inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Rom. 14:7)

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 inclusive form (including the writer of the letter and the readers).

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

complete verse (Romans 14:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 14:7:

  • Uma: “For there is not one of us who lives following our own desires. Nor is there one of us who dies following our own desires.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “All of us (incl.) belong to Isa Almasi, our (incl.) Leader. That’s why in our (incl.) life and in our (incl.) death we (incl.) ought to please him not ourselves (incl.).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For there isn’t any one of us believers that doesn’t belong to God while he’s still on the earth or whether he is already dead. For while we are still alive we are subjects of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because all of us who believe, it is not our being-honored/praised that we are searching for in our living and even in our dying,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “No one can decide on his own how he will live, because all of us are in the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ. While we are living we are in his hand. When we have died we are in his hand.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Mezquital Otomi: “Because not one of us lives to do what we want to do ourselves, and not one of us dies according to our own will.”
  • Highland Totonac: “Because no one of us is our own boss in our living, and neither is any of us our own boss when we die.”
  • Sayula Popoluca: “We don’t live just for ourselves, nor will we die because we want to.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on Romans 14:7 – 14:8

For himself is rendered “to himself” by some translators. The form is a dative in Greek and so may be translated in either way; but the translator should be conscious of the implications of the two renderings. If one translates “to himself,” the implication is that Paul is saying that the believer affects others by his actions (see Jerusalem Bible “the life and death of each of us has its influence on others”; Phillips “the truth is that we neither live nor die as self-contained units”). But this seems not to be the emphasis that Paul is making in this verse. The verse must be understood in light of what Paul is saying in verse 8, where he affirms that we do not live in relation to ourselves only but rather in relation to God (see New American Bible “none of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master”).

None of us lives for himself only, none of us dies for himself only states an ideal situation, since the situations are immediately expressed as conditional clauses with if in verse 8, namely, if we live and if we die. Something which is thus potential rather than actual must be expressed in some languages in a modal form indicating an ideal potentiality—for example, “no one of us should live for himself only” or “… just for himself.” Since, however, “dying” is a single event rather than an extended process such as “living,” and since “dying” is also a future contingency, it may be necessary to change the second clause of verse 7 and say: “if anyone of us dies, he does not die just for himself.”

The phrase for the Lord may be rendered simply as benefactive in some languages. In other instances a more explicit relationship must be expressed—for example, “we live in order to honor the Lord” or “we live in order that men may praise the Lord.” Similar expression may be used in speaking about dying in verse 8.

A literal translation of verses 7 and 8, based on the exegesis of “no one lives to himself alone and no one dies to himself alone,” is employed widely in some parts of Africa as a confirmation of the efficacy of black magic. That is to say, death is in no sense natural but always brought on by someone else’s evil intent. The possibility of this type of interpretation should be carefully avoided.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 14:7

14:7a–b

For: Here this word introduces an explanation of 14:6 or introduces support for it.

none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone: Here the phrase to himself refers to regarding his own will. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:

not one person among us lives only for his own sake. Like that, not one person among us will die only for his own sake
-or-
Not one of us lives for the sake of himself/herself, and not one of us will die for the sake of himself/herself either

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 14.7

En effet, aucun de nous ne vit pour soi-même : ici et en Rom 14.8, le nous est inclusif. Cette affirmation doit être comprise à la lumière du prochain verset (« nous vivons pour le Seigneur »). Il s’agit « d’une vie chrétienne authentique, dégagée de toute recherche de soi et tournée vers Dieu » (Viard, p. 285). Autrement dit, la relation avec le Seigneur doit modifier la façon de se comporter du croyant à l’égard des autres et par rapport à leurs opinions. Dans certaines langues, il faudrait utiliser une forme qui précise ce qui est le devoir du croyant : « aucun de nous ne doit vivre pour lui-même seulement » ou « …ne doit vivre que pour lui-même ».

et personne ne meurt pour soi-même doit également être compris à la lumière de Rom 14.8 (« nous mourons pour le Seigneur »). Voir le commentaire de ce verset. Comme mourir évoque un événement unique et à venir et « vivre », un processus présent et durable, il peut être nécessaire de modifier la seconde proposition du verset en disant « et lorsque l’un de nous meurt, il ne meurt pas pour lui-même ».

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.