The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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. )
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)
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.”
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the DanishBibelen 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. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 14:38:
Kupsabiny: “Then Saul summoned the commanders of the soldiers and told them that, ‘We want to know whether anyone has committed any sin today.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So he said, "All [you] leaders, come to the front and let us know what sin has taken place today.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So Saul said to the leaders/[lit. heads] of the people of Israel, ‘[You (plur.)] come here, and let- us (incl.) -find-out/learn what sin we (incl.) have-committed/[lit. have-done] this day.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Saul summoned all the leaders of his army. He said to them, ‘I am sure that God has not answered me because someone has sinned. We must find out what sin someone has committed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Since Saul has just been speaking to God and is now speaking to the leaders of the people of Israel, Good News Translation correctly indicates this change. In effect, you leaders of the people is taken out of the direct quotation and made a part of the introduction to it.
Leaders: the Hebrew word means “corner,” “cornerstone,” “corner tower.” Fox says “cornerstones” but places the word in quotation marks to show a nonliteral meaning is intended. The term is used here in a figurative sense as the leaders are compared to the cornerstone of a building, as also in Judges 20.2 and Isa 19.13. As is often true in 1 Samuel, the people here refers to Saul’s army. Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, “Come forward, all chief officers of the troops.”
How this sin has arisen today: this seems to refer to some specific, known sin with the question being precisely how it happened. But this is not the case. Rather Saul is aware that there is some sin that is causing God to remain silent. But he does not know what the sin is. The meaning to be translated is therefore “where the sin lies this day” (Revised English Bible) or “what sin has kept God from answering” (Contemporary English Version). Another slightly different way of understanding this is to take the word translated sin as meaning “guilt.” The question would then be “how this guilt was incurred today” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
If direct speech is to be avoided, translators may wish to say something like:
• Saul called the army officers together in order to try to find out what sin had occurred that day to prevent God from answering him.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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