world (Chinese)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “world” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese with shìjiè (世界). While shìjiè is now the commonly used term for “world” in Chinese, it was popularized as such by Chinese Bible translations. (Source: Mak 2017, p. 241ff.)

See also world.

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 (Romans 5:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 5:12:

  • Uma: “Sin is in the world because of one person who broke God’s command, that is Adam. And because of that sin of Adam’s, the result is there is death in the world. From that sin of Adam’s, all his descendants became sinners, with the result that all mankind must die.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Na, why is there sin in the world? This is how it went: at the beginning it was just one human being who sinned, Apu’ Adam (Grandfather, a title always used for Adam). That was the beginning of sin in the world. Because there was now sin in the world, there is also death in the world. Therefore all human beings finally die because all sin.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason evil behavior came to be here on the earth is because of the transgression long ago of one person who was Adam. And God caused that he should die because of what he did. And also because of that, death spread all over the world. And everybody dies because there is not anybody who doesn’t do evil.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Let us consider the results of what Adan did and what Cristo did. Adan sinned long ago and that was the beginning of people’s sinning. Because of his sin moreover, he was condemned to die, so starting from then, all people die, because all people sin.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Here on earth just one person sinned at the beginning. And thus there began to be death, because of the sin that was committed. Therefore now, concerning all the people who live, all die because all commit sin.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 5:12

This verse begins with a transitional formula (Revised Standard Version “therefore”), which both commentators and translators find difficult to handle. The question is whether it relates back to verse 11 alone, or to 5.1-11, or to the entire section of 1.17–5.11. Most probably it is to be taken in relation to the passage immediately preceding, 5.1-11. This transition is indicated by translators in a number of ways. The Good News Translation handles it by introducing a new paragraph and a new section heading, “Adam and Christ”. The Jerusalem Bible also introduces a new section heading and a paragraph beginning with the words “well, then.” The New English Bible begins this paragraph with “mark what follows”; An American Translation* “it is just like the way”; Phillips “this, then, is what has happened”; and Moffatt “thus, then.”

Paul’s beginning point is the account in Genesis 1–3. It was traditional for the Jewish interpreters to relate closely the concepts of sin and death, and so what Paul introduces in this initial verse is in keeping with good Jewish theology. Paul indicates that Adam sinned, and as a result of his sin death came into the human race. However, it is important to realize that Paul does not make men guilty of Adam’s sin or indicate that all men die because of the sin of Adam. Paul says rather that death spread to the whole human race, because all men sinned. The verb rendered sinned in this passage is an aorist, and some few have tried to interpret this as meaning that when Adam sinned all of his physical descendants sinned along with him. It must be admitted that a meaning similar to this could be arrived at on the basis of verse 19, but that is not the meaning of the present passage. In this verse Paul is saying that death became a universal experience because all men sinned.

Verse 12 poses a number of serious difficulties in languages which have no nouns for sin and death. In such cases one cannot say “sin came into the world” or “sin brought death.” In almost all languages, however, one can speak of “evil deeds” or “doing evil,” but in some languages it is quite impossible to speak of sin without relating such sin to specific events or actions. One may, accordingly, render the first sentence of verse 12 as “one man caused evil deeds in the world, and because he sinned he died.” The second sentence of verse 12 also causes difficulty, since in some languages one cannot speak of “death spreading.” The only equivalent may be “all human beings (or persons) must die.”

There is some difficulty involved in relating the phrase as a result and the clause because all men sinned to the principal clause of the second sentence. In order to avoid the impression that Adam’s sin caused all men to die, the phrase as a result may be translated as “and in this way” or “and hence.” This second sentence may therefore be rendered as “and hence, finally, all persons have had to die because all persons have sinned.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 5:12

Section 5:12–21

We die because of Adam but live because of Jesus

In this section Paul compared the result of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden with the result of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Through the sin of Adam, the punishment of death came to all people whether they sinned like him or not. But through the sacrifice of Jesus, the gift of righteousness was given to all who believe.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Adam and Christ (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Paul compared Adam and/with Jesus
-or-
The Results Of What Adam Did And What Jesus Did

Paragraph 5:12–14

5:12a

Therefore: The scholars have many opinions as to what connection Paul indicated here. The best opinion seems to be that God justified, reconciled, and saved us through Jesus (5:1–11), therefore it is God’s purpose for grace, not law, to rule our lives (5:20–21). Here are other ways to translate the Greek phrase:

So then (NET Bible)
-or-
On account of this

just as sin entered the world through one man: Paul began here to compare the entrance of sin into the world through Adam to something, but Paul did not complete the comparison. Instead he decided he needed to explain more about the result of sin entering the world (5:13–14). Then in 5:15–19 he began a slightly different comparison, contrasting the result of Adam’s sin with the result of Jesus’ righteous deed.

In some languages it would not be natural to begin a comparison and not complete it. If that is true in your language, omit the comparing word here. For example:

Sin came into the world through one man (Good News Translation)

sin entered the world: This clause speaks of sin as if it were a force that entered the world. When Adam sinned, sin became the normal condition of people because that force affected all of them. Some languages can translate the figure of speech literally and people will understand the correct meaning.

But some languages must:

• Use a different verb for the correct meaning. For example:

sin arrived to the world
-or-
Sin is in the world because of one person
-or-
sin has covered the world

• Explain the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:

sin came into the world ⌊like a force/power⌋
-or-

⌊the ways of⌋ sin began in the world

sin: This word refers to doing something that God said is wrong to do, or not doing something that God said they should do. See how you translated this word in 3:9 or 4:8.

through one man: The one man is Adam (5:14). In some languages it is more natural to name him here. For example:

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world (New Living Translation (2004))

Also, this phrase is emphasized in the Greek clause by being first in the clause.

5:12b

death through sin: This phrase implies “entered the world” from 5:12a. In some languages the implied phrase must be included. For example:

death ⌊came into the world⌋ through sin

This clause also speaks of death as if it were a force. When Adam sinned, death became the normal condition of people because that force affected all of them. See how you translated “entered the world” in 5:12a.

death: Some languages must use a verb for the word death. For example:

dying
-or-
he died

5:12c

so also: The conjunction so introduces a result of Adam’s sin.

death was passed on to all men: This clause indicates that each person would die. It is also a figure of speech. Some languages can translate the figure of speech literally and people will understand the correct meaning.

But some languages must:

• use a different verb for the correct meaning. For example:

death came to all people (New International Version (2011))
-or-
death arrived to all people
-or-
there is death in the world

• translate the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:

that was the beginning of people dying
-or-
everyone would die

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