the poor

The Hebrew that is translated as “the poor” in English is translated in Chichewa as “people without power.” In Chichewa context this refers to those who are in the lower class in terms of both social status and political influence in a community. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Cherokee it is translated as “those who are not doing well.” “The concept of poverty was unknown to Cherokee prior to European arrival due to the sharing of resources among clan members and the shared and welfare tradition known as gadugi (ᎦᏚᎩ). In contrat, the concepts of rich and poor play a large role in the world and message or the New Testament (…) This phrase (‘those who are not doing well’), still used today for ‘poor,’ speaks to a more general understanding of well-being than the presence of monetary resources.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 45)

See also poor (Ps. 41:1).

pride

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “pride” in English is translated as

  • “continually boasting” (Amganad Ifugao)
  • “lifting oneself up” (Tzeltal)
  • “answering haughtily” (Yucateco) (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “unbent neck” (like llamas) (Kaqchikel) (source: Nida 1952, p. 151)
  • “praising oneself, saying: I am better” (Shipibo-Conibo) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237).
  • “bigness of head” (existing idiom: girman kai) in the Hausa Common Language Bible it is idiomatically translated as or (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • “trying to make yourself the leader” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “make oneself important” (sick upspeeln) in Low German (source: translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
  • “a haughty liver” in Yakan (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • “lift head” in Upper Guinea Crioulo (source: Nicoleti 2012, p. 78)

See also proud / arrogant and haughty / proud / heart exalted / exalt oneself above.

complete verse (Ezekiel 16:49)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 16:49:

  • Kupsabiny: “The sin that Sodom did was to be proud and/with her sisters because they had many things to eat. They lived/stayed while enjoying life in peace. But they did not rescue/help the poor/orphans and the powerless.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The sin of Sodom your sister was pride. She and her daughters have abundant food and easy living, but they never helped-out the lowly and poor ones.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “These are the sins ofthe people who lived in Sodom, who were like your sister : The people who lived there and in nearby cities were arrogant. In spite of having more food to eat than they needed, they refused to help the poor and needy people among them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 16:49

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: The Hebrew particle hinneh rendered Behold draws attention to the following sins of Sodom (see Ezek 16.8). For the Hebrew word ʿawon rendered guilt, see the comments on 4.4-5, where it is translated “punishment.” Here it refers to the sins that the people of Sodom had done, so it may be rendered “sin” (New Century Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “crime” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible).

She and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy: Pride may be rendered “arrogance” (New American Standard Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; similarly Contemporary English Version, New International Version), and surfeit of food may be translated “gluttony” (New Living Translation, New Jerusalem Bible), “plenty of food” (New Century Version), or “overfed” (New International Version). Good News Translation renders pride and surfeit of food as one characteristic, saying “were proud because they had plenty to eat.” This makes sense in the context and can be a helpful model. However, most versions express them as two characteristics. Prosperous ease is literally “quiet security,” which can refer to the absence of war, or to life untroubled by worries. Such a life can lead to “complacency” (New Jerusalem Bible), where people are satisfied with their own circumstances and are “unconcerned” (New International Version) for others who are less fortunate. This phrase may be rendered “lived in peace and quiet” (Good News Translation) or “lived in great comfort” (New Century Version). Pride is usually seen as something bad, but sufficient food and a quiet, secure life are not necessarily bad. What made them bad for the people of Sodom was that, in their comfort, they did not aid the poor and needy, that is, they did not help people in their community who did not have enough to live on.

A model for this verse is:

• See now, this is the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, they had plenty of food, and were able to live in peace and quiet. But they did not care for the people who were poor and in need.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .