inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Heb. 10:24)

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 writer and the readers of this letter).

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

complete verse (Hebrews 10:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 10:24:

  • Uma: “We must take-care-of each other and fire-up each other’s heart to love our companions and do good deeds.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (incl.) should think of our (incl.) companions. We (incl.) should help them and show them our (incl.) love so that they can also show their love to their companions and do good.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Let’s not remove from our breaths our taking good care of each other, so that everybody is always precious here in our (incl.) breath, and so that each one of us will always be able to do good works.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Let us also consider how we can help-one-another so that we will increasingly love-one-another and do good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And (what would be) good is, let us persevere to awaken each one’s mind/thinking to valuing one another, and also to good works.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Also let us hunt for how to strengthen each other so that we will love our fellow men more. And that we will be strengthened to do the good.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Hebrews 10:24

The two parts of this verse are more closely linked than Good News Translation suggests. Be concerned with renders the word translated Think of in 3.1. The verse as a whole means “Let us think how to stimulate one another to show love and do good.” Show is implied; love is linked with human action both here and in 6.10. Translations should avoid any word for love which implies a mere emotion.

In place of Let us be concerned it may be clearer to translate “We should be concerned.”

The word translated help … to show is unusual and strong, suggesting in this context a demonstration of affection.

Love may include love both for fellow Christians and for others. However, verse 25 suggests that the writer is thinking primarily of love within the Christian fellowship. “Brotherly love” in 13.1 is specifically love for fellow Christians. Unfortunately, an expression such as to show love might suggest merely outward demonstration of affection. Therefore a more satisfactory rendering of to show love may be “to show kindness to one another.”

Since concerned in the first part of this verse is directly linked to the second part, one may translate the whole verse as “We should be concerned to help one another, to show love for one another, and to do good to one another.” To do good may be best expressed as “to help one another,” provided this phrase was not already used in the first part of this verse.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .