inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jeremiah 48:14)

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 translation uses the exclusive pronoun, excluding the Lord.

complete verse (Jeremiah 48:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 48:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “And hey, why do you take yourself to be fierce
    and you have men who are brave in battle?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Those from-Moab are-boasting that their soldiers are brave in battle.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The soldiers of Moab previously said, ‘We are warriors;
    we have fought bravely in battles!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 48:14

Since the LORD now addresses the Moabites, Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant make this clear: “Men of Moab…” (Good News Translation); “You people of Moab…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

For heroes see 5.16, where Revised Standard Version has mighty men for the same Hebrew word.

Mighty men may also mean “brave soldiers” (Good News Translation).

In some languages restructuring of this verse will be necessary; for example:

• Men of Moab, you say you are heroes and mighty warriors. How can you say that?

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 .