“Usually, Thai men spend their free time with other men. Women only enter to serve them food, but here a woman has entered into the male social space in a counter-cultural way Not only is she female, she is a lowly prostitute. Although a Thai woman may sometimes wash her husband’s feet, she will never use her hair to dry them The men observing her are shocked at it all.”
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “cover over” (a figure of speech which is also employed in Hebrew, but which in many languages is not acceptable, because it implies “hiding” or “concealment”)
Warao: “not being concerned with him clean your obonja.” Obonja 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.)
Martu Wangka: “throw out badness” (source: Carl Gross)
Kyaka: “burn the jaw bones” — This goes back to the pre-Christian custom of hanging the jaw bones of murdered relatives on ones door frame until the time of revenge. Christians symbolically burned those bones to show forgiveness which in turn became the word for “forgiveness” (source: Eugene Nida, according to this blog )
Koonzime: “remove the bad deed-counters” (“The Koonzime lay out the deeds symbolically — usually strips of banana leaf — and rehearse their grievances with the person addressed.”) (Source: Keith and Mary Beavon in Notes on Translation 3/1996, p. 16)
Ngbaka: ele: “forgive and forget” (Margaret Hill [in Holzhausen & Ridere 2010, p. 8f.] recalls that originally there were two different words used in Ngbaka, one for God (ɛlɛ) and one for people (mbɔkɔ — excuse something) since it was felt that people might well forgive but, unlike God, can’t forget. See also this lectionary in The Christian Century.
Amahuaca: “erase” / “smooth over” (“It was an expression the people used for smoothing over dirt when marks or drawings had been made in it. It meant wiping off dust in which marks had been made, or wiping off writing on the blackboard. To wipe off the slate, to erase, to take completely away — it has a very wide meaning and applies very well to God’s wiping away sins, removing them from the record, taking them away.”) (Source: Robert Russel, quoted in Walls / Bennett 1959, p. 193)
Gonja / Dangme: “lend / loan” (in the words of one Dangme scholar: “When you sin and you are forgiven, you forget that you have been forgiven, and continue to sin. But when you see the forgiveness as a debt/loan which you will pay for, you do not continue to sin, else you have more debts to pay” — quoted in Jonathan E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor in Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies 17/2 2010, p. 67ff. )
Kwere: kulekelela, meaning literally “to allow for.” Derived from the root leka which means “to leave.” In other words, forgiveness is leaving behind the offense in relationship to the person. It is also used in contexts of setting someone free. (Source: Megan Barton)
Merina Malagasy: mamela or “leave / let go (of sin / mistakes)” (source: Brigitte Rabarijaona)
Mauwake: “take away one’s heaviness” (compare sin as “heavy”) (source: Kwan Poh San in this article )
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 of Luke 7:47:
Noongar: “Then I tell you, because she gave much love, we can see the proof — her much sinning is forgiven. But the person who is forgiven a small thing, he loves little.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “So, since she has great love, that is why we know for sure/certain, her many sins are forgiven. But the person who just a little/few his sins have been forgiven, his love is also just a little.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore I tell you, this woman has a great love for me because her many sins have been forgiven. If a person has few sins forgiven he will also show little love.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason I said this to you is that we can discern from this woman that there are many evil deeds of hers which are now forgiven by God, because I am very precious in her breath. If there’s a person whose evil deeds which are forgiven by God are only very few, he does not have very much breath for God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I tell you (sing.) then that the large love she has shown me, that is what shows that her many sins have been forgiven. But as for the person who has few sins that were forgiven, little also is the love that he will show.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore what I will tell you is true, that from the big-size of this loving which she has shown, it testifies that she has been forgiven of all her sin, even though it was really big. But the love is little of the person who has had little forgiven.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”
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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.
hou charin, legō soi, apheōntai hai hamartiai autēs ‘therefore, I tell you, her sins have been forgiven,’ or, punctuating with Nestle hou charin legō soi, ‘therefore I tell you.’ The former suggests a somewhat stronger connexion between the woman’s behaviour and the forgiving of her sins, but it should be born in mind that the parable of vv. 41ff says that the measure of love shows the measure of forgiveness, instead of determining it. For legō soi cf. on 3.8. For apheōntai cf. on 5.20.
hai hamartiai autēs hai pollai lit. ‘her sins, the many.’ hai pollai is emphatic by position, cf. “her sins, her many sins” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).
hoti ēgapēsen polu ‘because she loved much.’ The clause refers to the evidence, or proof, of the fact that the woman’s sins had been forgiven, as brought about by a rendering like ‘her great love proves, or, shows it’ (cf. Translator’s New Testament), i.e. that her many sins have been forgiven.
hō de oligon aphietai, oligon agapa ‘he who is forgiven little, loves little,’ i.e. shows little love. The present tense conveys the idea of a general principle and tends to soften the obvious inference for Simon.
Translation:
Some other renderings in line with the interpretation given in Exegesis are, ‘her sins, which are many, are forgiven; the proof of it is that she loves much, or, that-is-why her love is great’ (cf. Batak Toba), “the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven” (Good News Translation), ‘if she shows much love, it is because she has been forgiven her many sins’ (Bible de Jérusalem, note), ‘this woman here has loved me greatly, that’s how you can recognize that God has forgiven (lit. that no more at all God is following/noticing/making-her-accountable-for) her many sins’ (Tboli).
Her sins … are forgiven, or, to avoid a passive, ‘she received forgiveness for her sins’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘God has forgiven her sins’ (cf. Tae’ 1933, and Tboli).
She loved. If an object is required it should be ‘me,’ cf. Tboli, An American Translation.
He who is forgiven little, or, ‘whoever the forgiveness of his-sins is small’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘whoever receives small forgiveness’ (Pohnpeian), ‘if God has forgiven a person only a few sins.’
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
many sins…loved much: There is an implied comparison in this verse. Jesus implied that the woman was like the man in the parable who owed much money and loved the lender for canceling his large debt. She loved Jesus much because she knew that he had forgiven her for many sins.
Make sure that the connection between receiving much forgiveness and loving much is clear in your translation. See the examples in the notes for this verse.
forgiven little loves little: In this verse Jesus also implied that Simon was like the man in the parable who owed only a small debt. This comparison is clear only because Jesus indicated that Simon did not show much love to him. This implies that Simon thought that he had not sinned much and did not need much forgiveness.
7:47a–b
Some English versinos, such as the English Standard Version, New International Version, and New Living Translation (2004), connect 7:47a and 7:47b with a dash. Other English versions do not use a dash here. It is probably not necessary to use a dash in your translation.
Therefore: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore means “for this reason.” It introduces a conclusion. Jesus concluded that the woman showed so much love to him because she was grateful to him for forgiving her many sins. The way that she behaved toward him proved that this was true. Other ways to express this connection in English are:
I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. (Good News Translation) -or-
That’s why I’m telling you that her many sins have been forgiven. Her great love proves that. (God’s Word) -or-
So, I tell you, her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven… (Revised English Bible)
The conjunction Therefore works together with the conjunction “for” in 7:47b. Consider the meaning of the whole statement and connect it to the context in a natural way in your language.
I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and that people should listen carefully to it. Some other ways to show this emphasis are:
• Use a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:
Let me tell you this -or-
Listen -or-
I assure you
• Use an emphatic word within Jesus’ statement. For example:
her many sins have certainly been forgiven.
If you have another way in your language to emphasize an important statement, consider using it here.
See 7:26c and 7:28a, where the same phrase occurs.
because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much is literally “her many sins have been forgiven, for she has loved much.” The Greek conjunction “for” indicates “as is shown by the fact that.” It implies that the woman’s love for Jesus was the proof that she understood for how much Jesus had forgiven her.
There are a number of ways to express the connection between these ideas:
it is clear that she must have been forgiven because she loved/loves much -or-
her many sins are forgiven, so she showed great love (New Century Version)
Express this connection in a clear way in your language.
The clause her many sins have been forgiven is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to translate it without using a passive verb. For example:
she has received forgiveness/pardon for her many sins
In some languages it may be helpful to say who had forgiven the woman’s sins. If that is true in your language, you may specify that Jesus had forgiven her sins. For example:
⌊I⌋ have forgiven her many sins -or-
⌊I⌋ have forgiven her for the many times that she has sinned
her many sins: In this context the phrase her many sins refers to the woman’s sins against God. Jesus used the phrase in a general way to refer to the sinful things that she had done in her life. He was not implying that the woman had offended him personally.
In general, the word sins refers to offenses against God. These sins include acts, thoughts, and attitudes that are not what God wants or approves. A person can also offend God by not doing what God wants him to do. God is also offended by actions that a person does to harm other people.
It is helpful to translate sins with a general term that can include any offense against God. Here are problems to avoid:
(a) The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also sins.
(b) The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.
See sin, sense A, in Key Biblical Terms.
Some ways to translate sins are:
wrong acts -or-
offenses ⌊against God⌋
In some languages it may be natural to translate sins with a phrase that includes a verb. For example:
the things that she has done wrong
have been forgiven: The verb form that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have been forgiven indicates that at a previous time in the past the woman’s sins were forgiven. The woman continued to live as a forgiven person. Use a natural form in your language to describe an action in the past that continues to be effective in the present.
In this context the verb have been forgiven indicates Jesus forgave the woman for all that she had ever done that was wrong. As a result, God would not punish her for any of her sins. He would cancel her guilt and treat her as though she had never sinned. Some other ways to translate have been forgiven are:
have been pardoned -or-
have been canceled -or-
have been taken away
See also forgive in Key Biblical Terms.
she has loved much: In this context the word loved refers to showing devotion and affection to a person. The love here is based on gratitude. If the word that you use for “love” refers more to a feeling than an action, you may need to add a word like “shown” or “demonstrated” to this clause. For example:
she has shown that she loves (me) very much
See how you translated “love” in 7:42c. See also love, sense A1(b), in Key Biblical Terms for more information.
7:47c
But he who has been forgiven little loves little: This clause expresses a fact that is true of people in general. It does not refer to Simon alone, but it explains Simon’s actions. Simon showed little love for Jesus because he did not think that he needed much forgiveness. Simon did not realize that he had sinned many times. In some languages it may be necessary to make this meaning more explicit. For example:
But whoever ⌊thinks that he⌋ does not ⌊need⌋ to be forgiven for many sins does not respond with much love.
As in 7:47a–b, the verb has been forgiven is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to translate the clause without using a passive verb. For example:
But if someone sins against a person in only small ways and the person forgives him, the one who sinned will not show much love to the one who forgave him. -or-
But if someone forgives a person who sinned only a few times, the one who sins/sinned will love the one who forgives only a little.
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