inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1John 3:14)

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 addressee).

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

he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (1 John 3:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 John 3:14:

  • Uma: “If we love our relatives, we know that we have been freed from death and we have received good life forever. People who don’t love their relatives, they have not yet been freed from death.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (incl.) know that now we (incl.) are no longer as if (figuratively) dead but we (incl.) really live. We (incl.) know this because we (incl.) love now our (incl.) fellow-men. The one who does not love, he is still as if figuratively dead.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We (incl.) know that long ago what we were able to expect was death forever. And we know also that now we have life forever. The reason we know this is because our companions are now very dear in our breath. Anyone whose companions are not dear in his breath can still expect death forever.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Never-mind, because we know that we will not be separated from God as (we were) previously, but rather from now on we have life that has no end. We know that that is true, because we love our companions who believe. For the one who doesn’t love his fellow human-beings, it’s like he is still dead, because he is still separated from God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But it’s clear to us that as for us, we are no longer like dead in the sight of God, but rather we are now being given life which is without ending. We know this because we now really value our siblings in believing. As for the one who doesn’t yet value like this, it’s like he is still under the jurisdiction of death.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Before it seemed we lived, but it was like as though we were dead. Now we have met up with new life because we love our brethren. He who does not love his brethren seems to live yet it is like as though he were dead.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “Because we love our fellows therefore we know we are no longer with our head-hearts like a dead person as we were before. We have eternal life now. If we do not love our fellows then we are still like dead people with our head-hearts.”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “We know that we have left the road of death, and we have taken the road of life. This we know because we love our siblings. He who has no love resides in the power (dominion) of death.”
  • Tzotzil: “Because we love the brethren, therefore we know that we have left behind that we die. We now belong to it, that we live forever. If we don’t love the brethren, it is because we still belong to it, that we die.”
  • Garifuna: “We are dead. Now we have come to possess life. We know it because we love our own kind ones (brethren). The one who does not love his own kind ones, he is still here (existing) in death.” (Source for this and three above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on 1 John 3:14

We know that …: the Greek expresses we both by the verbal ending and the pronoun. This is to emphasize the contrast between we (namely, those who know that they “have passed out of death into life”) and the world (which remains in death).

We have passed out of death into life: the perfect tense of the verb serves to show that the reference is to an enduring situation viewed as the result of an event in the past. The verb refers to movement from one place or situation to another. Because it is combined with two contrasting prepositions, it is sometimes better translated by two verbs; for example, ‘to leave,’ ‘to go away from,’ and ‘to enter,’ ‘to go (in)to,’ ‘to arrive at.’ See also the two alternative renderings to be mentioned below.

The nouns death and life may have to be rendered by terms from another word class. The former noun is used here in a metaphorical sense to refer to an existence in the sphere and under the power of death and outside the domain of God. Its meaning parallels that of “darkness” in 1.5. Life (see comments on 1.1) is the opposite of death in all the points mentioned. These and other considerations may result in renderings of the clause such as ‘we have stopped being dead and started being alive,’ ‘we are no longer dead but begin to live (now).’

One has to seek a term in the receptor language that refers to death in a clear and plain way without being offensive. If the common word cannot be used in the required metaphorical sense, one will have to shift to a simile; for example, ‘we are no longer like one dead.’

Because we love the brethren gives the reason, or the proof, of “we know.” One must avoid a rendering in which the clause can be taken as the cause or reason of the directly preceding “we have passed … into life.” Therefore some translators have repeated the verb ‘to know,’ inserting ‘we know it/this’ before ‘because we love…’ (compare Good News Translation and several others), or have shifted the latter clause to the head of the sentence; compare, for example, ‘because we love the brothers, we know that we have passed … into life.’ For yet another solution, compare “we for our part have crossed over from death to life; this we know, because we love our brothers” (New English Bible).

The plural the brethren, or “the brothers,” ‘our brothers,’ is used here (and in verse 16) to show that the reference is to individual persons, whereas the singular is used when the reference is to the group viewed collectively (compare 2.9-11; 3.10, 15, 17; 4.20-21; 5.16).

He who does not love: the verb love is without a goal, probably to suggest an unlimited application. If, however, the corresponding receptor language expression cannot be construed without a goal, one may add ‘his brother’ (as some Greek manuscripts do also), or perhaps ‘the/his brothers.’

Remains in death, or ‘is still in (the power/domain of) death,’ ‘is and remains ruled by death,’ ‘is and continues to be (like a) dead (person),’ ‘is (like) dead now and forever.’ The present tense emphasizes the idea of continuing reality. Compare also comments on “to abide” in 2.10.

Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The First Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:14

3:14a

We: (Emphasis) The emphasis here is on the difference between Christians and the people of the world. This difference is seen in the way Christians love other Christians, which proves that they have passed from death to eternal life. In the Greek the pronoun “We” is emphatic to make the contrast clear. See New English Bible.

we have passed from death to life: (Metaphor) The topic of this extended metaphor is that as Christians we are no longer under the power of death and Satan, but we now have eternal life from God. Thus we are like people who were dead but have now come to life.

3:14b

because we love our brothers: (Logical Relationship) This is not giving the reason why we have passed from death to life. It is giving the reason why we know that we have passed from death to life. To avoid confusion about this many translations repeat here the phrase “We know this because.” See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible. Others such as Living Bible change the order of clauses within the sentence.

3:14c

who does not love: (Lexical Problem) No object of the verb love is mentioned in this clause, but John is clearly still referring to loving other Christians. This can be made explicit if in your language the verb requires an object.

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