fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

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 4:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 4:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “He shall take all the fat from the internal organs of the bullock to be used to make sacrifices by which sin is swept away.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “[He] must take out all the fat of the bull of the Purification Sacrifice. [He] must also take out all the fat covering the intestines and the stomach and all the fat above it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then he will-take all the fat around the internal-organs of the cow,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “From that offering the Supreme Priest must separate these things from the bull that is to be burned: The fat that covers the inner parts of the bull or which is attached to them—” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 4:8 - 4:10

As indicated in 10a, these verses describe a ritual which corresponds to what is done in the fellowship offering described in 3.3-4. Translators should make sure that verse 10a refers to what precedes and not to what follows. One dynamic translation of this passage is as follows: “these are the same parts as those taken from the animal presented in the fellowship offering.” Another has shifted the parenthetical information in 10a to verse 8, beginning this section with the words “Just as he did with the bull given as a fellowship offering, he shall take the fat….”

The ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings: the word translated ox by Revised Standard Version refers to any animal of the bovine species whether young or old, male or female. In order to clarify the meaning of the first preposition of in this phrase, it may be better to translate “the ox (or, bull) offered to God as a peace (or, fellowship) offering.” It is also possible to translate by a more general term such as “animal” (see Good News Translation).

The priest: since the person referred to here is still the High Priest (see verses 3 and 5), it is often advisable to make this clear in translation. The word priest may be wrongly understood to mean any one of the priests.

The altar of burnt offering: or the altar of sacrifice. See verse 7.

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 .