inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Deut 3:10)

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, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 3:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 3:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “We took all the cities there on the plateau and all the land/area of Gilead and Bashan and we went to take Salekah and Edrei, those cities of king Og of Bashan.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “We took all the cities situated on a high plateau, and all of Gilad and Bashan up to the cities of Salecah and Edrei, cities of the country of Og.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “We captured all the towns on the high plains/plateau, the whole-of Gilead, and the whole-of Bashan as-far-as Saleca and Edrei, the towns which are under-the-jurisdiction of the kingdom of Og of Bashan.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘We captured all the towns on the plateau/high level land, and all the Gilead region, and all the Bashan region as far east as Edrei and Salecah towns, which also belonged to Og’s kingdom.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 3:10

This verse is a summary of all the territory east of the Jordan that had been conquered by the Israelites.

The tableland is the southern plateau, going from Gilead, in the north, to the boundary of Moab at the Arnon River. Another way to express tableland, or “plateau,” is “high, flat land.” Gilead was the central area of east Jordan, divided into two by the Jabbok River (see map, page xii).

Salecah and Edrei (see 1.4) appear as two towns more or less in the same region. Both seem to have been at the southern boundary of the land (Josh 13.11-12).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .