inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 4:9)

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 4:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 4:9:

  • Uma: “We(excl.) are persecuted, but the Lord doesn’t abandon us (excl.). We(excl.) are struck [with a heavy object (implied in verb)] with the result that fall down, but we (excl.) don’t die.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (excl.) are always persecuted by people but we (excl.) are not abandoned by God. We (excl.) are pushed down by/made to fall down by our (excl.) enemies, but we (excl.) don’t perish (mula).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Our enemies do harm to us, but God never abandons us. Our enemies beat us; however, they cannot kill us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “People hardship us (excl.), but God doesn’t abandon-us (excl.). At times, they almost kill-us (excl.), but we (excl.) are still alive.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “We (excl.) are being persecuted/caused-suffering, but are not being left-alone by God. Truly (people) are endlessly wanting to kill us (excl.), but we are not in fact being-finished-off.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Even though people are against me, yet God doesn’t separate from me. Even though there are times when I let the matter be defeated, yet again I am strengthened to search how to apply the word.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:9

Persecuted, but not forsaken: the exact sense of these verbs is not clear. The imagery may be that from the sports arena: “We are pursued but not overtaken.” New Jerusalem Bible says “we are pursued but never cut off.” Most interpreters understand the first Greek verb here in the specific sense of being persecuted. As in the previous verse, the passive idea may have to be translated actively: “they persecute us…” or “people torment us….”

But not forsaken: the Greek does not indicate the agent of this passive verb. Who does not forsake them? The “friend” of Good News Translation may be either a human friend or God. This verb in the Septuagint is often used to claim that God will not forsake or abandon his people. The implicit agent of this verb is no doubt “God.” Contemporary English Version says “In times of trouble, God is with us.” Or translators may consider saying something like “people cause us to suffer, but God does not abandon us.”

The words struck down and destroyed translate two Greek verbs based on the same root word. Phillips preserves the play on words: “knocked down, but not knocked out” (similarly also Barclay).

Struck down: the Greek word has a wide range of possible meanings: struck down physically by a blow or a weapon, abused or bullied, rejected, stricken with an illness. All of these make sense in the context. It is not clear whether the words are to be understood in a literal physical sense or in an emotional sense. If the receptor language has a general term which can be understood in a wide variety of ways, it is probably the most suitable one to use here.

Destroyed: as with the preceding verb, it is not clear whether Paul is referring to literal death (Revised English Bible “never killed”), or whether the sense is that the opponents are not able to destroy the work of Paul’s apostolic ministry.

The passive idea of the four verbs in this verse will have to be rendered actively in some languages. Here is a possible model: “we have many enemies, but we also have friends; they [indefinite] make us suffer, but they do not kill us.” However, if God is understood as the agent, this will have to be reworded something like this: “we have many enemies, but God is our friend; our enemies make us suffer, but they do not kill us.” Another language says “they [indefinite] persecute us, but God does not abandon us; they cause us to fall, but we do not die.”

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 .