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.

Jacob

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Jacob” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is a sign that shows the touching of the hip, described in Genesis 32:25:


“Jacob” in German Sign Language (source: Taub und katholisch )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Jacob” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign signifying Jacob grabbing the heel of Esau during their birth (referring to Genesis 25:26). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia )


“Jacob” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Esau.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jacob .

Translation commentary on Sirach 23:12

There is an utterance which is comparable to death: Utterance here does not refer to any particular word or phrase, but to a “way of speaking” (Good News Translation). Since the author equates it with death, he is probably speaking of blasphemy (saying evil things about God), which, according to Lev 24.15-16, is to be punished with death. The Greek verb rendered is comparable to literally means “set side by side with.” This may be the picture. Blasphemy keeps close company with death, walks side by side with death. For this line New American Bible translates “There are words which merit death” (similarly Luís Alonso Schökel). We could also translate “There is one way of speaking that deserves death.”

As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, there is another reading in some manuscripts for the first line. Since the meaning of the other reading, “clothed about with death,” is much the same as is comparable to death, the Handbook suggests that no footnote is necessary.

May it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!: The inheritance of Jacob is the land of Israel. For this line Good News Translation is good, but we could also say “No Israelite should ever be guilty of it.”

For all these errors will be far from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins: Good News Translation reverses these lines. All these errors is literally “all these things.” Good News Translation rewords all these errors will be far from the godly, so that the emphasis is on the people keeping away from the errors: “they will keep away from such behavior.” Wallow describes the activity of an animal, such as a pig, that lies down and rolls around in mud. The image compares the sinner to the pig and the sin to the mud.

Translators may find that it is helpful to reverse the first two lines and the last two lines of this verse and to make the reference to blasphemy explicit. If so, we suggest the following rendering:

• No Israelite should ever be guilty of blasphemy [or, saying evil things about the Lord]! Anyone guilty of it deserves to die. People who talk like this are like pigs rolling in mud, and devout people will keep away from such filthy behavior.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.