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.

complete verse (Hebrews 10:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 10:4:

  • Uma: “For the blood of cows and the blood of goats certainly cannot wipe-away sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For the blood of cows and of goats cannot hep remove man’s sin.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because it’s not possible in any way that the blood of cows and goats could take away our sins.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because the blood of male cows and goats, it is absolutely unable to remove sins.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because, this blood of bulls and blood of the goats, this cannot remove sins.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the blood of cows or of goats when they have been killed, it can never be able to take away the sins of the people.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Hebrews 10:4

It may be impossible to translate literally the blood of bulls and goats. Two kinds of blood are involved, so it may be necessary to talk about “the bloods of bulls and of goats” or “the blood of bulls and the blood of goats.”

Never translates the emphatic “it is impossible”; it is not an expression of time. For the writer’s typical phrase “it is impossible” (Revised Standard Version), see 6.4, 18; 11.6.

Take away in Greek is a compound verb used with sins or “sin” in both the Old and the New Testaments; see Romans 11.27, which refers back to Isaiah 27.9. John 1.29 in Greek uses the simple form of the same verb (without the equivalent of away). An expression for take away, in the Greek as in English, is here a dead metaphor. It does not make the reader ask “where are the sins taken?” but means essentially the same as “forgive” (9.22) or deal with (9.28).

Can never take away sins may be rendered as “cannot at all cause guilt to disappear” or “can never cause sin to be forgiven.” Expressions for forgiveness often involve idiomatic expressions; for example, to forgive guilt may be “to take guilt back” or “to throw guilt away.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .