inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Isa 49:20)

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 Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the exclusive pronoun.

complete verse (Isaiah 49:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 49:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “The children who were born
    in the land of slavery shall say,
    ‘Here is very cramped,
    add to us a place where we can live.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Your children who were born during exile
    will say in your hearing,
    ‘This place is too small for us.
    Please give us more space here to live in.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (sing.) people who have-been-born in the times of your (sing.) mourning will-say to you (sing.), ‘This place is too small for us (excl.). We (excl.) need a bigger place.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The children who were born while you were exiled/in Babylonia will return to Jerusalem and say,
    ‘This city is too small for us;
    We need more space to live in!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (hirokushite)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, hirokushite (広くして) or “extend” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Isaiah 49:20

The thought of the previous verse continues here: the city of Zion will be too small for its inhabitants.

The children born in the time of your bereavement is literally “the children of your bereavement/childlessness,” which refers to the Israelite children born in exile. The time of your bereavement is a highly poetic way of describing the time when the city had lost its population and was thus “bereaved” and in mourning. When the people were taken captive to Babylonia it was as though everyone had died. This line does not refer to the loss of her husband, as Contemporary English Version states rather explicitly. The Septuagint stresses the sense of “childlessness” by saying “your children whom you had lost.” Similar translations are New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh with “The children you thought you had lost,” Bible en français courant with “You thought you had been deprived of sons,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch with “You were like a childless woman.” None of these translations make any direct reference to children born during the exile, but they may imply it. Good News Translation has perhaps the most direct rendering by saying “Your people who were born in exile.”

Will yet say in your ears: The children born in exile will return to Zion and speak to it. There is a strong sense of pleading in their words, so that the verb say may be rendered “request.” The Hebrew adverb rendered yet may also be translated “again.” It refers to repeated action. Good News Translation renders it “one day,” but we do not recommend this.

The place is too narrow for me echoes God’s comment in the previous verse. It is intended as a message of great comfort to Zion, because the city that had lost its population will now overflow with people. It is a message of God’s abundant blessing.

Make room for me to dwell in is the people’s request. Since so many are returning from exile, the people will ask for the city to be enlarged so that everyone can live within its walls. Make room for me is literally “Move away from me,” which means “Give me some space!” It would be the solution to the cramped conditions in the city. Good News Translation expresses this line well with “we need more room to live in.” New International Version is also helpful, saying “give us more space to live in.” Since the fact that the city is too small is the reason for this request, translators may make this explicit (see the first example below).

Good News Translation changes the first person singular pronouns (me) in the last two lines of this verse to plural (also New International Version, Revised English Bible), since more than one person is speaking. Other languages may find this helpful.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• The children born after the city was bereft [or, The children born in exile]
will request more space to live in,
because the city is too small for them all.

• The children born when the city was bereft of its people
will again say to you,
‘This place is too small for us.
We need more space for us to live [here]!’

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .