sin

The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “sin” in English has a wide variety of translations.

The Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) carries the original verbatim meaning of “miss the mark” and likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.”

  • Loma: “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “that which is off to the side” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: kasalan, originally meaning “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and in the context of the Bible “transgression of God’s commandments” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. )
  • Kaingang: “break God’s word”
  • Bariai: “bad behavior” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Sandawe: “miss the mark” (like the original meaning of the Greek term) (source for this and above: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)

In Shipibo-Conibo the term is hocha. Nida (1952, p. 149) tells the story of its choosing: “In some instances a native expression for sin includes many connotations, and its full meaning must be completely understood before one ever attempts to use it. This was true, for example, of the term hocha first proposed by Shipibo-Conibo natives as an equivalent for ‘sin.’ The term seemed quite all right until one day the translator heard a girl say after having broken a little pottery jar that she was guilty of ‘hocha.’ Breaking such a little jar scarcely seemed to be sin. However, the Shipibos insisted that hocha was really sin, and they explained more fully the meaning of the word. It could be used of breaking a jar, but only if the jar belonged to someone else. Hocha was nothing more nor less than destroying the possessions of another, but the meaning did not stop with purely material possessions. In their belief God owns the world and all that is in it. Anyone who destroys the work and plan of God is guilty of hocha. Hence the murderer is of all men most guilty of hocha, for he has destroyed God’s most important possession in the world, namely, man. Any destructive and malevolent spirit is hocha, for it is antagonistic and harmful to God’s creation. Rather than being a feeble word for some accidental event, this word for sin turned out to be exceedingly rich in meaning and laid a foundation for the full presentation of the redemptive act of God.”

In Warao it is translated as “bad obojona.” Obojona is a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions.” (Source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. ). See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the Danish Bibelen 2020, comments on the translation of this term: “We would explain terms, such that e.g. sin often became ‘doing what God does not want’ or ‘breaking God’s law’, ‘letting God down’, ‘disrespecting God’, ‘doing evil’, ‘acting stupidly’, ‘becoming guilty’. Now why couldn’t we just use the word sin? Well, sin in contemporary Danish, outside of the church, is mostly used about things such as delicious but unhealthy foods. Exquisite cakes and chocolates are what a sin is today.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

See also sinner.

complete verse (Psalm 38:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 38:19:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Many are my powerful enemies;
    those who hate me for no reason are too many.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “My enemies are much stronger than I am,
    Some enemies are even needlessly hostile towards me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Concerning my enemies, they (are) strong and many.
    They hate me without reason.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru:
    “But those who want to kill me, they are very strong. There are many people who hate me, but it is not right for them to hate me like that.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “There many people who are my enemies who are powerful,
    there are many people who hate me, there is nothing I spoiled also.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Maadui zangu wameongezeka bila sababu,
    wengi ambao wananichukia wakati sijafanya chochote.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “My enemies are healthy and strong;
    there are many people who hate me for no reason.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

Translation commentary on Psalm 38:18 - 38:19

The psalmist confesses his sins to God (verse 18a), acknowledging that they fill him with anxiety (verse 18b), as Good News Translation translates it (also Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Revised Standard Version translates I am sorry for my sin as a close parallel to line a. But the Hebrew verb has the meaning “be anxious about,” even “be afraid of” (see Jer 42.16); so New Jerusalem Bible here has “I am fearful over my sin”; New International Version “I am troubled by my sin”; New English Bible “I am anxious at the thought of my sin.” The expression “fill me with anxiety” can sometimes be translated idiomatically; for example, “they hang my heart up” or “they make my heart tremble,” or nonfiguratively “they cause me to be afraid.”

In verse 19a Good News Translation “healthy” translates the Masoretic text “living,” which is the sense expressed by Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “full of life” and New International Version “vigorous.” New Jerusalem Bible and Dahood translate it “mortal.”18-19 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says only that the Masoretic text means “living” (“A” decision) but does not explain what it means in the context. It cites factor 14, “Conjectural form of the text,” which states that the committee does not propose any conjectural emendation (regardless of whether or not the Masoretic text makes sense to the translator). Others conjecture the Hebrew term for “without reason” (as in 35.19), which makes the line a close parallel to the following one (Briggs, Weiser, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible). The Masoretic text is somewhat strange. In line b Revised Standard Version hate me wrongfully means “it is wrong for them to hate me”; so Good News Translation “for no reason.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .