sin

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)

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.

Translation commentary on Hosea 4:7

The more they increased, the more they sinned against me is literally “As they increased, thus they sinned to/against me,” which means the more they increased in number, the more they sinned. The pronoun they does not refer to the people of Israel but to the priests. There is a switch from second person singular (4.4-6) to third person plural here for the priests. God no longer talks to the priests, but about them. Still the priesthood in general is in focus. A way to accommodate this shift is to insert a quote frame such as “The LORD says” at the beginning of the verse. It is implied here that “your children” in 4.6 increased in number as priests. Sinned renders a generic Hebrew term. In this case the sins were against Yahweh, especially in the way in which the priests abused the proper forms of sacrificial worship as becomes clear in the immediate context. The Hebrew verbs here refer to accomplished acts. Revised Standard Version uses past tense, while Good News Translation has present tense. Either tense fits this context. New English Bible renders these two lines as “The more priests there are, the more they sin against me.”

I will change their glory into shame: The Hebrew words for glory and shame also occur in Pro 3.35 and Hab 2.16. The ancient scribes saw a textual problem here. They understood Yahweh himself to be the glory of Israel and false idols to be Israel’s shame. God would not replace himself with an idol, so they suggested changing the text to read “they will change my glory into shame.” However, this line is a word of condemnation from God, following his accusation, and the poetic form of the text is superior without the changes. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project therefore adheres to the traditional text reflected in Revised Standard Version (a {B} decision).

The Hebrew word for glory covers a broad range of meaning: heaviness, wealth, honor, brightness (shining light), respect, and beauty. Its use in this context probably points toward respect and honor, although the context can also suggest wealth, since the priests “feed on the sin of my people” (4.8). Glory can refer to Yahweh himself, as in Bible en français courant (1982), which renders this line as “They have exchanged me, me who was their glory, for a vile idol.” This model is not recommended since it does not follow the preferred traditional reading of the Hebrew text. In this context the word glory may refer both to the respect people gave the priests and to the beauty of the forms of worship that they led, since the two are related. Worship is a key concept in this section. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders their glory as “their position of honor,” and Revised English Bible says “their dignity.” NET Bible makes the worship context more explicit with “their glorious calling.”

The Hebrew word for shame is related to lightness, the opposite of weightiness; it marks a person as lightly esteemed, dishonored, or disgraced.

Good News Translation expresses the meaning of this line well: “and so I will turn your honor into disgrace.” Good News Translation continues to address the priests directly rather than referring to them in the third person. This produces better English style. Revised English Bible has “their dignity I shall turn into dishonour.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• The LORD says,
“The more the priests increased [in number],
the more they sinned against me.
I will exchange their dignity for disgrace.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .