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 reader of the letter).
Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999)
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 8:17:
Uma: “We(excl.) asked him: ‘Do you want us (excl.) to order you (sing.) to go to Korintus to help them organize their gathering of this money?’ He answered: ‘I do want it!’ More than that, from his own desire he already had a heart to want to visit you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When we (excl.) asked Titus if he could go to you, he immediately said yes. From his own desire he is glad to go and help you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when we asked him if he wanted to help you, he was very glad to do it. And that’s not all, because he already wanted to help you. And because of this desire of his, he has decided to return there to you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I know this is true, because he immediately liked our (excl.) plan to send him there (near addressee) and the truth of it is, he had previously decided to go visit you because of his extreme concern-for-your -interests.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For he didn’t just promise happily to do what I was asking him to do but rather he really persevered in his intention to go there to you, for it was also his desire too to go there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “When I told him to go and see you, he was very glad to go. Because he himself wanted to go and see you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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).
The word For introduces the statement that indicates why Paul is able to speak of Titus as he does in verse 16. In some languages it may be left implicit, as in Good News Translation.
Our appeal: that is, “our urging” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “what we asked him to do” (New Century Version). Note that Moffatt, An American Translation, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente take the plural pronoun here as referring only to Paul, and thus translate using the singular “my.” The expression accepted our appeal may be better rendered “he agreed to do what we asked him to do.”
Being himself very earnest: as Good News Translation makes explicit, Titus was eager “to help” with the collection.
He is going to you is literally “he went to you.” This use of the past tense, in which the writer expresses himself from the time perspective of the readers as they read the letter, is called an epistolary aorist (see 7.14; 9.5). 8.24 seems to indicate that Paul’s letter was to arrive in Corinth at the same time as Titus and the two other companions. The present tense, he is going, correctly expresses the sense in English.
Of his own accord: this comment seems to contradict Paul’s earlier statement in this same verse that he had urged Titus to go to Corinth. The sense must be that Titus was already wishing to make the trip even before Paul urged him to go.
A good model for this verse as a whole is found in Translator’s New Testament, which reads “We asked him to come to you and he agreed, but he was all ready to come to you of his own free will.” Or “When we begged Titus to visit, he said he would. He wanted to because he cared so much for you” (Contemporary English Version).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
For he was happy to say yes to the request ⌊to return to you(plur.)⌋ ;
-or-
For he gladly agreed to the encouragement ⌊to go again to you⌋.
8:17b but he is eagerly coming to you of his own volition.
indeed, he himself decided to return to you and is doing so with great eagerness.
-or-
And more than that, he is very earnest about this and now comes/came ⌊back⌋ to you by his own choice/deciding.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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