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 13:21

“Misfortune pursues sinners”: “Misfortune” translates a word commonly rendered “evil” or “trouble” (see 1.33). It is contrasted in line 2 by “prosperity” or “good fortune,” literally “good.” “Pursues”, meaning “follows after in order to capture,” personifies “Misfortune” as an animate being. “Sinners”, first used in 1.10, refers to people of bad moral character and contrasts with good people or “the righteous” in line 2. It is often necessary in translation to adjust the personification in this line by saying, for example, “Sinners have trouble” or “Bad people suffer because of their troubles.”

“But prosperity rewards the righteous”: Here “prosperity” acts by rewarding or giving something in recognition of good behavior to “the righteous”. In this sense “prosperity” parallels and contrasts with “Misfortune”. The word translated “prosperity” may be taken to mean “good fortune” or “happiness.” Some interpreters question the personification of good fortune handing out rewards and see the real subject as God. With this understanding, they take this line as “He rewards the righteous with good.” However, there is no other mention of God in this chapter and instances of the divine name being omitted as the subject of a clause are very rare in Proverbs. The Septuagint has modified the Hebrew to mean “overtakes,” that is, “but prosperity will overtake the pious” (Moffatt).

Some modern translations restructure this line to make people the subject. For example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “The just are rewarded with good,” and Contemporary English Version “but you will be rewarded if you live right.” See Good News Translation. Others retain the personification with the active form of the verb; for example, New English Bible “but good rewards the righteous,” and Revised English Bible “good fortune rewards the righteous.” New International Version uses a noun form of reward: “but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.” We may also say, for example, “but good people will have good things as their reward” or “but good gifts will come to good people.”

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 13:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “Problems follow one who is a sinner,
    but a righteous person gets blessings.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Sinners have to experience trouble,
    The righteous take blessing as reward.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Destruction will-arrive to the sinners wherever they go, but the righteous on-the-other-hand will-be-rewarded with good things.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “A sinful-person has-problems, but the reward of a righteous-person (is that) his life will become-better/good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Sinners have trouble wherever they go,
    but things will go well for righteous people.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 13:21

13:21

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

21a
Disaster pursues sinners,

21b but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.

13:21a

Disaster pursues sinners: The word Disaster can mean either “evil” or “harm” (see the note on 11:27b). Here it means “harm,” “trouble,” or “misfortune.”

This line is an incomplete metaphor. The metaphor compares disaster to a hunter who chases his prey or his enemy in order to destroy it/him. In the same way, disaster also keeps chasing the sinner. In other words, harm or misfortune will keep happening to the sinner.

13:21b

but prosperity is the reward of the righteous: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as prosperity is a very general word that means “good.” In this context, it probably refers to “good fortune” or “financial success.” Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but the righteous are rewarded with good (English Standard Version)
-or-
while blessings reward the righteous (New Living Translation (2004))

13:21a–b

Disaster pursues…prosperity is the reward of: In Hebrew, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is the reward of is actually the verb “rewards.” Versions such as the CSB, NET Bible, and New Revised Standard Version translate it that way.

This word forms a parallel with the verb pursues. These parallel phrases are both examples of personification. Disaster and prosperity are described as if they were people who pursued or rewarded others. In some languages, it may not be natural to use personification in this way. Some other ways to translate it are:

21a You are in for trouble if you sin (Contemporary English Version)

21b but righteous people will be rewarded with good things (Good News Translation)

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