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.

complete verse (Leviticus 4:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 4:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “The priest shall take the meat of the bullock which remains and bring it outside the camp. Then he shall burn it there like the meat of the bullock which was used to make a sacrifice which swept away the sin of the priest was burned. That is how sacrifices which sweeps away sin are to be done for the whole community.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The priest must carry that bull outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first one. This is a The Purification Sacrifice for all the people of Israel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And he will- also -do to this cow the-same-as he did to the cow which (was) an offering for becoming-clean. He will-take all the fat[s] of the cow and will-burn (it) on the altar, and then he will-burn the cow outside the camp. By-means-of this (which) the head priest will-do, the Israelinhon will-be-redeemed from their sin and the LORD will-forgive them. This is the offering of becoming-clean for the community of Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then the priest must take the other parts of the bull outside the camp and burn them, like he does when he himself has sinned. That will be the offering for the sin that all the people have committed, and they will be forgiven.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 4:21

The first part of this verse corresponds to verse 12 above.

And: the transition word here should indicate a continuation in the sequence of events. “Then” in Good News Translation (as well as New International Version) is a good model. Both New American Bible and Moffatt restructure and use the word “also.” It might also be possible in some languages to say something like “Next…” or “Afterward…” at the beginning of the verse.

He shall carry forth: as in verse 12, it may be better to say “he shall have (the bull) carried out…” or “they shall carry…,” since more than likely the High Priest did not do the work himself. Compare New Jerusalem Bible, which reads “he will then have the bull carried out of the camp.”

The first bull: New English Bible reads “the other bull.” The reference is to the bull “offered for his own sin,” as it is clearly stated in Good News Translation. In most languages this kind of explicit statement will be necessary, since many readers may otherwise fail to make the connection with verses 3-12.

It is the sin offering for the assembly: this summary statement has no parallel at the end of the other paragraphs in this section. In place of the word assembly, it may be more natural to say “all the people” in some languages.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .