righteous, righteousness

The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “justice”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 20:7

This saying is one statement, not two. It makes the point that the best thing parents can pass on to their children is an example of upright living.

“A righteous man who walks in integrity”: The Hebrew is literally “walking in-his-integrity righteous.” The verb “walks” refers to a person’s way of life, so the sense is “a good person living uprightly.” For “walks in integrity” refer to 2.7. In dealing with the participle “walking,” some English versions render the line as a relative clause; for example, Revised Standard Version or New Jerusalem Bible (“the upright whose ways are blameless”). Others take the participle as a main verb: “The righteous man leads a blameless life” (New International Version). Since this is a general statement, the singular “A righteous man” can be just as well expressed in the plural; for example, “Good people live right” (Contemporary English Version).

“Blessed are his sons after him”: This is the consequence of the first line—a person’s children are “blessed” as a consequence of his righteous living. In current English “blessed” may also be expressed as “happy” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) or “fortunate” (Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version understands “blessed” to mean the blessing of God, “God blesses. . ..” “Sons” is not intended to refer only to male children, so modern English versions generally have “children.” The meaning of “after him” is that children come “after” their parents in the next generation.

In some translations the saying is restructured as a conditional statement; for example, “If someone leads a good and upright life, happy are his children after him” (Revised English Bible) and “When a man lives . . . his sons are fortunate. . .” (Scott). Good News Translation also reverses the order of the two lines: “Children are fortunate if they have a father who. . ..” These are all good examples for translators to follow.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 20:7

20:7

In this proverb, the second line gives the result of the first line.

7a The righteous man walks with integrity;

7b blessed are his children after him.

The proverb indicates that the children of a righteous person have truly happy lives as a result of his blameless conduct.

20:7a

The righteous man walks with integrity: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “The righteous who walks in his integrity—” as in the English Standard Version. In this clause, the word righteous refers to a person who obeys the LORD’s moral standard.

The word integrity or “blamelessness” has the underlying meaning of completeness or perfection. It describes a person who consistently does what he knows to be right and good.

These two words overlap considerably in meaning. (See the notes on 10:29a and 11:5a.) Another way to translate this clause is:

People who consistently do what is right and honest

The righteous man: This verse focuses on the man as the head of the typical Jewish household. However, it applies to both father and mother. In some languages, it may be appropriate to make this clear. For example:

Righteous people/parents

20:7b

blessed are his children after him: This clause describes the benefit that the children of righteous people experience.

blessed: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as blessed means “truly happy” or “fortunate.” The same word that occurs in 3:13a and 14:21b. See how you translated the same word in those verses.

In the Old Testament, a different Hebrew word is used to refer to words of blessing that the LORD speaks as well as to good things that he causes to happen. See 3:33a–b and 5:18a for more information on that word.

his children after him: This phrase simply means that a person’s children come after him as members of the following generation. Another way to translate this phrase is:

the children who follow them (New Revised Standard Version)

In some languages, it may be more natural to leave the phrase after him implied, as in the Good News Translation (quoted below).

General Comment on 20:7a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these two lines. For example:

7b Children are fortunate 7a if they have a father who is honest and does what is right. (Good News Translation)

See also 20:7a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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