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 (Hosea 10:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 10:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “God says,
    ‘Oh, Israel, you have sinned
    from those days of Gibeah
    and you have remained like that.
    Might not war finish those sinners in Gibeah?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The LORD says, "O Israel, from the time that you sinned in Gibeah even until now,
    you have not stopped sinning against me.
    Did not war against
    evil doers befall them in Gibeah?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD said, ‘You (plur.) people of Israel continue to sin since the time that your (plur.) ancestors sinned at Gibea. You (plur.) never/(intensifier) changed. Therefore you (plur.) descendants of the wicked-ones will-be-attacked at Gibeah.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You people of Israel, ever since your ancestors did evil things at Gibeah,
    you have continued to sin.
    When the people at Gibeah did evil things,
    the result was a war in which thousands of people died.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Hosea 10:9

In 10.1-8 Hosea speaks about Israel. But in the beginning of this verse Yahweh speaks directly to Israel. Good News Translation, New Living Translation, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch make the speaker explicit by adding the quote frame “The LORD says.”

From the days of Gibe-ah, you have sinned, O Israel: Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew order here. Good News Translation follows the usual English order, saying “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah.” The sin at Gibeah was the raping and killing of the Levite’s concubine (see comments on 9.9).

The Israelites are addressed directly in this line with the pronoun you and the vocative O Israel. In the rest of this section God refers to them in the third person (they, them). Good News Translation changes the second person references to third person for naturalness. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers keeping the second person references with a {B} rating, but like Good News Translation, many languages will use third person. Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation use second person for Israel throughout this section. In most languages a translation without a switch from second to third person will sound somewhat more natural. The choice of using second or third person is up to the translator, but it is suggested to carry it through consistently.

There they have continued does not refer to remaining in Gibeah, but to remaining in sin. Good News Translation expresses this clearly with “have not stopped sinning.” The Hebrew verb for have continued refers to taking a firm stand, as in battle, or as in loyalty to an idea or principle. The Israelites began their wrongdoing in Gibeah and continued in it steadfastly. They were determined to sin.

Shall not war overtake them in Gibe-ah?: Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew with this rhetorical question. It expects the answer “Yes.” Good News Translation expresses the same idea more directly and clearly with a statement: “So at Gibeah war will catch up with them.” Other translations put this rhetorical question in the past tense as an implicit threat that what happened then will happen again now; for example, New International Version and NET Bible say “Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah.”

In Gibe-ah expresses two ideas: First, the Israelites will be attacked in the very place where their ancestors sinned. Second, since Gibeah is in the south of Israel, the invader from the north, Assyria, will sweep through all of Israel from north to south.

In Hebrew this verse ends with an expression that is literally “on sons/people of injustice.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation include this phrase in the next verse (see comments there). However, some versions include it here by rendering it “the evildoers” (New International Version, NET Bible) or “the wicked men” (New Living Translation).

A translation model for this verse is:

• Israel has been sinning ever since that time in Gibeah,
and they have persisted in it.
Were they not overtaken by war in Gibeah?

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 10:9

Section 10:9–15

The LORD will punish Israel

In this section, the LORD (10:9–11) and Hosea (10:12–15) warn the people of Israel that the LORD will punish them because of their past and current sin. This section includes figures of speech from agriculture that the Israelites in Hosea’s time would clearly understand. Some examples are comparisons of the people to farm animals (10:11) and to farmers (10:12–13).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord Pronounces Judgment on Israel (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Lord Promises to Punish Israel (Contemporary English Version)

Paragraph 10:9–10

In this paragraph, the LORD is the speaker. He traces the sin of the people of Israel back to their ancestors in the city of Gibeah. Verse 10:10 is a warning that punishment will come as a result of their past and present sin.

10:9a–b

Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained: This verse describes how long the people of Israel have continued to sin.

10:9a

Since the days of Gibeah: the days of Gibeah refers back to a tragic incident in Israel’s past. Gibeah is a city in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Some residents there committed extreme sexual perversion and murder. The people of Gibeah were defiant against the LORD and against the rest of Israel. See Judges 19–20 and Hosea 9:9. The phrase Since the days of Gibeah refers to the time period from that sinful act to the time of Hosea.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah (New Century Version)
-or-
Israel, you have sinned ever since the incident at Gibeah (God’s Word)

you have sinned, O Israel: In this context, these words imply that the people of Israel sinned in a way that was similar to the sins of the people of Gibeah.

O Israel: Here, the LORD, speaking through Hosea, addresses the people of Israel directly.

Here are other ways to translate this expression:

Israel (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You Israelites

Use a vocative that is natural in your language when a person speaks to a group of people.

The Good News Translation translates this accusation as indirect speech:

The LORD says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah. (Good News Translation)

However, indirect speech is not recommended here. Direct address is preferable, since in this situation the LORD is confronting the people, not just speaking about them.

10:9b

and there you have remained: This statement indicates that Israel continued to follow same kind of sinful behavior as the terrible sin committed at Gibeah.

Here are some other ways to translate this statement:

You never change (God’s Word)
-or-
You have made no progress whatsoever (New Living Translation (2004))

10:9c

Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?: This clause is more literally “not will war overtake them in the gibeah on the sons of injustice.” There are three main interpretations of this clause:

(1) A future war will overtake evildoers in Gibeah. For example:

Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah? (New Revised Standard Version)

(2) A past war overtook evildoers in Gibeah. For example:

Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? (NET Bible)

(3) A war did not overtake evildoers in Gibeah. For example:

the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. (King James Version)

(King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions and a slight majority of commentaries. It is the most accepted way to understand the difficult Hebrew text.

Here are some ways to translate this clause:

• As a rhetorical question. The expected answer is “yes.” For example:

Will not war overtake them in Gibeah? (Revised English Bible)

• As a statement. For example:

War will overtake the wicked people in Gibeah. (God’s Word)
-or-
But war will surely overwhelm them in Gibeah, because of the evil they have done there. (New Century Version)

overtake: The Hebrew word here means to “catch up to” or to “take hold upon” something or someone. Here are other ways to translate this word:

overwhelm them (New Century Version)
-or-
catch up with them (Good News Translation)
-or-
will soon experience

the sons of iniquity: The Hebrew phrase is literally, “sons of injustice.” The Hebrew word for “injustice” means to act contrary to what is right. Here the expression refers to people that are as evil as those at Gibeah.

in Gibeah: The word “gibeah” literally means “hills.” Here the word Gibeah is probably a word play. It refers both to the city of Gibeah and also to the hills that Hosea calls “high places” in 10:8a, where the Israelites worshiped idols.

It is recommended that you add a footnote to explain the meaning. For example:

Gibeah means “hills.” See Hosea 10:8.

© 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.