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.

righteous, righteousness

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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.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 10:16

“The wage of the righteous leads to life”: “The wage” refers here to a reward, prize, or recompense. “The wage of the righteous” is the gift or reward for living an upright life. “Leads to life” means that “life” is the result of being a good, upright person. This may mean a good life or a prolonged life. Contemporary English Version says “If you live right, the reward is a good life.”

“The gain of the wicked to sin”: “Gain” renders a word meaning “income” or “profit.” The verb rendered “leads to” in the first line is understood in the second line. However, this line does not contrast with the first, and it is not clear in what sense gain or material goods lead to sin. We may take the contrast to be between good people, who obtain and use wealth properly, and the wicked, who acquire wealth in the wrong way. In the case of the righteous it leads to a long and good life, but in the case of the wicked it leads to a bad end. With this understanding Contemporary English Version translates the second line “if you are evil, all you have is sin.” See also Good News Translation.

Perhaps a better view is that the wicked person uses his riches to act in an evil way. Bible en français courant translates the whole verse “The work of an honest person enables him to live. A dishonest person uses his wealth to do evil things.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 10:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 10:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “What a righteous person gets (earns) brings life/wellbeing,
    but what a wicked person gets brings pain/punishment.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The reward for good work is life,
    but sin increases sin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The reward of a righteous man is the good and long life, but the reward of a wicked man is punishment.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Life is the reward of the righteous/just, but those who are-doing evil, sin/crime is what they gain.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “If you are righteous, your reward will be a good life,
    but all that sinful people gain is to sin more.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 10:16

10:16

This proverb contrasts the different consequences of a righteous and wicked lifestyle. The underlined parallel parts are similar in meaning.

16a
The labor of the righteous leads to life,

16b but the gain of the wicked brings punishment.

10:16a

The labor of the righteous leads to life: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as labor is more literally “wages.” There are two ways to interpret this word:

(1) The word “wages” is used figuratively here. It refers to the reward that righteous people receive from living in a righteous way. This reward is life. For example:

A righteous person’s reward is life. (God’s Word)
-or-
The reward which the righteous receive is life (NET Bible)

(2) The word “wages” is used literally here. It refers to literal earnings from employment. Righteous people use their earnings in a way that brings them a better and longer life. For example:

The earnings of the godly enhance their lives (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. Of the thirteen other verses where this Hebrew noun occurs, it refers nine times to figurative wages. It refers only once to literal wages. The idea that righteous people use their wages in order to gain a better life is not found elsewhere in Proverbs. The idea that righteous conduct results in a better life is found frequently.

If it is necessary in your language to make explicit the one who gives righteous people their reward, you may specify “the LORD.” He is the ultimate source of life. For example:

⌊The LORD⌋ will reward a righteous person with life

leads to life: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “to life.” With interpretation (1), the word life may imply a long, prosperous life, or it may refer to eternal life. It is recommended that you translate in such a way that your readers can understand either meaning.

10:16b

but the gain of the wicked: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as gain is an agricultural word that often refers literally to crops or a harvest. It can also refer to literal income (money). Here, it has a similar meaning to the parallel word the Berean Standard Bible translates as “labor” in 10:16a. It should be understood figuratively to refer to the consequences or results of a wicked lifestyle.

brings punishment: This phrase has the same structure as the parallel phrase “leads to life” in 10:16a. In Hebrew, it is literally “to sin.” There are two ways to interpret this word:

(1) This word is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the punishment or death that sin causes. For example:

but evil people are paid with punishment (New Century Version)

(2) This word refers literally to “sin.” The whole clause indicates that a wicked lifestyle results in sin. For example:

A wicked person’s harvest is sin (God’s Word)
-or-
but sin leads only to more sin (Good News Translation)

You may follow either interpretation. Interpretation (2) is followed by more English versions, but most scholars support interpretation (1).

Some ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

• Give the meaning of the metonymy, as the New Century Version and New International Version have done.

• Use the word “sin,” and then make explicit the result of that sin. For example:

but the result of a wicked person’s life is sin, and sin leads to death/punishment

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