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 9:9

“Give instruction to a wise man, and he . . . still wiser”: As the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, the Hebrew text lacks the word “instruction”. The text says “give to a wise man,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project rates as “B” and suggests two expressions to translate it: “Give to the wise man [person]” or “Give the wise man [person] an opportunity.” Many languages have difficulty with the first, as there is no object expressed. The second expresses “opportunity” as the thing that is given. This may be ambiguous, but it is workable in some languages.

The failure of the text to carry the word “instruction” (or something equivalent) may simply be an example of ellipsis, the omission of a word or phrase necessary for the complete structure of the sentence but not for the meaning. If this is the case, we are not dealing here with a textual problem. Bible en français courant says, “What you say to a wise person increases his wisdom.” See Good News Translation. We may also say, for example, “Teach a wise person and that person will be yet wiser” or “If you teach. . ., that person will. . ..”

“Teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning”: This line is very similar in meaning to line 1. “Teach” matches “give instruction” in the first line. “Righteous man” or “righteous person” is an upright, honest person for whom “the fear of the Lord” in verse 10 is the basis of wisdom. In 12.26 the “righteous” person is defined as someone who “turns away from evil.” The wise person and the upright person are equated in these lines. “Increase in learning” means “he will add to his knowledge” or “he will learn even more.”

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 9:9)

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

  • Kupsabiny: “If you teach a knowledgeable person, that person’s wisdom increases and/or when you teach a righteous person, (his/her) learning/wisdom increases.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If [you] give insight to a wise person,
    he will become wiser still.
    If [you] instruct a righteous person,
    he will have even more insight.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (sing.) teach a wise-one, his wisdom will-increase more. If you (sing.) teach a righteous man, what he had-learned will-increase more.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Be-advising a wise-person and his wisdom will-be-added-to. Teach a righteous-person and his skill/intelligence will-be-added-to.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 9:9

9:9

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

9a
Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still ;

9b
teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

9:9a

Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still: Other ways to translate the clause Instruct a wise man are:

Give instruction to the wise (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Give advice to a wise person (God’s Word)
-or-
Teach the wise (New Century Version)

9:9b

teach a righteous man: The term righteous man refers to a person who is just or righteous in conduct and character. It is someone whose life conforms to God’s standards. (See the note on 1:3b, where the basic meaning of the word is discussed.)

and he will increase his learning: Other ways to translate this clause are:

he will learn even more
-or-
what he knows will increase

General Comments on 9:9a–b

As with 9:7–8, the relationship between 9:9a and 9:9b may be expressed as an “if” clause followed by a consequence. For example:

If you advise a wise person, he will become even wiser. If you teach a righteous person, he will learn even more.

In this verse, the wise person and the righteous person refer to the same individual. In languages that do not use parallelism, it may be necessary to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in some way. For example:

If you instruct a wise or righteous person, he will become even wiser and more knowledgeable.

See also 9:9a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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