The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “anger” in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied).”
Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)
The Hebrew 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.” Likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.” Loma has (for certain types of sin) “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”) or Navajo uses “that which is off to the side.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida). In Toraja-Sa’dan the translation is kasalan, which originally meant “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and has shifted its meaning in the context of the Bible to “transgression of God’s commandments.” (Source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. ).
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 Kaingang, the translation is “break God’s word” and in Sandawe the original meaning of the Greek term (see above) is perfectly reflected with “miss the mark.” (Source: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the DanishBibelen 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. )
Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 4:26:
Uma: “When angry, let’s not let our anger lead/carry us to sin. Don’t be angry until the sun goes down,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When you are angry, be careful lest you do something bad because of your anger. Don’t take your anger to sleep.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If there is something which makes you angry, just control your breath (control your anger) because it might lead you to sin. And it’s necessary that you quickly remove your anger before the sun goes down.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If you become-angry, during-that-time be careful that that is not the cause-of-your -sinning. Be sure also to-cause-to-cool-off your thoughts. Do not continue your anger for one-day” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Supposing there is someone you are angry at, just let it pass so that you will not fall into sin because of that anger of yours. And don’t meditate/dwell-on it for a long time, but rather remove it from your mind/inner-being before the sun sets.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “If you are angry, do not let your anger cause that you end up being sinful. Your anger must pass, do not want that you be angry the whole day long.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The first part of this verse seems to be a quotation from Septuagint Psalm 4.4. The New Testament text is exactly like that of the Septuagint, “be angry and do not sin,” but the first verb in the Hebrew text of Psalm 4.4 seems to indicate fear, and in the context the notion of anger seems out of place. So Good News Translation “Tremble with fear and stop sinning.” But Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Zürcher all translate the first verb by “Be angry.” In a formal sense it is a command, “Be angry” (so Revised Standard Version), but this imperative functions as a concession, that is, “Be angry, if you must” or “You are bound to get angry, but….” The main point the writer makes is that anger should not be nourished: “do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Revised Standard Version). Sunset marked the end of one day and the beginning of another day; a Christian should not continue to be angry with his fellow believer from one day to the next but should seek reconciliation at once. The Greek noun for “anger” occurs only here in the New Testament. Accordingly, some (Westcott, Murray) want to understand the noun here to mean “provocation”; if this is taken in the passive sense, it denotes the result of being provoked and so means “irritation, anger” (so Robinson); but if it is taken in the active sense, then it means a cause of irritation to others.
In some languages it is necessary to indicate the reasons for being angry, and therefore the conditional clause If you become angry must sometimes be expanded as “If you become angry with someone” or “It may happen that you get angry, but….” The second part of this condition, namely, do not let your anger lead you into sin, may be translated as a causative, for example, “do not let that cause you to sin” or “do not permit how you feel to cause you to do wrong.”
Rather than the statement do not stay angry all day, it may be important to indicate the need for ceasing to be angry, for example, “be sure to cease being angry by evening” or “… before the sun has gone down” or “before the end of the day.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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