inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 16:20)

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 chief magistrates).

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

complete verse (Acts 16:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:20:

  • Uma: “When they came in front of those rulers of Roma, they said: ‘These people are Yahudi people, they come to bother our town.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They placed them in front of the officials of the Roma tribe and they accused them. ‘These men are bringing trouble to our (incl.) place,’ they said. ‘Moreover these are Yahudi.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When they were there already, they brought them before the Roman officials, and they said, ‘As for these men, they are Jews and they are making trouble here in our village.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then they brought-charges-against-(them) to the judges that the one(s)-from-Roma had appointed, saying, ‘These Jews, they are disturbing/disrupting our town,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then having stood Pablo-and-companion in the presence of the highest officials, they said, ‘As for these people, they are Jews, and they are causing much trouble here in our city.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 16:20

The Roman officials (most translations “magistrates”) were the chief magistrates of a Roman colony, and they were two in number. The text does not make it clear whether these were the same authorities referred to in the previous verse, though it is quite likely that they were. It is to be noticed that Paul and Silas were brought before the Roman officials on the charge that they were Jews, not that they were Christians.

The expression causing trouble should be understood in the most general sense. In some languages it would be “causing trouble for the people in our city.” In terms of this particular context, however, it is sometimes rendered as “causing a disturbance.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .