinth. The Corinthians are excluded.

You believed, as in 1 Cor. 15.2, refers to the Corinthian Christians’ first decision to believe. This phrase may also be rendered as “this is the message that you believed.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Therefore, whether it was what I preached or what the other apostles preached, this is the message we continue to preach and which you believed.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .