37This is the rule of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the purification offering, the guilt offering, the offering of ordination, and the sacrifice of well-being,
The Hebrew that is rendered in English as “peace offering” or “sacrifice (or “offerings”) of well-being” or similar is translated into Pökoot as pöghisyö: “gift of peace/fellowship.” This term has the connotations of fellowship, wholeness, restored relationships, etc. The word pöghisyö is also used as a common greeting (much like Shalom in Hebrew).
In the ItalianTraduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (2014) it is translated as “sacrificio per il banchetto sacro” (“sacrifice for the holy banquet”), in the Contemporary Russian Version (2nd ed., 2015) as “banquet offering,” or in Tatar as “sacrifice of reconciliation.” (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
The German Jewish translation by Buber and Rosenzweig has “peace meal slaughter” (Friedmahlschlachtung).
The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “purification offering” in English is translated in Tatar as “sacrifice of redemption from sin”), in the ItalianTraduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (2014) as offerta per il perdono dei peccati (offering for the pardon of sins), and in German as either Sühneopfer (“atoning offering”) or Sündopfer (“sin offering”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
The Hebrew that is typically translated as “guilt offering” in English is translated in Chol as “offerings for responsibility for sinning as well as for sinning itself.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.
The GreekSeptuagint and the LatinVulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)
Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.
In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice” (source: Anicet Bassilua) and in Elhomwe as “fire offering.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “grain offering” is translated in Tatar as “bread gift,” in the ItalianTraduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (2014) as offerta di vegetali (“vegetable offering”), in the FrenchParole de Vie (2000) as un produit de la terre (“a product of the earth”) and in German as Speiseopfer (“food offering”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
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. )
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)
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 as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 7:37:
Kupsabiny: “These rules are the ones about the sacrifices that are to be burned completely, the food that is to be offered, the sacrifices that sweep away sins, the sacrifices that appease sin, the sacrifices for anointing and for fellowship.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “These are the regulations of the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Purification Sacrifice, the Guilt Offering, the Ordination Offering, and the Fellowship Offering.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Those are the regulations/[lit. what-is-to-be-offered] concerning the burnt offering, gift offering, offering for becoming-clean, offering as a payment for sin, offering which (is) for ordination, and offering for a good relationship.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Those are the regulations for the offerings that are to be completely burned on the altar, the offerings made from grain, the offerings to enable people to become acceptable to God again, the offerings for when people are guilty of not giving to Yahweh the things that are required to be given to him, the offerings given when the priests are appointed, and the offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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