inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 4:8)

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.

complete verse (2 Corinthians 4:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 4:8:

  • Uma: “[On the] left [on the] right we (excl.) are hit by suffering, but we (excl.) are not crowded/squeezed. Sometimes our (excl.) hearts have come to an end [i.e., we don’t know what to do], but we (excl.) don’t lose heart [lit., our (excl.) hearts are not lessened]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (excl.) are often in trouble but we (excl.) are not carried-along-by-it. Sometimes we (excl.) do not know what we (excl.) shall do, but our (excl.) thoughts are not defeated. (We don’t give up.)” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We always have to go through difficult times; however, our faith is not removed. It’s as if we never have any way out; however, we still trust the help of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “We (excl.) are continually squeezed (used both lit. and figuratively) but we (excl.) aren’t being defeated. Often we (excl.) know of no remedy/solution, but we (excl.) hope/expect that God will make-known the right-thing for us (excl.) to do.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It’s like we (excl.) are always surrounded by hardships but we (excl.) are definitely not being defeated. Sometimes we (excl.) have great undecidedness/confusion but we (excl.) are always being-graciously-given the means-to-find what is good to do.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Even though I live in all suffering, yet my heart is not sad. Even though there are times when I don’t know what to do, yet my heart does not turn back.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:8

We: this pronoun refers to Paul and possibly to others with him, but it does not include the Corinthians. In keeping with their usual practice, Moffatt and An American Translation take it as an epistolary “we” and translate using first person singular pronouns; but this is less probable and is not recommended here.

As indicated in the New Jerusalem Bible note, the images of the four sentences in verses 8 and 9 are taken from the contests of gladiators in the ancient Greek world. There are four sets of participles in which the second of each set is preceded by a negation. There are many passive ideas in these four sentences that will have to be rendered actively in many languages. Frequently the best way to do this is to use an indefinite third person plural form, such as “They [habitually] afflict us…” for We are afflicted, for example.

The position of in every way in the Greek sentence gives emphasis to these words. In every way indicates the extent of the suffering: “We are afflicted with all kinds of hardships.” Good News Translation inserts the words “often” and “sometimes” in order to indicate that such troubles are not always present everywhere. The word “always” in verse 10 refers to the continuance of the afflictions in one form or another.

On afflicted see 1.6, where the same Greek word occurs.

But not crushed: the term so translated has the idea of restriction or narrow confinement. It has been rendered “never cornered” (Revised English Bible and similarly Translator’s New Testament), while Moffatt has “not hemmed in.” Knox has “yet still have room to breathe,” and Barclay has “never without a way out.”

The words perplexed and driven to despair come from the same root word in Greek, with the second participle in Greek having a form that indicates “intensely perplexed.” The root verb means “to be uncertain of how to act.” Contemporary English Version says “Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up.” In an attempt to preserve the relationship between the two verbs, one may possibly translate something like Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, “sometimes at an impasse, but we manage to pass,” or “despairing, but not utterly desperate” (Anchor Bible), or possibly even “sometimes feeling lost, but never completely lost.”

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 .