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 18:17

“He who states his case first seems right”: The context is that of a legal dispute. This line says that the first person to state his argument (defense) appears to be right in the hearing of others because no opposing view has been given. We may say, for example, “The first to plead his case seems to be right.”

“Until the other comes and examines him”: “Until” is necessarily supplied by Revised Standard Version. “The other” is literally “his neighbor,” who in this setting is the accuser. “Examines him” means questions or cross-examines him for details that make his case appear contradictory. Bible en français courant translates this line “until the moment when his adversary contradicts him.” New Revised Standard Version says “until the other [person] comes and cross-examines.” See Good News 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 18:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 18:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “Words of a person who defends himself with the mouth (words) appear to be true,
    only upto when a person has come with a complaint/objection.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When there is a law case,
    the first man to speak seems right
    until the opponent comes and asks a question.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The first who witnesses in the court seems the right-one already, until his opponent will- now -investigate him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “What the first-one who speaks says in court (lit. place-/occasion-of-judging), it seems correct if his-opponent/enemy has not-yet spoken.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “The first person to present his case in court seems right,
    but when someone else/his opponent begins to ask him questions, it may become clear that what he said was not true.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 18:17

18:17

In this verse, the second line completes the thought of the first line.

17a The first to state his case seems right

17b until another comes and cross-examines him.

The setting of this proverb is a dispute in which the opponents both present their cases. It could be a legal dispute that is brought before a judge in court or before the elders of a town. It could also be an argument between members of a family.

The proverb implies that people need to hear both sides of a dispute before they make a decision. It also implies the need to question the first speaker to make sure that he described the situation accurately.

18:17a

The first to state his case seems right: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “The first in his dispute is righteous.” It means that the first person to state his side of an argument appears to be right in what he has said. This is probably the accuser.

It is implied that he presents his evidence in a way that makes his own case look stronger than it actually is. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

The first person to speak in court always seems right (Good News Translation)
-or-
The person who tells one side of a story seems right (New Century Version)

18:17b

until another comes and cross-examines him: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as another is literally “his neighbor.” It refers to the next person who speaks, probably the defendant. When the second person cross-examines or questions his accuser, the accuser’s arguments may no longer seem to be right. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

until his opponent begins to cross-examine him (NET Bible)
-or-
until the next person comes forward to ask him questions

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