inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 5:23)

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 high priest and the Sadducees).

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

complete verse (Acts 5:23)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 5:23:

  • Uma: “‘We(excl.) saw the door of the jail still locked tight. And the police guards were still guarding the door. We(excl.) opened the door, there was not one person we (excl.) found inside!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘When we (excl.) arrived there at the prison, the prison doors were locked very well. And the guards were standing there watching/guarding the doors. But when we (excl.) opened the doors, we (excl.) did not find them inside.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘When we arrived at the prison we saw that the door was thoroughly shut, and the guards, they were there near the door. However when we opened it, there was nothing that we saw inside,’ they said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They said, ‘When we (excl.) arrived at the prison, it was still locked. The guards were also there standing by the door. But when we (excl.) opened it, there were emphatically no people inside.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They said, ‘All of you please excuse(us), they aren’t there. On our (excl.) arrival that jail was closed really well. The guards were indeed standing there. But when we (excl.) opened it, there wasn’t even one there of the people you sent us (excl.) for.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 5:23

When we arrived at the jail is implicit in the Greek text and the Good News Translation has made this information explicit. Most translators prefer to render without a transitional (New English Bible “we found the jail securely locked”).

The phrase found it locked up tight may require some slight modification since in some languages one does not “lock a jail,” but rather one “locks the doors of the jail”; therefore, “found the doors securely locked.”

The clause all the guards on watch at the gates is equivalent in many languages to “all the soldiers carefully guarding the doors.”

There is a potential problem in the phrase did not find anyone inside. This could be interpreted to mean that the angel of the Lord led out not only the apostles but all of the criminals in the jail. Some translators have therefore preferred to render this as “did not find either of the apostles inside.” Note that in verse 24 the concern is only for the apostles who had apparently escaped.

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 .