sin revived

The Greek in Romans 7:9that is often translated into English as “sin revived” is translated into Bilua as “sin permeated my life.”

See also sin.

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 7:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 7:9:

  • Uma: “Formerly before I know the Lord’s Law, I thought my life was good. But in fact, when I heard the Lord’s Law, the sin that was in my heart appeared/showed-up,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “At the time when I did not yet know the law, I thought-mistakenly that I was good and I had no sin. But after I knew the law I understood that I am sinful, surprise, and my sin increased,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “At first I did not know what the Law was, and at that time it seemed as if I had no sin. But when the Law was taught to me, I understood then that my actions were evil, and because of this I understood that apparently I was going to wind up with death without end.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Previously, I was satisfied with my way-of-life (i.e. behavior), because admittedly I didn’t properly understand what the law was talking-about. But when I understood what it meant to say, it was as if my hereditary sinfulness woke-up” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning myself, when I didn’t know what was said in God’s law I then thought I was doing good. But when I came to know what is said in the law I understood that I was not doing what was said in God’s law. I then knew that it was necessary that I be punished for my sin.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

law

The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Romans 7:9

It is important to notice the range of Paul’s argument in this passage. He begins by interpreting his own experience in light of the account in Genesis 3. But he also assumes that every other man’s experience is similar to his own, and so what he says has relevance for all men in all periods of history.

Sprang to life (so Moffatt; Jerusalem Bible “came to life”) may also have the meaning “came to life again” (this seems to be the meaning of the Revised Standard Version “revived”), though most commentators understand this verb in the same sense as the Good News Translation. Here, as in the previous verse, law is the equivalent of a specific command from God.

The rendering of the phrase apart from law in the first clause of verse 9 may present certain difficulties, especially when it must be made into a complete clause—for example, “I myself was alive when there were no laws to tell me I shouldn’t do certain things” or “I was alive so long as I did not know about the laws which told me, You must not do such bad things.”

In a number of languages one cannot say when the commandment came. But one can say, for example, “when I came to know about a commandment,” “when I learned that I shouldn’t do certain things,” or “… that God said I shouldn’t do certain things.”

In this type of context sin sprang to life may then be translated as “sin became active,” “sin began to have power,” or “sin became strong,” or “then I had a strong desire to sin.”

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 7:9

7:9a

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that probably indicates a general connection to the previous verse. It introduces a new thought connected to what Paul had just said. For example:

And… (NET Bible)

Many English versions omit the conjunction and allow the context to indicate the connection.

Once I was alive apart from the law: The word Once indicates a time prior to the time Paul wrote this letter. For example:

At one time I was alive without any laws (God’s Word)
-or-
Earlier I lived apart from laws

apart from: This phrase indicates that Paul lived separated from the laws of Moses. He did not know them, or they did not affect his life. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

without (King James Version)
-or-
in the absence of (Revised English Bible)

7:9b

but when the commandment came: Here the word when indicates that at a time in the past, the commandment came. That ended the time of Paul living apart from the law. It began the time when sin was alive in his life (7:9c).

the commandment came: Paul spoke of the commandment as if it were a person who came to Paul. Some languages cannot use the word came here. For example:

the commandment became clear to me

commandment: This word is singular. It probably refers to the law to not covet. See how you translated this word in 7:8.

7:9c

sin sprang to life: This is a figure of speech. It indicates that sin, which had been like something dead (7:8c), is now like something alive. It was influencing Paul and causing him to sin.

In some languages it is not natural to speak of sin as if it sprang to life. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Change it to a simile. For example:

sin became ⌊like an⌋ alive ⌊thing⌋ ⌊in my life⌋

• Translate without the figure of speech. For example:

sin became powerful

and I died: There is an issue with the verse numbers here:

(1) Verse 10 starts with these words. For example:

9…sin came to life 10 and I died. (New Jerusalem Bible)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Century Version)

(2) Verse 10 starts after these words. For example:

9 sin came alive and I died. 10… (English Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you put the verse number where the major language version puts it. If there is no major language version in your area, you should follow option (1), because the UBS Handbook Greek New Testament 5th edition follows the tradition of having these words in verse 10.

I died: This is a figure of speech. The words “sin came alive” implies that Paul sinned. God’s penalty for sin is death (6:23). So even though Paul continued to live while he sinned, God had marked him for death because of that sin.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Paul actually died at that time. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Change it to a simile. For example:

I became ⌊like a⌋ dead ⌊thing/person⌋ ⌊in my life⌋

• Explain the figure of speech in your translation. For example:

I came ⌊under God’s judgment of⌋ death

• Translate literally and explain the figure of speech in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

This is a figure of speech. Paul sinned and God judged him worthy of death. See 6:20–23.

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