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.

complete verse (Psalm 51:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 51:3:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “For I know my iniquities,
    and my sin is before me all the times.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “I confess my transgression,
    and my sin is always before me (haunts me).” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “For at all times I am-considering/[lit. thinking] and admitting my sins.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “I know my sin truly.
    I know my sin always.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Kwa maana nayajua mabaya yangu,
    dhambi zangu ziko peupe daima.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I say that because I know the ways that I have disobeyed you;
    I cannot forget them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 51:3 - 51:4

The psalmist confesses his sin to God: I know my transgressions; know here has the sense of admitting or confessing to oneself; transgressions translates the same word used in verse 1b, and sin the word used in verse 2b. The expression is before me in verse 3b means “I am conscious of,” “I am aware of,” parallel with I know in verse 3a. The psalmist intends to confess all his sins; he will not hide anything. In languages which use a verb phrase for my sin, it will often be necessary to say, for example, “I know that I do evil deeds.”

He confesses that his sin was against God: Against thee, thee only is what he says. Some (see Taylor) point out that it would be difficult for David to have said that, since his sin was against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and against Bathsheba as well. But the ardor of the psalmist’s confession and his recognition that sin is primarily an offense against God are not the criteria for deciding the historical question of authorship. And it should be noted that David, when confronted with the denunciation of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah, confessed: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam 12.13). In some languages it is not possible to say that one has sinned against someone. To sin against is sometimes rendered “to sin in your eyes;” for example, “I have sinned in your eyes–only in your eyes.” It is also possible to say, for example, “I have sinned and offended you.”

In thy sentence (verse 4c) translates what is literally “in your speaking,” that is, in your pronouncing the sentence of “Guilty!” Some Hebrew manuscripts have “in your words,” which Briggs prefers and interprets as a reference to the Ten Commandments. In thy judgment in line d is parallel with in thy sentence in line c. Thou art justified in line c means that God does the right thing; he is not guilty of injustice in condemning the psalmist. The same thought is repeated in line d, and blameless, that is, God is not at fault; rather he is innocent of injustice or wrongdoing in his ruling.

Thou art justified in thy sentence may in some languages be rendered “you are right when you say that I am guilty” or, in direct discourse, “you are right when you say to me, ‘You are guilty.’ ” The expression blameless in thy judgment can sometimes be translated as “you are fair when you say that I am guilty” or “you judge me fairly when you condemn me.”

In Romans 3.4 Paul quotes the second half of verse 4 as translated by the Septuagint, with a meaning quite different from that of the Hebrew text.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .