inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1Thess. 5:6)

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 addressee).

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

complete verse (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Thessalonians 5:6:

  • Uma: “So, let’s be alert and make-clear our hearts. Let’s not sleep like people who are still in the darkness.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore don’t let us (incl.) be like those people who sleep. But we (incl.) ought to be awake/watchful and our (incl.) thoughts should be good.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That’s why it is necessary that our behavior is not like sleeping, for the behavior of other people who have not believed is like that. It is necessary that we (incl.) be prepared and that we restrain our evil desires.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If that is so, let us not be following the behavior of those who don’t believe who are as-if asleep, but rather let’s be ready and let’s also control ourselves.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why we aren’t to make ourselves the same as the others who are still under the jurisdiction of darkness, who live with no awareness-of-danger for it’s like they’re asleep. It’s necessary that we who are under the jurisdiction of light/enlightenment are ready and that we are always keeping ourselves under control.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore, it should not be that you rest from thinking, like other people. Rather it is wanted that you think well.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5:6

Good News Translation recognizes that the construction “let us” (Revised Standard Version), used as a first person plural imperative, is becoming old-fashioned in English. This construction, which closely follows the form of the Greek, is also abandoned by New English Bible Jerusalem Bible Knox Moffatt Barclay, cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bible en français courant Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Bijbel in Gewone Taal (here but not in v. 8) and Zürcher Bibel (in v. 8 but not here).

The others are those who were described in 4.12 as “those outside” (Good News Translation those who are not believers). The phrase as a whole suggests that they are so well known as to need no more explicit identification.

We should not be sleeping should not be interpreted as meaning that Christians should not sleep. The reference here is to lazy sleeping or lack of alertness. Perhaps the meaning can be expressed as “we should not be sleepily unconcerned.” This would then make it possible to contrast “sleepiness” with the “alertness” implied in “being awake.”

In many instances a translation of sober will emphasize “controlling oneself,” which may be expressed in a variety of ways, for example, “being able to say no to one’s desire,” “thinking everything straight,” “keeping one’s head right,” or “making one’s thoughts conform.”

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 .