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.

complete verse (James 1:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 1:15:

  • Uma: “If he follows the desires of his heart, in-the-end he will do sin. And if he continues to do sin, finally he will die and be separated from God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “His greedy-desire gives him thoughts to do bad. As he keeps thinking (about it) finally he goes-through-with-it/proceeds-with-it and does that evil. So-then if a person is used-to doing evil the result is he will be put in hell.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if he fulfills his desires, he sins. And the end of that person, if he keeps on doing wrong is death without end.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If then he thinks about doing that-aforementioned-thing that he wants, that is the source of sin, and the outcome of a person’s sins, it is death and separation from God forever.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For as long as one’s own desire which is disgusting is indulged, the outcome is sin. And when sin has now been able to flesh-out/fruit, there is no other result of it than death which is unending punishment.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When a person does that evil which came to his mind, then it is sin. This person who is sinful, now must await punishment when he continues on sinning.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Guhu-Samane: “Then it overwhelms the man and the sin becomes reality, and in return the man encounters death.”
  • Tzotzil: “If we let the coveting of our hearts grab its strength, thus we will seek our sin; if sin has grabbed its strength, we will be lost because of it.”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “If we obey our evil hearts, we are doing evil; and if we continue doing evil the day will come when God will desert us.”
  • Sayula Popoluca: “When that evil he wants stays in him, it gives room for sin to grow in him, and that sin when it grows big, then it kills him.” (Source for this and three above: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)

Translation commentary on James 1:15

James goes on now to portray the effect of “evil desire” by borrowing the language of mothering and childbearing: to conceive, to give birth, to become mature, and to give birth (to death). He uses this to warn the readers of the close connection between “evil desire,” “sin,” and “death.”

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death: the particle Then introduces the result of the temptation arising from “evil desire.” In Greek we have here two pairs of terms, each consisting of a participle and a verb: “having conceived … gives birth; having become mature … gives birth.” This structure is reflected in the rendering of Revised Standard Version. In some languages it will be more natural to render “Then, when evil desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; when sin is full-grown, it brings forth death.” In many languages it will be possible to keep the vivid language of childbirth; but in some languages it will be more natural to say something like the following: “Then, when evil desire has germinated, it hatches sin; when sin is full-grown….”

The metaphor has conceived suggests the union of “evil desire” and the human will, allowing the evil desire to linger on and grow. Sin in this context means, in effect, the result of a person knowingly allowing his will to be led by evil desire in disobedience to the will of God. Gives birth and brings forth have the same meaning in Greek, both being used for producing offspring. They are obviously stylistic variations, not meant to refer to different kinds of giving birth. The final consequence of sin is death. Paul has a similar thought in Rom 7.7-11. Full-grown in certain languages will be rendered as “controls the heart fully.” Death here, as the opposite of “the crown of life” in verse 12, most likely means more than physical death, pointing to the final verdict of God at the Last Judgment. Brings forth death in some languages will be expressed as “causes the person to die.”

Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .