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 Numbers 31:19

NET Bible inserts a heading here (“Purification After Battle”), but since the larger subsection covering verses 13-24 (or 12-24) deals with various issues involving “purification,” a heading is probably not necessary or helpful at this point.

Encamp outside the camp seven days: Moses tells the returning Israelite soldiers not to enter the camp for a week. If Encamp outside the camp gives the wrong suggestion that there should be another camp, separate from the main camp, it is better to say “stay outside the camp” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation). NET Bible is similar with “remain outside the camp.”

Whoever of you has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain refers to any soldier who killed a Midianite or who touched a dead one on the battlefield. Good News Translation places these two clauses near the beginning of the verse for naturalness in English, saying “all of you who have killed anyone or have touched a corpse.”

Purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day: These instructions follow the regulations in chapter 19 (especially verses 11-19) regarding purification from ritual contamination through contact with a corpse. The soldiers became unclean by killing people or touching corpses and had to go through a ritual of separation and cleansing (so Olson, page 179). In most languages the expression for ritual “purification” in chapter 19 can be used here (see the comments on 19.12). Good News Translation translates your captives as “the women you have captured,” since all the Midianite men had been killed (verse 7) and the boys were to be killed (verse 17). However, it will be better to say “all the virgins you have captured,” since all the other women were to be executed (verse 17). These girls must also be purified because they have presumably contacted dead bodies (so Gane, page 770). Good News Translation places on the third day and on the seventh day at the beginning of this clause, which other languages may find helpful.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .