inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 24:5)

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 Felix).

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

complete verse (Acts 24:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 24:5:

  • Uma: “‘We say that that Paulus over there is a man who bothers towns. Everywhere he incites the Yahudi people to oppose the government. And he is a leader of those who follow the teachings of Yesus of Nazaret.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (excl.) have observed that this person is very troublesome. He is the one who troubles the Yahudi tribe throughout the world. And he is the leader of the people who follow the teaching of the man of Nasaret.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “This is it. We know that as for this man, he is very troublesome because what he does has caused the Jews to riot everywhere, and he is also one of the leaders of the people that are called Nazarenes.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Our (excl.) experience concerning this person, he is a trouble-maker, because he has thrown-into-turmoil the Jews in all the towns/countries on the face (lit. surface) of the earth. He moreover is one of the leaders of a group/party that follows one who is from-Nazaret.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, as for this person, we (excl.) have observed that he is really troublesome. What he does is, he goes all over all the lands inciting the Jews to cause trouble. He is also one of the leaders of those people called Nazaretanen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 24:5

In the use of a term such as found one must not suggest that the Jews were out looking for this man. Rather, the meaning is “we experienced the fact that this man” or “we realized the fact that this man.”

The term rendered dangerous nuisance is a word which in other contexts may mean “plague” or “pestilence.” The accusations made against Paul in this verse are three: (1) he is a dangerous nuisance, (2) he starts riots among the Jews all over the world, and (3) he is a leader of the party of the Nazarenes. Even though all three of these charges are actually made on the basis of religious grounds, they are calculated to make the Roman governor suspect Paul as a political nuisance and danger. The designation of the Christian movement as the party of the Nazarenes came from the fact that its founder was Jesus of Nazareth (see 2.22). It is quite likely that the term rendered party in the present context is used in a rather derogatory sense (see Jerusalem Bible).

The rendering of dangerous nuisance may be “he causes trouble and he is a danger to the country” or “… a danger to the government.” Tertullus obviously has is mind an accusation which would not only indicate that Paul was a troublemaker but that he was potentially dangerous to the Roman power.

The reference to the party of the Nazarenes is no doubt also an attempt by Tertullus to implicate Paul as being politically active and therefore, by implication, a threat to Roman power.

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 .