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 13:9

“The light of the righteous rejoices”: “The light of the righteous” refers figuratively to the bright appearance of their lives. “Light” in Job 18.5-6 is a symbol of life. In Pro 6.23 teaching is a “light”. “Rejoices” may be a case of personification, that is, it is normal for people to rejoice, but not for light. “Rejoices” renders a verb whose vowels may be slightly changed to give the sense of “cause joy.” Note New Jerusalem Bible “is joyful.” However, this verb may be from a different root with the same consonants meaning “to shine brightly,” and it is in this sense that Good News Translation and others take it.

Because “light of the righteous” is a figurative expression, many translations shift to a simile; for example, Bible en français courant “The righteous shine like a brilliant light.” If this form of simile is not possible, it may be necessary to say, for example, “Good people are like a light shining brightly.” Note Good News Translation.

“But the lamp of the wicked will be put out”: “The lamp of the wicked” is a common phrase in wisdom poetry. See, for example, 20.20; 24.20; and Job 18.6. “The lamp of the wicked” should be translated in a parallel manner to “The light of the righteous” in line 1. “Put out” contrasts with Good News Translation’s “shining brightly” in line 1. If the passive “will be put out” cannot be used, it may be necessary to say, for example, “will not go on shining” or “will become dark.”

The whole saying may be translated, for example, “Good people are like a bright shining light, but wicked people are like a lamp that is growing dark [or, . . . like a lamp that is going out].”

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 13:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who is righteous is in a good position
    like a lamp which burns brightly,
    but the wicked/sinner,
    his life is faint (precarious) like a lamp about to go out.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The righteous person
    is like a brightly shining light,
    But the wicked person
    is like a lamp about to die out.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The life of a righteous man is like a lamp that shines very brightly, but the life of a wicked man is like a lamp that is snuffed-out.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The light of a righteous/just-person, it is not ever-extinguished, but the light of a sinful-person, just-a-little-while and it is-extinguished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Righteous people are like a lamp that shines brightly,
    but wicked people are like a lamp that will soon be extinguished.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 13:9

13:9

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

9a
The light of the righteous shines brightly,

9b but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.

13:9a–b

The light of the righteous…the lamp of the wicked: No contrast is intended between the words translated here as light and lamp. Both words refer figuratively to life, and both lines are implied comparisons. The life of a righteous person is like a shining light, because a shining light symbolizes prosperity and well-being. The life of a wicked person is like a light that is extinguished, because a light that stops shining symbolizes hardship, ruin, and death.

If the meaning of these metaphors are not clear in your language, some other ways to translate them are:

• Change the metaphors to similes. For example:

The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out. (Good News Translation)

• Change the metaphors to similes and make the topic explicit. For example:

⌊The life of⌋ a righteous person is like a bright light, but ⌊the life of⌋ a wicked person is like an extinguished light.

• Omit one or both of the figures of speech but use related expressions that keep the ideas of brightness and darkness. For example:

Good people can look forward to a bright future, but the future of the wicked is like a flame going out. (New Century Version)

13:9a

The light of the righteous shines brightly: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as shines brightly usually means “rejoices.” Many English versions translate it that way. In this context, it contrasts with a lamp being “extinguished” in 13:9b. So it is probably a figure of speech that refers to a light that shines/burns brightly.

13:9b

but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished: The phrase is extinguished means “is put out.” In English, this verb is passive. It implies that someone extinguishes the lamp, but the one who does it is not specified. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this clause without using a passive verb. For example:

but the future of the wicked is like a flame going out (New Century Version)

It is better to use this kind of option than to emphasize the one who extinguishes the lamp. The main contrast in this proverb is between one light that shines brightly and another light that stops shining.

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