privately

The Greek in Matthew 18:15 that is translated with some rendering of “in private” in English versions is translated in most German versions with the idiom unter vier Augen (“under four eyes”) which means “privately” or “confidentially.” (See also the Hebrew equivalent in 2 Samuel 3:27.)

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.

brother (fellow believer)

The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)

In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”

See also brothers.

complete verse (Matthew 18:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 18:15:

  • Uma: “‘If we (incl.) have a one-faith relative who is/does wrong to us (incl.), go meet him, and say to him his wrong. We (incl.) should do that without there being anyone who knows, just us (incl.) two. If he believes/accepts our (incl.) words, our (incl.) harmony will be good again.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘If your companion sins against you tell him his fault. But it should be just the two of you. If he follows/agrees-with your words and regrets, you have helped him and his trust in God does not move.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if your companion believer sins against you, go to him and tell him what he has done against you. But you must do it privately. And if he allows you to settle it, the good breath of both of you will return.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘If you (sing.) have a companion who sins against you (sing.), go talk-with him alone to tell him his sin. If he believes what you (sing.) tell, it’s-OK, you will-be-friends again.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The teaching of Jesus next said, ‘If supposing you (sing.) have a sibling in believing who does something to you which is not good, go to him and talk just the two of you. Well if you are reconciled (to each other), isn’t it so that you have caused to return to normal your (pl.) good-relationship and his belief?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “If your brother does bad to you, call him and take him apart to talk with him. Tell him that it was bad what he did. If he wants to listen to the word you say, then it is good. You will have made peace with your brother.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 18:15

As one commentator notes, Judaism distinguishes between “neighbor” (a person of shared nationality) and “brother” (a person of shared religion). Here “your fellow believer” may be appropriate for brother. See comments at 5.22.

Against you may not have been an original part of the text. TC-GNT notes the possibility that the phrase was brought in by a later scribe under the influence of “against me” of verse 21. On the other hand, it points out that the omission could have been either intentional (so as to apply the passage to sin in general) or accidental (because of the similarity of sound between the last part of the Greek word “sin” and the Greek phrase “against you”). Therefore in the UBS Greek text the words are enclosed in square brackets to indicate that their presence in the text is disputed. The words are dealt with in a variety of ways in the translations, as the following sampling will illustrate: (1) they are included in Good News Translation, with a footnote indicating the possibility that they should be omitted; (2) they are omitted by New English Bible, with a footnote indicating the possibility that they should be included; (3) Revised Standard Version includes the words without a footnote; and (4) Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition omits the words without a footnote.

In some languages sins is normally translated by a word or phrase that means to do wrong against God or disobey God. In such cases translators will have to render sins against you as “does wrong to you” or “does something evil against you.” Of course, if they choose to not include against you in the text, as discussed above, then translators will simply use the normal expression for sins.

The first step in winning back a disciple who has sinned is to go to him and show him his fault privately. The Greek verb translated tell … his fault is used only here in the Gospel of Matthew. In a more general sense it may mean “convince (someone) of something” or “point out something (to someone).” Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation: (“show him his fault”) may be too harsh, while New Jerusalem Bible (“have it out with him”) implies heated argument. The tone of the passage is better reflected in New English Bible (“take the matter up with him”) and Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“speak with him about it”). The verb is used in the Septuagint translation of Leviticus 19.17; Revised Standard Version, there translating the Hebrew text, has “but you shall reason with your neighbor.” Other expressions that translators can use include “explain to him how he has sinned” and “talk with him about the matter.”

Between you and him alone is translated as a clause in Good News Translation: “But do it privately.” The German translations (Luther 1984, Zürcher Bibel, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) utilize the idiom “under four eyes,” which means “privately” or “confidentially.” New English Bible translates “strictly between yourselves,” and New Jerusalem Bible “alone, between your two selves.”

This phrase between you and him alone may be restructured with the previous one, go and tell him his fault; for example, “Go and talk with him privately about his sin” or “Go to him, and when you are alone with him, you can discuss the matter.”

Listens to (so most all translations) means “pay attention to.” Although the verb itself may mean nothing beyond mere hearing, the context implies responsive and effectual listening. Thus “If he sees that you are right” or “If he admits that he has done wrong” are good translations.

You have gained your brother may be more effectively rendered “you have won him back as a brother” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation has “you have won your brother back.” In some languages one does not speak of gaining or winning a brother. “Then he will have become your brother again” or “Then you and he will once more be able to call each other brothers” are better expressions in these languages.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 18:15



Section 18:15–20

Correct a brother who sins

In this section, Jesus told his disciples what to do when a fellow believer sins against one of them. Jesus gave them some steps to follow to deal with the problem in a gentle and loving manner. The main goal of these steps is to restore the relationship between two believers.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

When a Person Sins Against You (New Century Version)
-or-
What to do if a fellow believer sins against you

Paragraph 18:15–17

18:15a

If your brother: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brother refers to any fellow believer.

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase your brother:

your Christian brother
-or-
your fellow believer (New Century Version)

If the people in your area might think that this phrase would not include females, you could translate it as:

your Christian brother or sister

your: The pronouns “your” and “you” are singular throughout 18:15–17.

sins against you: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Many Greek manuscripts have the phrase sins against you. For example:

sins against you (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) Some important, early Greek manuscripts have only the word sins. They do not have the added phrase against you here. For example:

sins (NET Bible)

(NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). Some important, early Greek manuscripts do not include these words. But the phrase “just between you and him alone” in 18:15b is one reason to include them.

You may want to include a footnote to explain that some translations omit the phrase against you. For example:

Some important, early Greek manuscripts do not have the words “against you.” Many translations do not include them either.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

wrongs you (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
does something wrong/bad to you
-or-
does evil against you

18:15b

go: This verb is a command. It includes the idea of “to him.” For example:

go to him (Good News Translation)

In other words, you should go and find the person who sinned against you.

confront him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as confront him also means “show, condemn, rebuke, or reprove him.” It means “describe to him what he has done wrong and tell him you disagree with what he has done.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

tell him what he has done wrong
-or-
show him his fault (NET Bible)

privately: This phrase indicates that you should confront your brother in private.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in private (New Century Version)
-or-
But do it privately, just between yourselves. (Good News Translation)
-or-
when the two of you are alone (NET Bible)

18:15c

If he listens to you: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as listens is the general word that means “hear.” In this context, it indicates that the brother agrees with you and responds appropriately. He confesses his sin and asks for forgiveness.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

If he hears you ⌊and repents⌋
-or-
If he listens to you ⌊and is sorry/regretful⌋
-or-
If the other person listens and confesses it (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
If he accepts your words
-or-
If he agrees with you

you have won your brother over: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as won…over means “gotten back” or “won” your brother. It implies that the relationship is restored and the two people have reconciled.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

you have won your brother back (Good News Translation)
-or-
you have restored that brother to you
-or-
you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again (New Century Version)

-or-

you and your brother are reconciled again

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