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 24:15

“Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous”: “Lie not in wait” suggests a plan to rob or attack a person’s home secretly or without warning. To “Lie . . . in wait”, as in 1.11, means to hide and wait for an opportunity to do something. Commentators suggest that “as a wicked man” or “you wicked man” is a gloss or addition by a scribe to the original Hebrew text. But the major English translations all retain it, and translators are advised to do the same. For “wicked” see 2.22. “The dwelling of the righteous” uses a poetic term for the place where a person lives; in this context it is taken by most versions as meaning “home” (New Revised Standard Version) or “house” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible). For “the righteous” see 3.33.

“Do not violence to his home”: This line is parallel to the previous line, except that there is no equivalent for “as a wicked man”. “Do not violence” matches “Lie not in wait”, but refers perhaps to open assault rather than a secret raid on the house. See 19.26. “His home” (literally “his lying-down place”) matches “the dwelling of the righteous” and is also a poetic term. New Revised Standard Version renders it “the place where the righteous live,” while most other English versions have “home”, “dwelling [place],” or something similar. While the common word for “house” in Hebrew may refer to a person’s family, that is unlikely to be the meaning of the term used here.

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 24:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 24:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not be like an evil person who plans to attack/invade the house of a gently/upright person.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Do not plot to rob good people
    like wicked people do.
    And do not drive them out of their houses.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] do- not -become-like a wicked man, who watches-closely to attack the dwelling-place of a righteous man.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Do not (sing.) follow-the-example-of a criminal. Do not (sing.) secretly-watch-for what you (sing.) will steal from the house of a righteous-person.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 24:15

Paragraph 24:15–16 Saying 27

In this saying, the teacher advises his son not to be involved in robbing or destroying the house and property of a righteous man (24:15). He then gives a reason or motivation for obeying this advice (24:16).

24:15

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

15a
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling place of the righteous;

15b
do not destroy his resting place.

The two commands refer to different stages of the same crime.

24:15a

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous: In Hebrew, the verb lie in wait is a single word. It refers here to a person who hides and waits for a chance to break into a righteous person’s house. The same verb was used in 1:11.

O wicked man: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “⌊O⌋ wicked ⌊man⌋ ,” as in the Berean Standard Bible. However, throughout this section the teacher has been addressing his son, and his son is not a wicked person. So here he probably commands his son not to act like a wicked person. For example:

like an outlaw (New International Version)

wicked man: The New International Version used the specific word “outlaw” (see above) instead of the general word wicked, because the context describes a person who plans to commit robbery or other violent acts. You may use either a general or specific word in your language. Choose a word that fits the context of both parallel lines.

near: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as near has a variety of meanings that fit this context. Some other ways to translate it are:

Do not wait in ambush like a criminal at a righteous person’s house.
-or-
Do not hide and wait like a wicked person near the home of a righteous man.

In some languages, the relationship between “lie in wait” and “the dwelling of the righteous” may need to be made more explicit. For example:

Do not be like a criminal who hides near a righteous person’s house ⌊in order to steal what he owns⌋ .

Be sure to consider the parallel line (24:15b) before you decide whether to make information explicit here.

24:15b

do not destroy his resting place: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as destroy means “assault, destroy, or ruin.” The noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as resting place refers to the house, property, or possessions of the righteous person. In this context, it is not clear whether the crime involves theft, robbery, or destruction of property. Use terms in your language that refer to one or more of these crimes.

Some ways to translate this command are:

do no violence to his home (English Standard Version)
-or-
Do not rob his house. (God’s Word)
-or-
Do not destroy his property or possessions.

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