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 John).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 3:10:
Noongar: “People asked John, ‘What will we do then?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “The people asked Yohanes, they said: ‘If thus, what must we (excl.) do?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The crowds of people asked him, they said, ‘Na, what shall we do?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now the people, they asked John, they said, ‘What shall we do so that we might avoid that you are talking about?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then the many-people inquired, ‘What then are we (excl.) to do?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When those people heard, they asked him saying, ‘Well if it’s like that, what would be good for us (excl.) to do?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
kai epērōtōn auton hoi ochloi ‘and the crowds asked him.’ The imperfect tense epērōtōn suggests that this question was asked repeatedly.
legontes ‘saying,’ has the force of a colon.
ti oun poiēsōmen ‘what then are we to do?’ oun implies that the question is a reaction to what John had said.
Translation:
What then shall we do? The question is not a rhetorical one, expressing despair, but a real one, asking for information how to bear fruits that are good in God’s eyes; hence such renderings as, ‘what is it God wants us to do?’ (Manobo), ‘what good shall we do?’ (Kekchi).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
The crowds asked him: In the Greek text, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The crowds asked him comes at the beginning of this verse. Some versions, such as the New International Version, put it at the end of the verse. Place this phrase where it is natural in your language.
The crowds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as The crowds is plural. (See 3:7a, where Luke also used the plural form.) In this context the phrase The crowds refers to some people in the crowd. Apparently they were people who sincerely wanted to repent.
What then should we do: In this verse the people responded to John’s warnings with a serious question. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then is a conjunction that indicates result. The crowd asked what they should do as a result of what John said in 3:8–10. In 3:8a, John told the crowd to show that they had truly repented. Here they asked him what they needed to do in order to show that they had repented.
Some other ways to translate this question are:
Then what should we do? (New Century Version) -or-
So what must we do?
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