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 (Exodus 29:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 29:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “But take (plur.) all the meat, (the) hide/skin and stomachs/intestines and go and burn it outside the camp. It is these sacrifices that you (plur.) shall offer to wipe away the sin of the priests.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But the bull’s flesh, skin and its offal burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But the meat/flesh, skin, and intestines you (sing.) should-burn outside the camp. Offer this for becoming-clean.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And take is flesh/meat and his body skin and its faeces in the intestines, and then cook them on another fire outside the camp. This bulmakao is an offering for forgiving (lit. wiping away) bad deeds.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “But, its flesh, and its hide, and its feces, you shall carry [away] it outside from home, go burn it with fire there. That will be offering about forgiveness of sin.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “But the meat of the young bull and its hide and intestines must be burned outside the camp. That will be an offering to forgive the guilt of your sins.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 29:14

But the flesh of the bull refers to the meat, in contrast to its skin, or “hide” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version). And its dung refers to the contents of the stomach and intestines, and all the waste of the animal. New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Revised English Bible use the term “offal.” Good News Translation just uses “intestines.” Contemporary English Version has “the food still in the bull’s stomach.” However, a wider phrase may also be used; for example, “all the food in its stomach and any other waste.” You shall burn with fire outside the camp is quite literal. With fire is obvious and may not be necessary in translation.

It is a sin offering: literally “a sin that,” or “that is a sin.” This expression uses a form of the common Hebrew word for sin, chataʾ, that is discussed at 20.20. When used alone, it means a sin offering, which is more correctly translated as a “purification offering” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation calls it “an offering to take away the sins of the priests.” But in some languages it will be necessary to say “to ask me to forgive the sins of the priests.” The pronoun it (“that”) refers to the entire ceremony, including the blood and what was burned on the altar, not just the parts burned outside the camp.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• You must take the bull’s meat and skin, and the food in its stomach and intestines, together with any other waste, and burn it all outside the camp. This is an offering to ask me to forgive the sins of the priests.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .