inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jeremiah 17:12)

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 Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding the Lord.

sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Jeremiah 17:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 17:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then I said to God,
    ‘Your House is exalted from long ago
    like a chair of rulership.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “O LORD, your (sing.) temple is your (sing.) beautiful throne from long time ago.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh, your temple is like a glorious throne
    that is still on a high hill.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 17:12

Some scholars take verses 12 and 13 as separate sayings, while others believe they are best understood as a unit.

A glorious throne (see 14.21) is more literally “throne of glory,” an expression in which the word “glory” is probably to be taken as a reference to the LORD himself. Compare “the throne of the LORD” in 3.17. Here translators can say “a throne radiating the glory of the LORD” or simply “a glorious [or, splendid] throne.” For throne see 1.15.

Set on high (Good News Translation “standing on a high mountain”) is the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew that has come down to us. If the Hebrew word is given different vowels, it may mean “exalted” (New American Bible, Revised English Bible). This also is the rendering of the Septuagint. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “which rises above all the world.”

From the beginning means “from the time the temple was built [or, established].”

Sanctuary is more literally “holy place” (New American Bible). However, the context suggests that the reference is to the temple (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Most translations will reverse the order of the sentence, as Good News Translation has done. The translation can be one of the following:

• Our temple [or, holy place] is like a glorious throne that has been raised up on high from the very beginning.

• From the beginning, our holy place has been like a throne full of God’s splendor standing on a high mountain.

Note that Good News Translation and the models given here treat the glorious throne as figurative; that is, the sanctuary or temple is like a throne for God since God as spirit would not actually have a physical place for sitting and ruling. Translators can keep the literal form (“Our temple is a glorious throne”) if they like, but they risk some possible misunderstanding.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .