fear (of God)

The Hebrew and Greek that are translated as “fear (of God)” (or: “honor,” “worship,” or “respect”) is translated as “to have respect/reverence for” (Southern Subanen, Western Highland Purepecha, Navajo (Dinė), Javanese, Tboli), “to make great before oneself” (Ngäbere), “fear-devotion” (Kannada — currently used as a description of the life of piety), “those-with-whom he-is-holy” (those who fear God) (Western Apache) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “revere God” (Lalana Chinantec), “worship God” (Palantla Chinantec) (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “obey” (Chichewa) (source: Ernst Wendland), “having/showing respect (for God)” (Makonde) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), or with a term that communicates awe (rather than fear of an evil source) (Chol) (source: Robert Bascom).

Bullard / Hatton (2008, p. 8) say the following about this concept: “As the writer of Proverbs states in 1:7, ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.’ (…) ‘The fear of the Lord,’ that is, human fear of God, is an exceptionally difficult concept to express, at least in English. Other languages may have more appropriate terms. The idea probably is rooted in the most ancient days when people were indeed afraid of any deity. But in Israel the concept of fearing God was transformed by God’s revelation into a much fuller idea. Basically, as used in the Bible, the fear of God refers to the proper attitude of reverence and awe before the Holy One. To fear God is to recognize one’s own place as a mere mortal before the Creator, one’s place as a sinner before the Judge, one’s place as a child before the Father, one’s place as the recipient of God’s love. It thus involves submission, repentance, trust, and grateful love toward the One who is fearsome in holiness, in justice, in power that both protects and punishes, and in love. Using the word “fear” is sometimes as good as we can do, but often we will alternate that word with terms like ‘reverence’ or ‘awe.’”

See also fear of the LORD (Isa 11:2) and complete verse (Genesis 22:12) et al.

complete verse (Psalm 52:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 52:6:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “The righteous will see these and be afraid;
    they will laugh at him and say that,” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Seeing this the righteous will fear,
    ridiculing [you] they will speak like this –” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “This will-be-seen by the righteous and they will-wonder.
    They will-laugh at you (plur.) and they will-say,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Good people will see these matters, then they fear,
    and they will laugh at you by saying,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Wanyofu watakuja yaona hayo na kuogopa,
    ndipo watakucheka wewe watasema,” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “When righteous people see that, they will be awestruck,
    and they will laugh at what happened to you, and say,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

righteous, righteousness

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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 Psalm 52:6 - 52:7

The tyrant’s destruction will bring fear and joy to God’s people (The righteous), who will make fun of the man. Here shall … fear has less the idea of being afraid and more that of being “awestruck” (New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), or being “deeply impressed” (see Bible en français courant).

Good News Translation retains the second person of address of verse 5 when it renders “laugh at you” instead of switching to third person, as Revised Standard Version does.

Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation retain the Hebrew expression laugh at. The meaning of laugh at must be considered in relation to see, and fear in the previous line. These persons begin by being “awestruck,” which implies tense speechlessness, and then end up laughing. Here laugh at does not have the sense of ridicule or making fun of someone, but rather they laugh in amusement at the irony of what happens to a person who does not depend upon God. If laugh at means only “to scorn or make fun of,” it will be better to use another expression; for example, in some languages it is possible to say “they nod their heads to say yes and say….”

In verse 7 the man translates the word geber, which means a man in his full strength; the word is akin to gibbor of verse 1, and some see here a derisive allusion and translate “the great man,” “the brave man” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The expression who would not make God his refuge may in some languages be rendered “who would not let God protect him” or “who would not ask God to defend him.”

At the end of verse 7 Good News Translation “in being wicked” is a possible translation of the Masoretic text; the Hebrew word elsewhere means “destruction” (see Revised Standard Version footnote; see verse 2 “to ruin”; also in this sense in 5.9; 38.12; 57.1). In some passages an identical Hebrew word means “desire, lust” (Pro 10.3; 11.6; Micah 7.3), and Anderson takes that to be the meaning here. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says that the word means “the riches acquired to the damage of others,” that is, “plunder,” and in verse 2 the same word means “destructive plans,” “plots.” There is a great variety in the translations: King James Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “wickedness”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible “crime”; New American Bible “harmful plots”; New Jerusalem Bible “mischief”; Weiser “and boasted of his malice.” Dahood has “his perniciousness.” All of these seem probable; less likely is New English Bible‘s “wild lies.” Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant, Zürcher Bibel prefer to follow Syriac and Targum “in his wealth” instead of the Masoretic text “in his wickedness.”

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 .