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 11:8

This verse follows thoughts already expressed in verses 3, 5, and 6.

“The righteous is delivered from trouble”: “Is delivered” translates the passive form of a verb meaning to rescue or save. “Trouble” refers to distress, difficulties, or misfortune. Languages that cannot use a passive construction in this line may have to supply a subject, for example, “The Lord rescues the righteous from their troubles” or “The Lord gets the upright out of trouble.”

“And the wicked gets into it instead” is literally “and the wicked enters [in] his place.” This sounds as if the wicked is made to suffer in the place of the righteous. However, the sense of this line is that eventually the righteous is rescued while the wicked gets into trouble. Toy takes the sense of “instead” here as “reversal of positions.” See Good News Translation for a model translation.

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 11:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 11:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “A righteous person is saved/delivered so that he may not have/get trouble,
    but the sinner meets with disaster/death.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In the time of suffering
    righteous people will be saved.
    The suffering will fall
    on the wicked instead.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “God saves from difficulty the righteous but the wicked on-the-other-hand are not (being saved).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The righteous/just-one, he will-be-rescued from hardship, but the one whose thoughts are bad, hardship is what he will experience.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh rescues righteous people from their troubles/difficulties;
    instead, it is the wicked who will have troubles.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 11:8

11:8

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

8a
The righteous man is delivered from trouble,

8b in his place the wicked man goes in.

The contrast in this verse is between the righteous person and the wicked person. The righteous person suffers temporarily but is eventually rescued. The wicked person ends up experiencing the same suffering from which the righteous person was delivered.

11:8a

The righteous man is delivered from trouble: This clause indicates that when a righteous person experiences trouble, ⌊the LORD⌋ rescues him from it. It does not imply that the righteous never experience trouble. For this reason, a translation such as “The righteous are protected from trouble” (Good News Translation) is not recommended.

trouble: The word trouble refers to any kind of severe physical or mental suffering. See the note on 1:27a–c, where the Berean Standard Bible translates the word as “distress.”

11:8b

in his place the wicked man goes in: In Hebrew, this line is literally “the wicked comes instead of him.” This indicates that the situations of the righteous and wicked man are reversed. It does not imply that the wicked person serves as a substitute for the righteous person. Another way to translate this line is:

it happens to the wicked instead

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