righteous, righteousness

Click here to view graphically

The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

complete verse (Isaiah 60:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 60:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “All your people shall be righteous
    and the land shall be yours forever.
    Those people are seeds that I planted with my hands
    so that I then could be raised up/exalted.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After that all your people will be righteous,
    They will always possess the land.
    [They are] like a small plant that I have planted to show my glory,
    and they are the work of my hand.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “All your (sing.) people will be righteous, and they will-possess the land of Israel forever/[lit. until whenever]. I created them; they are like plant which I planted for my honor.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 60:21

Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land for ever is literally “your people—all of them righteous ones—shall possess the land forever” (similarly Revised English Bible). So the second line of this verse is the main clause. This structure places emphasis on the fact that everyone in Judah will be righteous. For righteous see the comments on 3.10. Most versions consulted understand the righteous to be all the inhabitants of the land. But it is possible that the phrase “your people—all of them righteous ones” is a hendiadys and actually limits the promise to those who are righteous. In other words, not everyone is righteous, so the first line may be rendered “All your people who are righteous.” However, this is not the majority understanding.

They shall possess the land for ever promises God’s righteous people that they will possess the land of Judah forever. The Hebrew word rendered for ever, is the same one translated “everlasting” in the previous two verses. Since Yahweh is eternal, his people will possess the land forever. In the Hebrew text of Masoretic Text the noun land does not have the definite article the attached to it, but most versions add it. The land is a clear reference to the land of Judah. Without the article land could mean that the people will possess of pieces of land. Even the poor who did not have land at that time will possess some (compare Psa 37).

The shoot of my planting, the work of my hands describes God’s people. The Hebrew word for shoot refers to a young plant as it emerges from the ground, or to new growth appearing on a branch. The shoot of my planting means the seed that Yahweh planted will germinate and grow. Here it is an image for his people, suggesting hope for the future. There is a small textual problem with the Hebrew word rendered my planting. Masoretic Text has “his planting,” and one Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript says “the planting of Yahweh.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not comment on this problem. The context suggests that my planting is the correct reading. The variation could be caused by the confusion of the Hebrew letters waw (“his”) and yod (my). The work of my hands is a parallel statement about what Yahweh has done to create his people. Both phrases refer back to Your people, so translators may need to clarify this connection by rendering this line as “They are the shoots from the seed I planted, they are the work of my hands.”

That I might be glorified states the purpose for God’s creation of his people. He has created the new community to display his beauty/glory. The Hebrew verb rendered glorified is the same one that occurs in verses 7, 9, and 13. If possible, translators should try to use the same verb each time to reflect the repetition in the Hebrew text. For this line New International Version has “for the display of my splendor,” and Revised English Bible says “for my adornment.”

Good News Translation links the last two lines of this verse naturally by saying “I planted them, I made them, To reveal my greatness to all,” and so does Bible en français courant (1997) with “Those that I created with my hands so that they would manifest my glory, they will be like plants in my garden.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• All of your people will be righteous,
they will occupy the land forever.
They are the shoots from the seeds I planted,
I made them with my own hands,
for my adornment.

• Your people, all of them, will be righteous,
they will possess the land for eternity.
I planted them and they will grow,
I formed them with my own hands,
to show my beauty.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .