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 (Job 5:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 5:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “You shall live in your home in peace
    and nothing shall hurt/disturb your domestic animals.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You will know that your tent is safe,
    when you look carefully at your property, nothing at all will be lost.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) can-be-sure that the well-being-situation of your (sing.) household is good, and nothing will- be-missing of your (sing.) animals.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 5:24

You shall know translates the opening word, which has a prefix to mark a transition between the list of disasters in verses 20-23 and the concluding part of the chapter. The whole expression is translated by Good News Translation as “Then.” Its fuller meaning is “You will have the satisfaction of knowing,” or as Moffatt says, “You may be sure.” Tent is safe: tent translates a noun which may be used in the general sense of a dwelling, or by extension a household, that is, those who live in the house. New English Bible renders it “household.” The English word “tent” is more specific than the context suggests, although it is used by both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Safe translates the Hebrew shalom, which refers to “good health, prosperity, blessing, peace, safety, and well-being.” Tent is safe implies in English that the structure of the tent is sound, that it is not likely to collapse. This is not the idea. Good News Translation “live in peace” is far better. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “You will have prosperity.”

Inspect your fold: the word translated fold can refer to the place where domestic animals are kept or to the animals themselves. In the present context the phrase means “to look at your sheep,” as in Good News Translation. Fold may be understood as a parallel term for tent in line a, and Bible en français courant takes it in this way: “You will experience peace in all your house; when you inspect it, nothing will be missing.” New English Bible is similar, with “you will look around your home….” In language areas where sheep are unknown, it is sometimes possible to use a generic term such as animals, provided they refer to domestic and not wild animals. We may also say, for example, “the animals you keep,” or “the animals you own.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .