inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (John 9:20)

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, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding Pharisees). The Tok Pisin specifies this even more by using the dual (only including two, the parents of the blind man).

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

complete verse (John 9:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 9:20:

  • Uma: “His mother and father answered: ‘What we know is that he is definitely our (excl.) child, and that he really was blind since birth.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “His parents answered, they said, ‘Yes this is our (excl.) son. It is true that he was born blind.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the parents of the cured person answered, they said, ‘We know that this is our child, and we know also that he was blind before he was born.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The parents then answering, said, ‘Yes indeed, that is our (excl.) child and he truly was blind at his birth (lit. coming-out).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “His parents replied, saying, ‘He really is truly our (excl.) son, and he really was already blind when he was born.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Then his father and mother said, ‘We know that this one is our son. And he was blind when he was born.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 9:20

His parents answered is literally “therefore his parents answered and said.” The redundancy “answered and said” reflects Semitic style, while the use of the particle translated “therefore” (oun) is characteristic of John’s style. For stylistic reasons Good News Translation repeats the verb we know (so also Jerusalem Bible). Moffatt restructures by translating “This is our son, and he was born blind; we know that.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .