inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1Thess. 2:1)

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 (excluding the addressee).

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

brother (fellow believer)

The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)

In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”

See also brothers.

complete verse (1 Thessalonians 2:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Thessalonians 2:1:

  • Uma: “You know yourselves, relatives, we were not tired to no purpose [lit., tired dry] carrying the Good News to you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “My brothers who trust in Isa Almasi, you know that when we (excl.) came to visit you, there was use in it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Brothers, you know that our going there to your town was of benefit.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Brothers, you yourselves, you admittedly know of-course that there was a result of our (excl.) visiting there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It really is clear to you, our (excl.) siblings in believing, that our (excl.) going there to you wasn’t just a-waste-of-time.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You yourselves, brothers, know that our going to where you live was not in vain.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 Thessalonians 2:1

The vocative brothers (cf. v. 17; 4.1, 13; 5.12, 14; 2 Thessalonians 3.1, 13) tends to mark the beginning of a new section, or at least, as in 1.4, the introduction of an important new idea. Here the beginning of a new section is indicated also by a change of grammatical subject, marked by the emphatic yourselves. On the other hand, this new section is carefully linked with what precedes. Paul does this by repeating the rather unusual word visit (cf. 1.9), and by using a link word translated “for” in King James Version Revised Standard Version (cf. Luther 1984 Zürcher Bibel Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) but omitted in Good News Translation. This word usually has the function of linking one clause with the immediately preceding one, but a glance at 1.10 shows that this is not the case here. Paul’s thought has jumped back to the beginning of the previous long sentence. He is saying, in effect, “Not only do other people talk about the results of our visit, but you yourselves know that it was not a failure.” Because the conjunction is used in such a loose and unemphatic manner, and because the connection with chapter 1 is established in other ways, most modern translations (including New English Bible Phillips Jerusalem Bible Barclay La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal Translator’s New Testament) omit it.

The word translated a failure literally means “empty.” It is often used in speaking of work which is either futile and useless in itself (1 Corinthians 15.58, where Good News Translation; Luke 20.10 f.), or produces no result (1 Corinthians 15.10, Good News Translation “without effect”). New English Bible and Best take the present text in the last of these senses and translate “fruitless” (cf. New American Bible “without effect”). A similar expression is used in 3.5 (Good News Translation “for nothing”) and Philippians 2.16 (Good News Translation “wasted”), also in contexts which speak of work. It is therefore no coincidence that the word is used here at the beginning of a section which presumably mentions not only Paul’s tent-making activities (v. 9), but also the labor and effort of his whole evangelistic work (vv. 2, 8).

Was (preceding not a failure) is in the perfect tense in Greek, indicating an event which continues, or whose effects continue, into the present. It is not always necessary or even desirable to bring this out in translation, but Jerusalem Bible (cf. Best) does so here: “our visit to you has not proved ineffectual.”

For the translator, probably the most serious difficulty involved in this verse is the double negative which tends to occur in rendering was not a failure. More often than not, failure must be expressed by a negative, namely, “not to succeed,” “not to produce results,” “not to be effective.” When this is preceded by another negative, the resulting expression is usually awkward and may be quite incomprehensible to the average reader. The closest equivalent, therefore, in some languages is simply “our coming to you was successful” or “our coming to you accomplished its purpose.” Note that (as also in v. 9) visit should not be translated in terms of a friendly get-together.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .