Mark 2:5 – TIPs

your sins are forgiven

The Greek that is translated as “your sins are forgiven” in English” are translated in Lengo as “I forgive your sins.”

Paul Unger (see here ) explains:

“In many languages, ‘demoting the subject’ is a key function of the passive. But the Lengo language of the Solomon Islands has no passive option. All sentences are active, which means we can’t hide ‘whodunnit’ with a passive.

“This raises significant issues for translating the New Testament (…) [since] 3,588 of the Greek New Testament’s 28,114 verbs are passive.

“What is a Lengo translator to do? Sometimes the subject isn’t demoted, so we can simply switch subject and object to make an active sentence. In Mark 1:9, ‘Jesus was baptized by John’ becomes ‘John baptized Jesus.’ Sometimes we can add a generic third-person subject. Mark 1:14 changes from ‘after John had been arrested’ to ‘after they had arrested John.’

“But those strategies don’t always work. Take, for example, the healing of the paralyzed man. Rather than healing the man at the outset, Jesus, seeing the faith of his friends, said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’

“By using a passive to demote the subject, Jesus set up a scene rich with meaning beyond a ‘mere’ healing. Jesus doesn’t say who forgave the man’s sins, just that it was accomplished. The teachers of the law picked up on the passive right away: ‘Why does this man speak that way? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Jesus then tips His hand by asking which was easier—to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk?’ And then the punchline: ‘So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . get up, pick up your mat, and go home.’

“We thought hard about how to render this section in Lengo. In the end, we had Jesus say, ‘My child, I forgive your sins.’ It’s somewhat unsatisfying to have Jesus tip His hand before the crucial moment, but it is an accurate and clear translation. Sometimes, the language compels us to make tradeoffs in attaining those hard goals.”

In Gun it is similarly translated as “I leave (forgive) your sins to you.” Since the Gun language also does not have a passive voice the translators had to choose an agent as well. “In this verse, the verb is ἀφίενταί (aphientai), 3 pl. indicative present passive, with no explicit agent; it is translated as ‘are forgiven.’ The sentence is transformed in Gun with the introduction of the pronoun Nyɛ (I), which represents Jesus as the implicit agent. The discussion that follows, where the scribes felt Jesus was usurping the right of God and actually forgiving sins, reinforces the argument that Jesus is the agent. If it were God, Jesus might not be criticized the way he was in that passage. However, in contrast to the Gun translation, in [the closely related languages of] Aja, Fon, and Gen, an impersonal pronoun is used as the agent.” (Source: Emmanuel K. Kogon in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 238ff. )

paralytic

The Greek that is translated as “paralytic” in English is translated by the Panjabi translation in Persian script with the common expression “one struck by paralysis.” (Source: Yousaf Sadiq in The Bible Translator 2021, p. 189ff.)

In Cherokee “paralysis” is translated as “loss of control” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 33).

As the word about him spread people brought friends to him because they knew he cared (image)

“Successful Thai gatherings are always crowded. Four people carrying a wooden bed is a symbol of death to Thai people. Here Jesus symbolizes resurrection by raising the man from the sick bed back to health in body and soul.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.

For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

Mark 2:1-12 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 2:1-12 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:

Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

A few days passed. There was a house in the town of Capernaum. Jesus came there. A rumor went around among the people that Jesus was there. Many, many people began to come to the house. The house was full, it was very crowded, there was no room, even outside. Everyone wanted to hear Jesus. And Jesus preached to them.

There was one man there, a sick man. He was paralyzed, his body was not moving. He was lying down and four men were carrying him on a stretcher. They wanted to help him, to bring him to Jesus so that Jesus could heal him. And so they carried the sick man. There was a crowd of people around. Those men tried to push the crowd apart, but it was very crowded. There was no way through. They began to think what to do. They saw that the roof of the house was flat, and there was a ladder attached to the house, which led directly to the roof. And they decided: let’s climb up! All four of them climbed up to the roof. They took a thick stick and began to break a hole in the roof. The roof was flat, made of clay and reeds. And so they made a hole in the roof and pulled apart the clay and reeds. It was a big round hole. They looked down and there was Jesus preaching. They got excited. Jesus looked up at them from below and smiled.

— “I know you have faith in me!

And the four men used ropes to pull the stretcher with the sick man up onto the roof, and then carefully lowered him down into the hole below. Jesus watched the stretcher being lowered, and when it came down in front of him, he said:

— My son, your sins are forgiven!

And in the midst of the crowd sat several teachers of the law. They shuddered with indignation, and began to talk and point at Jesus:

— How dare Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven”! God alone can forgive sins! And Jesus says such things! He is insulting God.

They were very indignant.

Jesus realized what they were thinking and said:

— Enough! Why are you slandering me? I am asking you a question. There are two things: which one is easier?

First I say to him, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The second thing: Here is a paralyzed man lying down. I say to him, “Get up, roll up your mat, and go home!”

Which of these two things is easier? The first thing is easier. It’s easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven.”

And so you see I’m here on earth right now. I have the power to forgive the sins of people who sin and do evil deeds. So here I am saying to this paralyzed man, “Get up, roll up your mat and get on your feet.”

The crowd around was amazed. Look, look — everyone said — we know this man could not walk, but he stood up. We have never seen such a miracle before! Everyone was amazed and glorified God.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Прошло несколько дней. В городе Капернаум был один дом. Туда пришел Иисус. Между людьми повсюду пошел слух, что там Иисус. И многие-многие люди стали приходить в этот дом. Дом переполнился, было очень тесно, места не было даже снаружи. Все хотели послушать Иисуса. И Иисус им проповедовал.

Там был один человек, больной. Он был парализован, его тело не двигалось. Он лежал, а четыре человека несли его на носилках. Они хотели помочь ему, поднести его к Иисусу, чтобы Иисус исцелил его. И вот они несут больного. Кругом толпа народа. Те люди пытались раздвинуть толпу, но было очень тесно. Нет пути. Они стали думать, что делать. Видят они: у дома крыша плоская, а к дому приставлена лестница, которая ведет прямо на крышу. И решили: давайте заберемся! Все вчетвером забрались на крышу. Взяли толстую палку и стали пробивать дыру в крыше. Крыша была плоская, была она сделана из глины и тростника. И вот они делают дыру в крыше, раздвигают глину и тростник. Получилась большая круглая дыра. Смотрят вниз, а там Иисус проповедует. Они обрадовались. Иисус снизу на них посмотрел, улыбнулся.

Иисус говорит:

— Я знаю, у вас есть вера в Меня!

А эти четыре человека на веревках подтянули носилки с больным на крышу, а потом аккуратно опустили в дыру вниз. Иисус смотрел, как носилки опускаются, и когда они перед ним опустились, он сказал:

— Сын мой! Твои грехи тебе прощаются!

А среди толпы сидели несколько учителей закона. Они даже вздрогнули от возмущения и стали недовольно переговариваться, показывая на Иисуса:

— Да как же Иисус смеет говорить «твои грехи прощены»! Только один Бог может прощать грехи! А Иисус такое говорит! Он оскорбляет Бога.

Они были очень возмущены.

Иисус понял, о чем они думают, и сказал:

— Довольно! Зачем на меня клевещете? Я вам задаю вопрос. Есть две вещи: какая из них проще?

Первая вещь. Я ему говорю: «Твои грехи прощены».

Вторая вещь. Вот парализованный человек лежит. Я ему говорю: «Вставай, сверни свой коврик и ступай домой!»

Что из этих двух вещей проще? Первая вещь проще. Проще сказать: «Твои грехи прощены».

И вот вы видите, что я сейчас здесь, на земле. Я имею власть прощать грехи людей, которые грешат и совершают злые дела. Вот я говорю этому парализованному человеку: «Вставай, скатай свой коврик и ступай».

И о чудо! Этот человек поднялся, тело его сделалось здоровым. С восторгом он смотрит на свои руки и ноги. Он скатал свой коврик, взял его под мышку и радостный пошел.

Толпа вокруг была изумлена. Смотрите, смотрите — говорили все — мы знаем, этот человек не мог ходить, а он встал. Мы такого чуда никогда раньше не видели! Все изумлялись и прославляли Бога.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 1:40-45 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 2:13-17 in Russian Sign Language >>

Mark 2:1-12 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 2:1-12 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:

© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Unos días después en el mismo pueblo de Capernaúm Jesús otra vez fue a una casa.

La gente lo vio y dijo: “Jesús está en la casa allá, vengan”, y la todos fueron a la casa y entraron y estaba llena de gente, y afuera de la puerta todas las personas estaban intentando a ver a Jesús que estaba predicando.

Afuera había un hombre que no podía caminar, su cuerpo era paralizado y estaba acostado. 4 Personas fueron a ayudarlo y llevaron su camilla, pero vieron que estaba lleno de gente y no podían entrar, ¿cómo?

Vieron: “la azotea, bien, vengan”, y los 4 subieron cargando la camilla, y arriba pusieron la camilla en el piso y empezaron a quitar la techumbre.

Jesús estaba predicando y miró hacia arriba y vio que estaban quitando la techumbre.

Los hombres estaban quitando la techumbre, y cuando estaba todo bien, levantaron la camilla y la bajaron con cuerda, y la camilla con el hombre estaba bajando.

Jesús miró hacia arriba y pensó: huy, ellos tienen fe, y cuando la camilla había bajado dijo: “tus pecados son perdonados.”

Los maestros de la ley que estaban sentados lo vieron y pensaron: absurdo, Jesús habla mal, él es irrespetuoso contra Dios, ¿cómo puede ser?

Sólo Dios puede perdonar a las personas, y puede borrar pecados, ¿qué piensa él?

Pero Jesús lo sintió adentro y lo sabía y volvió a verlos diciendo: “Maestros de la ley, ¿porqué piensan e imaginanse que yo hizo algo mal?

Alto, yo les pregunto ¿cúal sería más fácil, decirle: ‘tus pecados ya son perdonados’ o decirle: ‘levantate, arregla tu camilla, guardala y vete’? ¿Cuál piensan uds?

Oigan, aqui en el mundo hay uno, el hijo del hombre, que tiene autoridad y que puede perdonar los pecados a la gente.

Uds me ven y son testigos (y dijo al hombre): levantate, arregla tu camilla y guardalo y vete a tu casa.”

El hombre acostado notó que todo su cuerpo se había sanado y se paró, arregló su camilla, lo guardó y se fue caminando.

Todas las personas lo vieron (y dijeron): “Esto jamás habíamos visto, hoy lo vemos por primera vez, huy, ¡qué maravilloso es Dios!”

Some days later in the same village of Capernaum Jesus went to a house again.

The people saw him and said: “There is Jesus, over there in the house, come” and the multitude went to the house and entered it and it was full of people, and outside the door all those people were trying to see as Jesus preached.

Outside there was a man who could not walk, his body was paralyzed and he was lying down. Four persons came to help him, they carried his stretcher over, but then they saw that it was full of people and they could not go in, how?

They saw: “Oh good, the roof, come” and the four of them went up carrying the stretcher and upstairs they put down the stretcher and started to take away the roofing.

Jesus was preaching and he looked up and saw them take away the roofing.

The men were taking out the roofing and when all was ready they took the stretcher and lowered it with a rope and the stretcher with the man went down.

Jesus looked up and thought: wow, they have faith, and when the stretcher had been lowered he said: “Your sins have been forgiven.”

The teachers of the law that were sitting there saw this and they thought: this is ridiculous, Jesus speaks badly, without respect, against God, how can he do that?

Only God can forgive people their sins, what is he thinking?

But Jesus felt this and knew it, and he turned to them and said: “Teachers of the law, why do you think and imagine that I did something bad?

“Now stop, let me ask you which you think is easier, to tell him: ‘your sins have already been forgiven’ or to tell him: get up, arrange your stretcher, put it under your am and go’? Which one do you think?

“Listen, here in the world there is one person, the son of man, who has authority and can forgive people their sins.

“You see me and are witnesses (and he said to the man): get up, arrange your stretcher, put it under your arm and go home.”

The man who was lying down felt that his whole body had healed and he got up, arranged his stretcher, took it under his arm and walked out.

All the people saw it (and said): “Who have never seen this before, today is the first time we have seen it, wow, God is wonderful!”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

<< Mark 1:40-45 in Mexican Sign Language
Mark 2:13-17 in Mexican Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 2:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 2:5:

Uma: “Yesus saw the bigness of their faith, he said to the lame person: ‘My child, your (sing.) sins are forgiven!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa saw that they really trusted in him, he said to the paralyzed person, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus, when he understood that their trust in him was great, he said to the man whose body was paralyzed, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Jesus saw their trust in him, he said to that cripple, ‘Your (sing.) sins are forgiven, friend/fellow.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Jesus observed that the belief of those people was big, he said to that sick person, ‘Son, your sins are now forgiven.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Kim text for oral translation: “When Jesus saw the faith of them, he said to the paralysed person, ‘My son, your sins have been forgiven.'” (Source: Bayamy Tchande Awakde in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 23ff.)
English translation by Michael Pakaluk (2019): “So Jesus sees their faith and says to the paralyzed man, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.'”

forgive, forgiveness

Click here to view graphically

The concept of “forgiveness” is expressed in varied ways through translations. Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:

Tswa, North Alaskan Inupiatun, Panao Huánuco Quechua: “forget about”
Navajo (Dinė): “give back” (based on the idea that sin produces an indebtedness, which only the one who has been sinned against can restore)
Huichol, Shipibo-Conibo, Eastern Highland Otomi, Uduk, Tepo Krumen: “erase,” “wipe out,” “blot out”
Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec: “lose,” “make lacking”
Tzeltal: “lose another’s sin out of one’s heart”
Lahu, Burmese: “be released,” “be freed”
Ayacucho Quechua: “level off”
Yatzachi Zapotec: “cast away”
Chol: “pass by”
Wayuu: “make pass”
Kpelle: “turn one’s back on”
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”)
Tabasco Chontal, Huichol: “take away sins”
Toraja-Sa’dan, Javanese: “do away with sins”
San Blas Kuna: “erase the evil heart” (this and all above: Bratcher / Nida, except Tepo Krumen: Peter Thalmann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 25f.)
Eggon: “withdraw the hand”
Mískito: “take a man’s fault out of your heart” (source of this and the one above: Kilgour, p. 80)
Gamale Kham: “unstring someone” (“hold a grudge” — “have someone strung up in your heart”) (source: Watters, p. 171)
Hawai’i Creole English: “let someone go” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
Cebuano: “go beyond” (based on saylo)
Iloko: “none” or “no more” (based on awan) (source for this and above: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
Tzotzil: ch’aybilxa: “it has been lost” (source: Aeilts, p. 118)
Suki: biaek eisaemauwa: “make heart soft” (Source L. and E. Twyman in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 91ff. )
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)
Mairasi: “dismantle wrongs” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Nyulnyul: “have good heart” (source )
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)
Arapaho: “setting is aside” (source )
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 )

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. )

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Verse: Mark 2:5