28so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
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” 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)
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 of Hebrews 9:28:
Uma: “Thus also Kristus, just one time he offered himself to God to carry[-on-his-shoulders] the sins of the people. And the time will come he will appear the second time in this world. That coming will not be to carry[-on-his-shoulders] sin. He will come then, he will carry/bring goodness [salvation] to people who wait for his arrival.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Likewise Almasi also died only once but he sacrificed his body in order to take-away the sin of the people. And he will come again no longer to take-away sin but he will come to save the ones who are waiting for him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Christ also, He died only once which was the sacrifice of His body so that He might remove the sins of many people. And Jesus will again come down here on earth, not to remove our (incl.) sins, but rather He will finish freeing everybody whose expectancy of Him is very great.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Likewise also Cristo’s being offered to bear/undergo the sins of people was once only. So when he comes again, it will not be because of our sins but rather he will come to completely save all who are waiting for him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, just like that, just once also Cristo was made a sacrifice, so that he would take-the-punishment-for the sin of people/humanity. And he will indeed return here again, however that is not in order to take-the-punishment-for the sin of people, but rather in order to just fetch all those who are waiting-eagerly-for him, because it will then be the time for the completion of their salvation.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Like that, Christ died only one time, he became a sacrifice. Very many people did he clear of their sins. And now again he will come, but he will not be coming again to pay for the people’s sins. Rather he will come to save those who are waiting for him to come.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, arawarete (現れて) or “appear” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
These verses are partly an aside; the main theme is taken up again in 10.1. However, they are also related to the main subject by the repetition of offered in sacrifice once and by the mention of “salvation.”
Must renders a different word from that used in 2.1. It refers to something “in store,” either literally, as in Luke 19.20, or figuratively, as in Colossians 1.5; 2 Timothy 4.8.
Everyone must die once may be expressed as “All people die once.” This is, of course, a reference to physical death. Bible en français courant says “Every human being is destined to die one time”; New English Bible has “it is the lot of men to die once.”
After that be judged by God: by God is implied. These words are not an aside, as Traduction œcuménique de la Bible suggests; they reinforce the general statement Everyone must die once by adding a specifically Christian statement. Good News Translation shows this by ending the sentence at the end of the verse. The clause after that be judged by God may be rendered as “and after that happens, God judges them.”
The rendering of In the same manner may cause complications, because such a phrase could refer to the immediately preceding statement about being judged by God. The phrase In the same manner must refer to the entire process of sacrificial offering.
If the writer of Hebrews has Isaiah 53 in mind, as the phrase translated take away the sins of many suggests, it is possible to understand Christ as a title, “the Messiah,” not as a proper name. See the Good News Bible Word List.
One might assume that the passive expression was offered could be shifted into an active form with God as the agent. However, this would introduce a concept which is not in accordance with New Testament expression, for it would then appear that God offered Christ as a sacrifice. This would suggest the wrong idea of God’s offering Christ to someone else as a sacrifice. It is often best to change the passive was offered into a reflexive form, such as “Christ offered himself as a sacrifice.”
Good News Translation is right to emphasize once, which is repeated in verse 28a as the point of the comparison between verses 27 and 28a. It adds this emphasis by making the verb rendered was offered a main verb, and by then turning verse 28b, which contains a new thought, into a separate sentence.
The term translated many, as in Isaiah 53.12; Mark 10.45; and Hebrews 2.10, does not mean “many but not all,” but “many, not just one or a few.” It renders a Hebrew idiom, used here to mark a contrast between the one sacrifice of Christ and the large number of people who benefit from it.
He will appear a second time may also be rendered as “He will come again.”
Not to deal with sin is literally “without any relation to sin” or “apart from sin.” Bijbel in Gewone Taal‘s “freedom from the burden of sin” is not the likely meaning here. This part of the verse qualifies the first part. An expanded translation would be “he will, it is true, appear a second time, but this will not be to deal all over again with sin, for he has done that once for all. It will be for the final rescue of those who are waiting for him.” Deal with sin and save are positive and negative aspects of the same event. Save here probably includes not only rescue from death, but giving all God has promised.
It may be more natural in some languages to introduce the positive before the negative part of the contrast, namely, “he will come again to save those who are waiting for him. He will not come the second time to deal with sin” or “… When he comes the second time, it will not be in order to deal with sin.” In place of the rather general expression to deal with sin, it may be possible to translate “to cause the forgiveness of sins.”
The last part of the sentence could also mean “those who are waiting for him to save them” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), but almost all translations and most commentaries take the same meaning as Good News Translation. In translating who are waiting for him, it is important to suggest positive expectations rather than passive endurance. Accordingly, who are waiting for him may be rendered in some languages as “who are expecting his coming.”
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 .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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