Some languages have more than one form of "we:" an **inclusive** form that means "I and you" and an **exclusive** form that means "I and someone else but <u>not you</u>." The exclusive form excludes the person being spoken to. The inclusive form includes the person being spoken to and possibly others. This is also true for "us," "our," "ours," and "ourselves." Some languages have inclusive forms and exclusive forms for each of these. Translators whose language has separate exclusive and inclusive forms for these words will need to understand what the speaker meant so that they can decide which form to use.
See the pictures. The people on the right are the people that the speaker is talking to. The yellow highlight shows who the inclusive "we" and the exclusive "we" refer to.
The Bible was first written in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages. Like English, these languages do not have separate exclusive and inclusive forms for "we." Translators whose language has separate exclusive and inclusive forms of "we" will need to understand what the speaker meant so that they can decide which form of "we" to use.
In the first clause, the disciples are telling Jesus how much food they have among them, so this "we" could be the inclusive form or the exclusive form. In the second clause, the disciples are talking about some of them going to buy food, so that "we" would be the exclusive form, since Jesus would not go to buy food.
John is telling people who have not seen Jesus what he and the other apostles have seen. So languages that have an exclusive form of "we" would use it in this verse.
>... the shepherds said one to each other, "Let <u>us</u> now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to <u>us</u>." (Luke 2:15 ULB)
>Now one day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let <u>us</u> go over to the other side of the lake." They set sail. (Luke 8:22 ULB)
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