as blind people grope in darkness

The now commonly-used German idiom im Dunkeln tappen for being in the dark, missing facts about something and not being able to understand completely or at all (literally meaning to grope [and toddle] in the dark) was first coined in 1534 in the German Bible translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 59)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

forget

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also remember.

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.” Likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.” Loma has (for certain types of sin) “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”) or Navajo uses “that which is off to the side.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida). In Toraja-Sa’dan the translation is kasalan, which originally meant “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and has shifted its meaning in the context of the Bible to “transgression of God’s commandments.” (Source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. ).

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 Kaingang, the translation is “break God’s word” and in Sandawe the original meaning of the Greek term (see above) is perfectly reflected with “miss the mark.” (Source: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)

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.

he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being dis cussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (2 Peter 1:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Peter 1:9:

  • Uma: “But persons whose behavior is not like that are like blind persons. For as for a blind person his seeing is not clear, so also persons who are like that their thinking is short, for they do not remember that they were cleaned from their past sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But even though the person is trusting in Isa, if he doesn’t do what I said there, he is like a blind person or a person who can’t see far because he forgets already that his former sins have already been forgiven by God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But if there is a believer who will not do this, it is as if his mind is blinded, since he does not understand what is right. Perhaps he has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his former evil deeds.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But if there is a person who isn’t following these behaviors, he is like a blind-person or a person who is nearsighted (lit. his sight/view is close). Because he has already forgotten that his former sins were washed-away.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But well, the truth is, whoever has believed who does not have these habits/ways, what he’s like is blind. He does not exert (lit.lengthen) his mind/thinking. For he isn’t considering the fact that he has been made clean, for on his believing/obeying the Lord, his sins which he was doing in the past were forgiven.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But he who does not do what I tell you, his mind is closed as though he were blind, he forgot that God forgave the sins he committed before.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Peter 1:9

This verse describes the life of people who do not possess the qualities mentioned in verses 5-7. First of all, such people are blind and shortsighted. This combination may present some translation problems, since blind is stronger than shortsighted, and since obviously, if a person is blind, that person cannot be shortsighted at the same time. A better way of understanding this is to take shortsighted as having the effect of causing blindness: a shortsighted person is in effect blind, hence Good News Translation “is so shortsighted that he cannot see.” Furthermore this should not be taken literally but in a metaphorical sense, that is, being morally and spiritually blind; this metaphor is a popular one in the New Testament (see, for example, Matt 15.14; John 9.40-41; Rev 3.17). In many languages this metaphorical usage must be made clear by using a simile such as “is like a person who is so shortsighted that he cannot see.”

Secondly, these people have forgotten that they were cleansed from their old sins. Forgotten is literally “having received forgetfulness,” a typical Greek expression. The metaphor of cleansing from sin has its origin in the Old Testament, where it is connected with the Jewish sacrificial system. This metaphor was also widely used in the early church and is found in many parts of the New Testament (for instance, Titus 2.14; Heb 1.3; 9.14; 1 John 1.7, 9). Most commentaries are agreed that the reference here is to the purification that a person receives at baptism, during which a person is forgiven of his or her past sins before baptism. Baptism therefore signifies the end of the old and the beginning of the new: it marks a break between the old life of sin and disobedience and the new life of virtue and obedience to God. Many languages cannot literally translate the passive construction he was cleansed from his old sins but will need to name God as the one who does the cleansing, or else use a construction with a verb such as “receive.” In such cases this clause will be rendered “that God has cleansed him from his past (or, old) sins” or “that he has received from God cleansing from his past sins.” In still other languages it will be necessary to make a direct reference to baptism and say “that God has cleansed his past sins through baptism.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But whoever does not have these qualities is like a person who is so shortsighted that he cannot see (or, is blind), and has forgotten that God has cleansed him from his old sins.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .