15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “high sacrificer” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa as “Most-important Priest of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “Big leader of offerings” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
In Khoekhoe the translation for “high priest” is only capitalized when it refers to Jesus (as is Hebrews 2:17 et al.). (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
The Greek in Hebrews 4:15 that is translated as “sympathize” in English is translated in Maan as “to put fire in one’s heart for someone.” (Source: Don Slager)
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 inclusive form (including the writer and the readers of this letter).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
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. )
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.”
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the DanishBibelen 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. )
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 4:15:
Uma: “For this Big Priest of ours, he is not a priest who cannot feel/experience our weakness(es). He did feel [them], for he was tested also in every way like us, but he did not sin.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And this our (dual) High Priest has mercy on us (incl.) because he knows our (incl.) weaknesses, because he was human like we (incl.) are. He experienced all different kinds of temptations from the leader of demons like we (incl.) do also but he was not carried to sin.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “and as for this Jesus, our (incl.) high priest, He already understand our weakness because of our humanity, for He has experienced being tempted long ago by Satan in every way that we are tempted also, but He, by contrast, was not successfully tempted.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And this Highest Priest of ours, he knows how to feel-with us in our weakness, because all the kinds of temptation that we experience, he also experienced, but as for him by-contrast, he absolutely didn’t sin.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “As for this Far-from ordinary Priest of ours, he can feel pity for us very much in our weaknesses which lead us into sin, because as for him, (he) too experienced all the temptations/tests which come to us people. But as for him, he did not sin.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “This one who is our priest pities us when he sees how we live in misery because we are not strong. He knows what we go through when we live in misery because he too has been urged to commit sin. But not any sin did he commit.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The possessive relationship in the phrase Our High Priest may have to be expressed differently in some languages; for example, “The High Priest on our behalf” or “He who serves as High Priest for us.”
The Greek contains a double negative: “we do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize….” Most translations simplify this by making it into an emphatic positive statement. This may be expressed as “Our High Priest is one who completely sympathizes with our weaknesses” or “… is one who understands well our weaknesses.”
A literal translation along the lines of Revised Standard Version could be misunderstood in some languages as a contradiction: “we have a great high priest [verse 14] … we have not a high priest….” The meaning is “Our High Priest is not one who cannot sympathize….”
In this verse a comparison begins between Jesus and the Old Testament priest, who offered sacrifices on behalf of those who had disobeyed the Law without intending to do so (Num 15.22-29). The comparison will be developed in 5.2-3. This is the point of the reference to our weaknesses, and translators should avoid any term which could include deliberate sin. The writer believes there are other sins so serious that they cannot be forgiven or wiped out (10.26; compare Num 15.30-31). Our weaknesses may be best expressed as “how weak we are” or “how little strength we have.”
To feel sympathy means to understand someone “from inside,” that is, “to feel with him.” Often it means “to share his suffering,” but the idea of suffering is not stressed here, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “who has no understanding for our weaknesses.” The Greek word used here is related in form to the verb translated be gentle in 5.2 and is similar in meaning.
If, as has been suggested, a positive expression rather than a double negative is used in the first part of verse 15, the adversative phrase On the contrary should be replaced by a conjunction such as “For.” The second sentence in verse 15 (Good News Translation) simply provides the reason why Jesus Christ as High Priest is able to be fully sympathetic.
Some translators have mistakenly interpreted who was tempted in every way that we are as “who wanted to sin in every way that we do.” It is, of course, better to translate “whom the Devil tried to make sin in every way that he tempts us.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
For: The word For introduces a basis for “holding firmly to our confession” of faith (4:14c). The author already gave one basis in 4:14a (We have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God). He introduces the second basis here at the beginning of 4:15a.
In some languages it is more natural to introduce this second basis by referring back to the word “high priest” in 4:14. For example:
Our High Priest (Good News Translation) -or-
And this Highest Priest of ours
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses: This statement indicates that our high priest is able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses. The two negative phrases do not have and unable (not able) emphasize the fact that our high priest is able to sympathize with us.
In some languages it is more natural to translate the statement without using two negative phrases. For example:
We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. (God’s Word) -or-
And this Highest Priest of ours, he knows how to feel with us in our weakness
Emphasize this statement in a natural way in your language.
sympathize with our weaknesses: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sympathize occurs only twice in the New Testament. It means to “suffer with” or “feel with” people. It implies the type of sympathy that motivates someone to offer active help.
The phrase sympathize with our weaknesses indicates that Jesus understands the ways that we are weak in resisting temptations to sin. He feels compassion for us. He is able to help us, and he offers us help. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
understands every weakness of ours (Contemporary English Version) -or-
feeling our weaknesses with us (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
has compassion for us when we are weak/tempted
our weaknesses: The phrase our weaknesses refers to the ways that human beings are limited or inadequate. In this context it refers especially to being weak in resisting temptations to sin. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
our weakness because of our humanity -or-
our weaknesses which lead us into sin -or-
the ways we(incl.) are not strong to refuse sin
4:15b
but: The Greek connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but connects the clause in 4:15a with the one in 4:15b. These clauses have similar meanings, and 4:15b explains more about 4:15a. In some languages, a connector like but implies too much contrast in meaning between 4:15a and 4:15b.
If that is true in your language, some other ways to connect the clauses are:
• Use a connector which indicates that 4:15b explains or adds to 4:15a. For example:
15a This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, (New Living Translation (1996))
15b for he faced all of the same temptations that we do, yet he did not sin.
• Do not use a connector. For example:
15a We have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. (God’s Word)
15b He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn’t sin.
Connect the two statements in a natural way in your language.
we have one who was tempted in every way that we are: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tempted can also mean “tested.” (See the note on 2:18a.) Scholars disagree about what it means here:
(1) It means “tempted to sin.” For example:
he was tempted in every way that we are (Contemporary English Version)
(2) It means “tested.” For example:
in every respect has been tested as we are (New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions and many Bible scholars. This interpretation fits the context of not sinning as a result of the temptation.
one who was tempted in every way that we are: This statement indicates that our high priest has been tempted in every way, just as every human being is tempted. That is the reason that Jesus, our high priest, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.
The verb was tempted is passive, and the clause does not specify who tempted Jesus. Other verses in Scripture indicate that Satan tempted Jesus. Some ways to translate the passive clause are:
• Keep the passive verb. For example:
he, too, has been urged to sin in all the ways that we are urged to sin
• Use a different verb that does not require specifying the tempter. For example:
our high priest experienced/faced all the kinds of temptation that we experience/face
• Use an active verb and refer to Satan as the tempter. For example:
⌊ Satan⌋has tempted him in every way like he tempts us
Translate this clause in a natural way in your language.
in every way: The phrase in every way means that Jesus experienced all the same kinds of temptations that other people have. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
all of the same testings we do (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
all the types of temptations that human beings face
that we are: The phrase that we are refers in general to human beings. (See the examples in the preceding note.) If you use a pronoun like we, it should refer to both the author and the readers.
yet was without sin: The clause yet was without sin is literally just without sin. It indicates that Jesus faced every temptation without sinning. The Berean Standard Bible adds the word yet, which is not in the Greek text. It makes explicit the contrast between Jesus and other human beings. Jesus did not sin when he was tempted, but every other human being has sinned.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
yet he did not sin (New Living Translation (1996)) -or-
except that he never sinned (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English) -or-
but as for him by contrast, he absolutely didn’t sin
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®).
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