virgin

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The Hebrew and Greek that is mostly translated as “virgin” in English can be translated as “woman that is untouched” in Batak Toba or “a woman with a whole (i.e. unopened) body” in Uab Meto.

“Similar words for ‘girl,’unmarried young woman,’ suggesting virginity without explicitly stating it, are found in Marathi, Apache, or Kituba. Cultural features naturally influence connotations of possible renderings, for instance, the child marriage customs in some Tboli areas, where the boy and girl are made to sleep together at the initial marriage, but after that do not live together and may not see each other again for years. Hence, the closest attainable equivalent, ‘female adolescent,’ does not imply that a young girl is not living with her husband, and that she never had a child, but leaves uncertain whether she has ever slept with a male person or not. Accordingly, in Luke one has to depend on Luke 1:34 to make clear that Mary and Joseph had not had sexual intercourse. A different problem is encountered in Pampanga, where birhen (an adaptation of Spanish virgen — ‘virgin’), when standing alone, is a name of the ‘Virgin Mary.’ To exclude this meaning the version uses “marriageable birhen,” thus at the same time indicating that Mary was relatively young.” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel, see here)

In Navajo (Dinė), the term that is used is “no husband yet” (Source: Wallis, p. 106) and in Gola the expression “trouser girl.” “In the distant past young women who were virgins wore trousers. Those who were not virgins wore dresses. That doesn’t hold true anymore, but the expression is still there in the language.” (Source: Don Slager)

The term in Djimini Senoufo is katogo jo — “village-dance-woman” (women who have been promised but who are still allowed to go to dances with unmarried women). (Source: Übersetzung heute 3/1995)

In Igbo translations, typically a newly-created, multi-word phrase is used that very explicitly states that there has not been any sexual relations and that translates as “a woman (or: maiden) who does not know a man.” This is in spite of the fact that there is a term (agb͕ọghọ) that means “young woman” and has the connotation of her not having had sexual relations (this is for instance used by the Standard Igbo Bible of the Bible Society of Nigeria for Isaiah 7:14). Incidentally, the euphemistic expression “know” (ma in Igbo) for “having sex” has become a well-known euphemism outside of Bible translation. (Source: Uchenna Oyali in Sociolinguistic Studies Vol. 17 No. 1-3 (2023): Special Issue: Gender and sexuality in African discourses )

In Chichewa, it is translated as namwali which is used to refer to a girl who has reached puberty stage and is ready to get married. Apart from the physical aspect, the word also has social implications in the sense that it is used to recognize the fact that the girl has become responsible enough to make informed decisions and take care of herself and others. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also virgins (Revelation 14:4) and complete verse (Matthew 1:23).

sin

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, 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)
  • Nias: horö, originally a term primarily used for sexual sin. (Source: Hummel / Telaumbanua 2007, p. 256)
  • Mauwake: “heavy” (compare forgiveness as “take away one’s heaviness”) (source: Kwan Poh San in this article )

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 (1 Corinthians 7:36)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 7:36:

  • Uma: “For instance an unmarried-man is engaged to an unmarried-woman. The man says, it isn’t fitting if he never marries his fiancee, for his fiancee is getting older and older. So, if he really wants to get-married [wived], they should get-married [they should couple], it is not a sin.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Now, this is about unmarried girls that will soon be-past-the-age-when-girls-normally-get-married. (la’unan) If her parent says/thinks that it is not right if she is not married and the girl also would like to have a husband, na, then she should be caused to get married. Her parent does not sin.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If there is a man, and he has a virgin daughter who is already of age and that daughter is having a hard time because her father will not allow her to marry, it would be better if he allowed her to marry if she wants to, because that is no sin.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Now concerning also the man who has a child who has already become-a-young-lady, and he thinks it improper that he forbid her from being-married, it’s-OK if he gives-her -in-marriage if that’s what he thinks is the right-thing for him to do. That’s not a sin.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But if there is a man who has an arrangement (to marry) with a woman, but he thinks maybe it would be his sin if he went through with their arrangement, it would be good if he does indeed go through with it, especially if it’s hard for him to control himself. It’s indeed not his sin if they marry.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Now I want to say a word to men who have daughters and now there has arrived the days to marry. If the man thinks that it is not good to have marriage by-pass his daughter, then he can give her in marriage. Because marriage is not sinful.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:36

The verse begins in Greek with words meaning “But if,” suggesting that Paul is about to move to another question. He may be referring to a situation that has already arisen at Corinth, perhaps similar to that implied in verse 5, except that the couple in question in verses 36-38 are not yet married.

Thinks (Good News Bible‘s “feels”) involves a judgment or decision rather than emotion.

Not … properly is an adjective that is related to “good order” in verse 35. This phrase may be expressed as “acting in a way he should not” or “behaving in a wrong way toward.”

His betrothed (“the young woman,” Good News Bible) is literally “his virgin”—a rather strange expression, especially if a daughter is meant as in explanation (A) above. However, “his virgin” could mean “his beloved” or “his sweetheart.”

The Greek does not tell us whether the subject of are strong is the passions of the man or of the woman. The problem is that in Greek an adjective is used which, if applied to a woman, commonly means that she is beyond the prime in age—namely that she is no longer young. However, the word may also be applied to a person, especially a man, who has strong sexual impulses. The situation is similar to that described in verse 9.

The thought of the last part of verse 36, let them marry …, is similar to that of verse 28a but is more fully developed.

The clause it is no sin is literally “(he) does not sin.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 7:36

7:36a However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed,

If there is a man who is engaged to be married to a girl, and he thinks he is not treating her well ⌊by delaying their marriage⌋,
-or-
If any of you have been engaged ⌊for a long time⌋, and think you are not being fair to your fiancée,
-or-
As for those of you who are engaged ⌊but have delayed getting married⌋ : if you have begun to think that you are acting inappropriately toward your girlfriend,

7:36b and if she is beyond her youth

(English Standard Version) if his passions are strong

and if he strongly desires to marry her,
-or-
and you feel passionately toward her,
-or-
and if you are deeply in love with her,

7:36c and they ought to marry,

and so he thinks that he should marry her,
-or-
and now you realize it would be good to marry her,

7:36d let him do as he wishes;

then he should do what he thinks is good.
-or-
then you should marry her, if that is what you want.

7:36e he is not sinning;

He is not doing wrong.
-or-
It is not a sin.

7:36f they should get married.

The couple should marry.
-or-
You should marry her.

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