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 10:7

“The memory of the righteous is a blessing”: “The memory of the righteous” refers not to what the righteous remember but rather to the righteous being remembered by others, especially after their deaths. In the Hebrew “the righteous” renders a masculine singular noun, but need not be so restricted. Note Good News Translation “good people.” In some languages it is unnatural to say that memory is a blessing. However, it is often possible to say “Memory of good people is a gift from God,” “To remember good people is God’s gift,” or “It is God’s kindness that lets us remember good people.”

“But the name of the wicked will rot”: “Name” is parallel with “memory”, as is “wicked” with “righteous”. “Rot” contrasts with “blessing”. For the paralleling of “memory” and “name” see Job 18.17 and Psa 135.13. “Name” and “memory” stand for reputation, the esteem in which a person was held in life and after life. The lives of the righteous were a blessing to others. By contrast the wicked are forgotten. They are like an object that rots and disappears.

In some languages it is not natural to speak of a name rotting. In such cases it may be possible, however, to retain the metaphor by saying, for example, “but the name of the wicked person will be forgotten like a thing that decays and disappears.”

A typical translation of the whole verse is: “When a good person dies, people remember that person and are happy, but when an evil person dies, people quickly forget that one.”

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 10:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 10:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “The name/fame of (a) righteous person continues,
    but the one (name) of (the) wicked disappears.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Good people will be remembered,
    but Evil people will be quickly forgotten.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A righteous man will-be a blessing to others and he will-be-remembered forever/[lit. until whenever], but a wicked man will-be-forgotten.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The righteous/just will not be forgotten even though they died long-ago, because people who think-about them will be blessed, but those who are doing evil, they will be forgotten.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “After righteous people die, other people are blessed as they remember what those people did before they died;
    but we will soon forget wicked people after they die.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 10:7

10:7

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

7a
The memory of the righteous is a blessing,

7b but the name of the wicked will rot.

10:7a

The memory of the righteous is a blessing: This line refers to the memory that other people have of the righteous. It indicates that people will be blessed or benefited or made happy when they remember the life of a righteous person. The parallel with 10:7b strongly implies that people will remember a righteous person, even long after that person has died. Another way to translate this line is:

We have happy memories of the godly (New Living Translation (2004))

10:7b

but the name of the wicked will rot: In this line, the name of the wicked is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the reputation of the wicked. It is also part of a metaphor. The name/reputation of a wicked person is compared to something that decays/rots and disappears.

Here are some ways that they are similar:

(a) The main similarity is that something that decays will disappear and be gone. Similarly, people will forget a wicked person after he dies.

(b) Another similarity is that something that rots or decays is unpleasant or smelly. In the same way, the reputation of a wicked person is nasty and unpleasant.

In some languages, a literal translation of this complex figure of speech may be hard to understand. Some other ways to translate it are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:

but the reputation of the wicked will rot (NET Bible)

Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

but the name of the wicked ⌊will be like something that⌋ rots ⌊and disappears

Change it to a simile and make explicit one or more points of similarity. For example:

but the ⌊disgusting⌋ reputation of the wicked ⌊will eventually be forgotten,⌋ ⌊like something that⌋ rots ⌊until it exists no more

Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

evil people will soon be forgotten (New Century Version)

Two advantages of using a figure of speech are:

(a) It may help readers to picture the meaning more vividly in their minds.

(b) Readers will better understand the points of similarity.

However, if a figure of speech is hard to understand, the last option may express the meaning more effectively. Translate in a way that is clear and natural in your language.

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