inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 20:5)

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 (Acts 20:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:5:

  • Uma: “So when we (excl.) arrived in the land of Makedonia, those seven went ahead of us (excl.), waiting for us (excl.) in the town of Troas.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They went ahead to Toroas to wait for us (excl.) there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “These our companions went ahead of us, and as for we who were with Paul, they waited for us in the town of Troas.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When they arrived at Filipos, his traveling-companions went-ahead to wait-for us (excl.) at Troas.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they arrived in Filipos in the district of Macedonia, Pablo caused those who had accompanied him to go on ahead to Troas. He said they were to wait for us (excl.) there for, as for him, he would just stay behind there at Filipos.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 20:5

The so-called “we” sections resume at this point, but whom does Luke indicate by us in this passage? There are three principal possibilities: (1) us may include only Luke and Paul; or (2) us may refer to an indefinite number of Christians from Philippi, among whom was included the author himself; or (3) it may be that only Tychicus and Trophimus went on ahead, since they were from Asia and were known by the churches there, and hence us would refer to the other persons listed as well as Luke. In any event, the pronoun us is exclusive in languages which have the inclusive-exclusive contrast for the first person plural.

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 .