sin

The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “sin” in English has a wide variety of translations.

The Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) carries the original verbatim meaning of “miss the mark” and likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.”

  • Loma: “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “that which is off to the side” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: kasalan, originally meaning “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and in the context of the Bible “transgression of God’s commandments” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. )
  • Kaingang: “break God’s word”
  • Bariai: “bad behavior” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Sandawe: “miss the mark” (like the original meaning of the Greek term) (source for this and above: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)

In Shipibo-Conibo the term is hocha. Nida (1952, p. 149) tells the story of its choosing: “In some instances a native expression for sin includes many connotations, and its full meaning must be completely understood before one ever attempts to use it. This was true, for example, of the term hocha first proposed by Shipibo-Conibo natives as an equivalent for ‘sin.’ The term seemed quite all right until one day the translator heard a girl say after having broken a little pottery jar that she was guilty of ‘hocha.’ Breaking such a little jar scarcely seemed to be sin. However, the Shipibos insisted that hocha was really sin, and they explained more fully the meaning of the word. It could be used of breaking a jar, but only if the jar belonged to someone else. Hocha was nothing more nor less than destroying the possessions of another, but the meaning did not stop with purely material possessions. In their belief God owns the world and all that is in it. Anyone who destroys the work and plan of God is guilty of hocha. Hence the murderer is of all men most guilty of hocha, for he has destroyed God’s most important possession in the world, namely, man. Any destructive and malevolent spirit is hocha, for it is antagonistic and harmful to God’s creation. Rather than being a feeble word for some accidental event, this word for sin turned out to be exceedingly rich in meaning and laid a foundation for the full presentation of the redemptive act of God.”

In Warao it is translated as “bad obojona.” Obojona is a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions.” (Source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. ). See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the Danish Bibelen 2020, comments on the translation of this term: “We would explain terms, such that e.g. sin often became ‘doing what God does not want’ or ‘breaking God’s law’, ‘letting God down’, ‘disrespecting God’, ‘doing evil’, ‘acting stupidly’, ‘becoming guilty’. Now why couldn’t we just use the word sin? Well, sin in contemporary Danish, outside of the church, is mostly used about things such as delicious but unhealthy foods. Exquisite cakes and chocolates are what a sin is today.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

See also sinner.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Dan 9:5)

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.

complete verse (Daniel 9:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 9:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “We have sinned, we are bad and we are wrongdoers who have turned away from the truth in the commandments.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “We have sinned, and we have erred intentionally. We have become evil, and we have become rebels. We have turned away from your commands and decrees.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “We (excl.) sinned against you (sing.). We did wicked-things and we (excl.) rejected your (sing.) commands and regulations.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But we Israelis have sinned. We have done things that are wrong. We have done wicked things, and we have rebelled against you. We have turned away from obeying your commands.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 9:5

This verse begins with four parallel verbs followed by a fifth verb that has two dependent nouns. These five affirmations have more or less the same meaning, but it is the piling up of these verbs that results in the strong impact of the verse as a whole, rather than the precise shades of meaning of the individual forms. The following list attempts to show the shades of difference in meaning between these near synonyms:

Sinned (repeated in verses 8, 11, and 15): this is a very common term to indicate a break in a right relationship with God. The basic meaning is that of missing a target (or goal) or losing the way. To sin is to fail to meet God’s standards.

Done wrong: only this verb is not found elsewhere in this chapter. It is related to the verb meaning “bend,” “twist,” or “make crooked.” It is the opposite of doing what is right or “straight.” In 1 Kgs 8.47 it is used along with two other words in this list and is translated “acted perversely.”

Acted wickedly (repeated in verse 15): this term is especially common in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament (Job, Psalms, and Proverbs). It has to do with something that is abnormal, disjointed, or outside the realm of accepted behavior. In some cases it may have to be translated “done what we should not have done.”

Rebelled (repeated in verse 9): in the Old Testament people may rebel against unwanted human authority (Gen 14.4; 2 Kgs 18.7) or against divine authority (Num 14.9; Josh 22.16). The same word can be used figuratively of not accepting the light (Job 24.13). To translate this term some languages will use verbs or verbal expressions like “resist,” “defy,” “show no respect for,” or something similar. But it will be important in some cases to make it clear that it is God’s authority that the people had challenged. In the context of this prayer, some may translate “we have refused you (God),” or as Good News Translation puts it, “we have rejected what you commanded.”

Turning aside … (repeated in verse 11): the verb literally carries the idea of turning away from something. It is the two words that follow that make this ordinary word into a more technical expression for disobeying God.

Each of these terms portrays the idea of a break in normal relations between God and his people. If the translator cannot find five different terms more or less equivalent in the receptor language, it is possible to limit the rendering to three or four verbs. But since the cumulative effect is important, it may be worth the effort to try to find an equivalent for each one.

Commandments and ordinances: these two nouns also represent two different ways of talking about the same thing. They may be reduced to a single noun or noun phrase, or they may be rendered separately.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .