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 addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:5:
Uma: “So when we (excl.) arrived in the land of Makedonia, those seven went ahead of us (excl.), waiting for us (excl.) in the town of Troas.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They went ahead to Toroas to wait for us (excl.) there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “These our companions went ahead of us, and as for we who were with Paul, they waited for us in the town of Troas.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When they arrived at Filipos, his traveling-companions went-ahead to wait-for us (excl.) at Troas.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When they arrived in Filipos in the district of Macedonia, Pablo caused those who had accompanied him to go on ahead to Troas. He said they were to wait for us (excl.) there for, as for him, he would just stay behind there at Filipos.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The so-called “we” sections resume at this point, but whom does Luke indicate by us in this passage? There are three principal possibilities: (1) us may include only Luke and Paul; or (2) us may refer to an indefinite number of Christians from Philippi, among whom was included the author himself; or (3) it may be that only Tychicus and Trophimus went on ahead, since they were from Asia and were known by the churches there, and hence us would refer to the other persons listed as well as Luke. In any event, the pronoun us is exclusive in languages which have the inclusive-exclusive contrast for the first person plural.
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 .
These men: This phrase refers to the seven men of 20:4.
went on ahead and waited for us in Troas: Troas was a city in the province of Asia. It was a coastal city on the Aegean Sea. The men had to sail on a ship across part of the Aegean Sea in order to get to Troas. Other ways to translate this are:
went ahead of us, ⌊crossed the sea,⌋ ⌊landed at⌋ ⌊the city of⌋ Troas, and waited for us there
went on ahead: It is possible that:
(1) the seven men went with Paul to Macedonia, then left him there to go ahead to Troas,
(2) the seven men left Paul in Corinth to go ahead to Troas.
The words seem to imply interpretation (2). But Luke joined Paul in this verse. Many scholars believe he was living in Macedonia at this time. This would imply interpretation (1). If possible, translate in a way that allows either interpretation.
us: This pronoun indicates that Luke was with Paul again. It is also possible that other believers traveled with Paul and Luke at this time.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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