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 4:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 4:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “When you priests became many,
    you continued/increased doing sin.
    So, I will change the honor you have
    to become disgrace.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Just as the priests increase in number,
    in like manner their sin of opposition to me increases.
    Since it’s like that I will change their honor into shame.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “While you (plur.) priests have-become-many, your (plur.) sin also has-become-many to me. Therefore I will-make a disgrace of what- you (plur.) -boast.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “As there are more and more priests,
    they have sinned against me more and more.
    So I will no longer allow them to be honored;
    instead, I will cause them to be disgraced.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Hosea 4:7

The more they increased, the more they sinned against me is literally “As they increased, thus they sinned to/against me,” which means the more they increased in number, the more they sinned. The pronoun they does not refer to the people of Israel but to the priests. There is a switch from second person singular (4.4-6) to third person plural here for the priests. God no longer talks to the priests, but about them. Still the priesthood in general is in focus. A way to accommodate this shift is to insert a quote frame such as “The LORD says” at the beginning of the verse. It is implied here that “your children” in 4.6 increased in number as priests. Sinned renders a generic Hebrew term. In this case the sins were against Yahweh, especially in the way in which the priests abused the proper forms of sacrificial worship as becomes clear in the immediate context. The Hebrew verbs here refer to accomplished acts. Revised Standard Version uses past tense, while Good News Translation has present tense. Either tense fits this context. New English Bible renders these two lines as “The more priests there are, the more they sin against me.”

I will change their glory into shame: The Hebrew words for glory and shame also occur in Pro 3.35 and Hab 2.16. The ancient scribes saw a textual problem here. They understood Yahweh himself to be the glory of Israel and false idols to be Israel’s shame. God would not replace himself with an idol, so they suggested changing the text to read “they will change my glory into shame.” However, this line is a word of condemnation from God, following his accusation, and the poetic form of the text is superior without the changes. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project therefore adheres to the traditional text reflected in Revised Standard Version (a {B} decision).

The Hebrew word for glory covers a broad range of meaning: heaviness, wealth, honor, brightness (shining light), respect, and beauty. Its use in this context probably points toward respect and honor, although the context can also suggest wealth, since the priests “feed on the sin of my people” (4.8). Glory can refer to Yahweh himself, as in Bible en français courant (1982), which renders this line as “They have exchanged me, me who was their glory, for a vile idol.” This model is not recommended since it does not follow the preferred traditional reading of the Hebrew text. In this context the word glory may refer both to the respect people gave the priests and to the beauty of the forms of worship that they led, since the two are related. Worship is a key concept in this section. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders their glory as “their position of honor,” and Revised English Bible says “their dignity.” NET Bible makes the worship context more explicit with “their glorious calling.”

The Hebrew word for shame is related to lightness, the opposite of weightiness; it marks a person as lightly esteemed, dishonored, or disgraced.

Good News Translation expresses the meaning of this line well: “and so I will turn your honor into disgrace.” Good News Translation continues to address the priests directly rather than referring to them in the third person. This produces better English style. Revised English Bible has “their dignity I shall turn into dishonour.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• The LORD says,
“The more the priests increased [in number],
the more they sinned against me.
I will exchange their dignity for disgrace.

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 4:7

Paragraph 4:7–11a

In this paragraph, the LORD gave more details about the sinful behavior of the priests (4:7–8). He then described his response to that behavior (4:9–11a).

As in chapter 2, the Hebrew pronouns alternate between “you” and “she.” In 4:4–6 the LORD used “you” when speaking to the priests, but in 4:7–10, he referred to the same priests as “they.” The Berean Standard Bible uses the pronoun “they.” The Good News Translation continues to use “you.” Use a natural way in your language to refer to the priests. Be consistent throughout this paragraph. It should be clear in your translation that the LORD is speaking here to the same group of priests as in 4:4–6.

4:7a

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me: There is a close connection here between the priests increasing and their sins increasing.

Here are some other ways to express this connection:

Whenever the priests increased, their sins also increased.
-or-
The priests kept increasing. When that happened, they also sinned more and more.

they: The pronoun they refers to the priests.

multiplied: The word multiplied refers partly to an increase in the number of priests. Some versions make this idea explicit. For example:

The more of you priests there are, the more you sin against me (Good News Translation)

However, the word multiplied probably also refers to an increase in their prestige and power. As their power grew, so did their sin and so did their influence to corrupt the people.

Here is another way to express their increase in both numbers and prestige:

The more their numbers and influence grew, the more their sins against me grew.

sinned: In Hebrew, the form of the verb sinned indicates here that the sinful behavior of the priests was habitual. Some versions, such as the Berean Standard Bible, use past tense to indicate this. Other versions use present tense. For example:

the more they sin against me (New Living Translation (2004))

Use a natural way in your language to indicate that the sinful pattern of behavior of the priests was already established.

4:7b

This verse part is the result of 4:7a. The result of the priests’ increasing sinfulness is that the LORD will humiliate them. For example:

⌊ therefore⌋will I change their glory into shame (King James Version)
-or-
So I’ll turn their honor into disgrace (Voice)

Most versions leave this relationship implied.

The English Standard Version has been used as the source line for 4:7b, because it follows the textual recommendation regarding the pronoun “I” or “they.” It also follows the recommended interpretation regarding “glory” or “Glory.” Notice that the NET Bible and New Revised Standard Version followed textual option (2), but chose interpretation (1).

(English Standard Version) I will change their glory into shame: There is a textual issue here:

(1) The Masoretic Text has “I will exchange their glory.” This statement continues the pattern that was set in 4:6. The pattern is that the LORD responds to the sin of the priests with a statement of judgment. Here the LORD’s judgment is that he will take away the glory of the priests and give them something disgraceful instead.

(2) An ancient scribal tradition has “They have exchanged their glory.” This tradition is followed by the Targum and by the ancient Syriac translation. In this context, it indicates that the priests rejected their Glory (God) and accepted something disgraceful instead
It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most versions and commentaries. The MT makes good sense and fits the overall context of the LORD’s punishment of the priests.

(English Standard Version) their glory: There are two main ways to interpret this phrase:

(1) It refers to the glory or honor of the priests. It may refer to their wealth and power or to the high status they enjoyed in the eyes of the people. For example:

their dignity (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
your honor (Good News Translation)

(2) It refers to God, the Glory of Israel. This is the way this phrase is understood in Psalm 106:20 and Jeremiah 2:11. For example:

their Glory (New International Version)
-or-
the glory of God (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions and commentaries. This interpretation better fits the context, because the previous high status of the priests contrasts with their shameful removal from the priesthood.

(English Standard Version) shame: In Hebrew, this word here means disgrace, humiliation, or dishonor. It is the opposite of glory and honor.

Here are some other ways to translate this whole verse part:

I will take away their honor and give them shame. (New Century Version)
-or-
and so I will turn your honor into disgrace (Good News Translation)

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