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 all mankind).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
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 priests that Peter addresses) or the dual (Peter and John).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
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 congregation of the disciples).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff. and Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.
W. R. Hutton (see The Bible Translator April 1953, p. 86ff. ) who worked on the translation into Karbi says this: “In Acts 6:3 a matter of church government comes up. The Revised Standard Version has ‘whom we may appoint to this duty.’ Does the ‘we’ include those who do the picking in the first place as well as the Apostles? It is very likely the answers here will diverge along the lines of church polity and Baptists give one answer and Church of England folk another. It would be convenient not to have to take sides in a translation but for those of us who have an inclusive and an exclusive ‘we’ a decision has to be made.”
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 Aaron).
In Huautla Mazatec, however, the translators selected the exclusive pronoun (excluding Aaron).
In the Karbi and the Tok Pisin translations, for the first part of the verse the inclusive pronoun is used (including Aaaron) but for the last part (“we do not know what has happened to him” in English) the exclusive pronoun is used (excluding Aaron).
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 and the readers of this letter) (source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.). SIL International Translation Department (1999) points out that it’s also possible that an exclusive pronoun could be used.
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 and the readers of this letter) (source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.). SIL International Translation Department (1999) points out that it’s also possible that an exclusive pronoun could be used.
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 the first part of this verse (“among us” in English translations), translators typically select the inclusive form (including the reader of the gospel) (source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.). SIL International Translation Department (1999) notes, however that the exclusive pronoun is also a possibility: “Though the pronoun us… refers essentially to mankind in general, it is also a specific historical reference to the incarnation and the fact that Jesus lived on earth at a particular time. In this particular context the pronoun must be in the exclusive first person plural….This usage makes the pronominal reference agree with the following.”
Two translations that reflect that divergence are the Uma translation that uses the inclusive form (source: Uma Back Translation) and the Kankanaey that uses the exclusive pronoun (source: Kankanaey Back Translation).
The second occurrence of the pronoun in this verse (“we have seen his glory” in English) is always exclusive (excluding anyone but Jesus’s eyewitnesses). (Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999))
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. and SIL International Translation Department (1999))
