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 (Titus 3:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of Titus 3:11:

  • Uma: “For you certainly know, people like that intentionally wander-from/go-away-from true teaching. They punish/condemn their own selves with their intentional sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You know that a person like that is crooked and sinful. And because of his sin it is known that he is at fault/mistake/wrong.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For you will know that that as for a person like this, his mind has departed from correct behaviour. Even though he knows that his behaviour is wrong, he keeps on doing it just the same.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “for you (sing.) know that a person like that, he is a consistent-sinner who has already gone-far-from what is true. Even he, he knows that what he is doing is evil.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For a person like this, it’s certain he’s turned aside from the trail/way of truth. Sin is what he now prefers. He’s determining too that he won’t repent, therefore of course he is asking for a judgment/sentence of punishment.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Because whoever does not want to listen to what you say to him has a lost heart. It is then apparent that in his heart he wants to do what is sin.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Titus 3:11

Treating the factious person in this harsh way is justified by that person’s bad qualities, of which Titus is very much aware. Knowing refers to Titus’ knowledge about such a person. An equivalent expression is “I am sure you know” or “You must certainly know.”

Perverted translates the perfect passive form of a verb that occurs only here in the New Testament and is used to describe the act of departing from what is accepted as correct behavior. Some take this perversion to be in the area of thinking rather than of action (for example, Translator’s New Testament “perverted mind,” Revised English Bible “distorted mind,” Contemporary English Version “their minds are twisted”). This means that the focus here is not on doing what is wrong but on not believing what is right. This means that perverted here has the same meaning as “reject the truth” in 1.14. There is, however, no unanimity regarding this, and therefore it may be best to understand the term in a more general way, to include both perversion of mind and the resulting corrupt behavior.

For sinful see “persist in sin” in 1 Tim 5.20. This is actually a third person singular verb, present tense, in the Greek, indicating the habitual and continuous nature of the act of sinning.

The word for self-condemned occurs only here in the whole New Testament and refers to being condemned by, or as a result of, one’s own actions. This means that, in the case of the false teachers, there is no need for a formal trial, since their own actions are more than enough to prove that they are guilty of sinning against God and therefore deserve to be treated as outsiders.

How do these three items relate to each other? The Greek can be rendered literally as “having been perverted, such a one also sins by being self-condemned.” This seems to indicate that the initial act is perversion; this results in habitual sinfulness, and it is these sinful acts that prove that a person is guilty before God and therefore deserves to receive the punishment of being rejected by the church.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• I am sure that you know that such a person has a twisted mind. His sins then show how guilty he is before God.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Titus. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .