inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jeremiah 46:16)

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, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 46:16

Your multitude stumbled and fell: The Hebrew of this line is literally “[The] one stumbling increased; also he [or, one] fell to his friend.” The problem is complicated, and several different solutions have been suggested, but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests rendering the first part as “he stumbled much.” If “he” is taken collectively, then we may follow Good News Translation “Your soldiers have stumbled.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch takes “he” to be God and translates “The Lord made Pharaoh’s soldiers stumble.” All things considered, translators should probably render this line as either “Many [or, Your soldiers] have stumbled and fallen” or “He [or, The LORD] made many stumble and fall.”

Arise is a call to get started: “Come on!” or “Hurry!” (Good News Translation).

Let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth: To the land of our birth means “to our native land,” the land where we were born. It is in parallel with our own people. Translators can render this with a sentence such as “Let’s go back to our native countries, where our own people are.”

Because of the sword of the oppressor: The sense is “because the enemy will kill us [if we don’t]” or “Let’s get away from the sword of the enemy” (New Living Translation). Compare 25.38.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .