righteous, righteousness

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 10:6

“Blessings are on the head of the righteous”: “Blessings” refers generally to God looking favorably upon someone or something. It includes the benefits that God bestows on his people. “Blessings” or good gifts are given by God or by a superior person to an inferior. In this line God may be the source of the blessings. The Septuagint and the Vulgate add “of the Lord.” Note that this form is used in verse 22. Many translations state or imply that God is the source of the “Blessings” and this is recommended to translators. On the other hand, it is also possible that the “Blessings” are the good words of praise given by other people. “On the head” recalls Jacob blessing his family in Gen 48.14-22 by placing his hands on the heads of his grandchildren. “Righteous” refers to those who are upright, good, honorable people.

“But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence”: This line does not give the expected contrasting parallel. Where we might expect a statement about the fate or disfavor of God toward the wicked, the second line seems to say what the wicked do, that is, they “conceal violence”. Some interpreters believe that a line from verse 11 has replaced the original line that has dropped out. However, it is not unusual for the contrast between the two lines to be weak or absent. “Mouth of the wicked” may refer to the wicked or to what the wicked say. If the source of the “Blessings” or praise expressed in the first line is taken to be people in general, the contrasting parallel in the second line is the violence that the wicked conceal or hide in what they do or say. Bible en français courant translates “Wicked people hide violence in their words.” Some other translations say “but the talk of a bad person hides his thoughts about doing harm to others.”

Contemporary English Version translates the full verse: “Everyone praises good people but evil hides behind the words of the wicked.”

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 10:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 10:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “(A) righteous person is showered/sprinkled with blessings/gifts
    but, evil/arrogance has engulfed the wicked (person).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Good people will be blessed,
    But hiding in the mouth of an evil person
    are only disputes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A righteous man is blessed; what a wicked man says is harmful.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The righteous/just person will-be-blessed, but the cruel/malicious cover-over by-means-of their words the evil that they are doing.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Righteous people will be blessed by God;
    the nice things that wicked people say sometimes conceal the fact that they are planning to act violently.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 10:6

10:6

This proverb contrasts the blessings that righteous people experience with the violent actions that wicked people do to others. The parallel parts “the righteous” and “the wicked” contrast exactly, but the overall contrast is not exact. This kind of partial contrast is fairly common in Hebrew parallelism.

6a
Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

6b but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

In the Hebrew and in the Berean Standard Bible, the lines are arranged chiastically. The underlined parallel parts occur at the beginning of 10:6a and the end of 10:6b.

10:6a

Blessings are on the head of the righteous: In Hebrew, this line is literally “Blessings to/for the head of the righteous.” The plural Blessings indicates all kinds of blessings.

Blessings: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessings probably refers here to the benefits or rewards that the LORD gives to righteous people. However, it may also refer to the words of blessing spoken by other people. These people “bless” the righteous by asking the LORD to show them special favor. With either of these interpretations, the LORD is the ultimate source of the blessings.

Since the meaning may include both interpretations, it is recommended that you leave the source of the blessings implied. If your language requires the source of blessing to be made explicit, it is recommended that you specify the LORD. For example:

The LORD gives many blessings to righteous people
-or-
The LORD shows his favor/kindness to righteous people in many ways
-or-
The LORD causes righteous people to experience many benefits

head: This word is used figuratively here. It represents the entire person.

Another way to translate this line is:

Righteous people receive many blessings

righteous: See the note on 10:3a.

10:6b

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence: In Hebrew, this line is literally “the mouth of the wicked covers/conceals violence.” There are two ways to interpret this line:

(1) The mouth of the wicked is the subject of the verb conceals. This line means that wicked people hide their violent intentions or actions by saying good things. For example:

the speech of the wicked conceals violence (Revised English Bible)

(2) The word violence is the subject of the verb covers. This line means that violence will cover or overcome the wicked. For example:

but the wicked will be overwhelmed by violence (New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. Notice that in the Berean Standard Bible, this line is identical to 10:11b. Some other ways to translate this line are:

but wicked people speak in a way that hides their brutal actions
-or-
but as for wicked people, their words conceal their violent intentions
-or-
but a person who does what is wrong covers up the cruel things that he does by means of what he says

the mouth of the wicked: In this phrase, the mouth is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the speech of the wicked, as in the Revised English Bible above.

violence: The word violence refers to physical brutality or cruelty. See the notes on 3:31a and 13:2b.

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