inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 6:9)

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 reader of the letter).

Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999)

complete verse (2 Corinthians 6:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 6:9:

  • Uma: “Some people don’t pay attention to us (excl.), yet other people make-big our (excl.) name. It looks like there’s no way we can live, yet look, we (excl.) are nonetheless still alive! We(excl.) are punished, but we don’t after all die.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “It is as if we (excl.) are not well known, but the truth is, all the people know us (excl.). Frequently we (excl.) almost died nevertheless we (excl.) are still living today. Even if we (excl.) were beaten, we (excl.) did not perish.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Some say that we are the lowest in rank, but by contrast, we have become famous. We are always barely escaping death, but God allows that we do not die. God punishes us to teach us, but he does not kill us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Others say we (excl.) are of-no-account, but our (excl.) names are certainly newsed-from-one-to-the-other. We (excl.) are as if dying in the estimation of others, but here we (excl.) are still alive. God has also whipped us (excl.), but he hasn’t killed-us.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “We (excl.) are being classified by some as worthless people, but God really knows us (excl.). We walk a fine line between life and death (lit. we are crossing-a-bridge on just one strand of hair), but even though it’s like that, we (excl.) are indeed alive till now. Even though God is as it were straightening/disciplining us (excl.), it is indeed for our (excl.) benefit. He indeed isn’t killing us (excl.).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Even though I am well known by the people, yet there are some who say they do not know me. There are times when I live in danger of death, yet I still have come through it. The people persecute me, yet they haven’t killed me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:9

Unknown, and yet well known: the sense may be that they are unknown in the sense that most people do not know them, or, more specifically, the sense is probably that their apostolic authority is “unrecognized” by some Christians (so Barrett). The Greek does not state who knows Paul and his associates. According to Good News Translation it is other Christians (“by all”). Revised English Bible says “whom all men know,” and Contemporary English Version says “but well known to you.” Possibly Paul means that, even though certain Christians do not recognize his authority, yet God does, that is, “we are known by God.” Or perhaps Paul is thinking of both people and God. The passive ideas will have to be made active in many languages. Some suggested models are: “people do not accept us, but God accepts us” or, following the other interpretation, “people say they don’t know us, but they are always watching us.” Barclay reads “no one knows us and everyone knows us.” However, it is probably more likely that different agents are intended for the words “known” and “unknown.” The probable meaning is “some Christians do not recognize our apostolic authority, yet our authority as apostles is well known to Christians everywhere.”

As dying, and behold we live: Paul was constantly in danger of losing his life, and that seems to be the sense of the words as dying. On the word behold see 5.17 and 6.2. A possible model for this part of the verse: “they say that we are dying, but look! we are still alive.” Or “people think we are dying, yet we live on!”

As punished, and yet not killed: punished by whom? The parallel of Psa 118.17-18 to 6.9bc suggests that God is the implicit subject of the verb punished. In agreement with the Old Testament teaching that God’s punishment is intended to lead to correction (see, for example, Psa 94.12; 119.67), Paul may have interpreted his sufferings as God’s disciplinary action. On the other hand, the events of Paul’s life as we know them from Acts and from his own letters give support to the view that Paul has in mind here punishment by other human beings. In languages without appropriate passive forms, one may wish to say “they [indefinite] persecute us, but they do not kill us” or “we suffer greatly, but we do not die.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .