Part 2: An Inaccurate Translation
How a Mistranslation Damaged Judaism in the USA
Part 1 identifies a problem in the way the famous biblical verse on what God desires from people, Micah 6:8, is translated into English in Christian Bibles. It includes a discussion of the meanings of the words justly and justice.
Mercy, Kindness, and Goodness
Mercy is often used in reference to something that could have been worse: “It’s a mercy that George only had a concussion; he could have been killed.” But its primary meaning is something bestowed by one with power and/or prestige, including God, on someone or something lower. It is all about power over others and nothing about justice.i
It includes the image of a god who saves people of dubious morality from the fires of Hell while damning others whose lives were filled with acts of goodness because the first bowed to that god while the second didn’t.
Morality in Judaism is defined by the Torah; we might not understand something, but if it is written in the Torah or expounded on in the Talmud, we believe it is moral and act on that belief.
Kindness is synonymous with generosity, warmth, tenderness and tenderheartedness, compassion, sympathy, benevolence, and similar terms. In secular America, these words often are used with a subtext of largess, giving to someone inferior or in a bad situation. “Be kind to her, she’s going through a divorce.”
Kindness aligns closely with mercy and both often preclude justice. An example is a 40-year-old former policeman in Rochester, New York, who in 2024 was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl and sentenced to ten weekends in jail.ii Sentences like these are often given by judges who believe they are performing social or racial justice, sentencing that is meant to right historic wrongs, when people of the particular class were unjustly sentenced. Because of unjust historic sentences, merciful sentences are given to unrelated people of the same disadvantaged class. Under the common definitions of kindness and mercy, these defendants are often considered to have been judged justly.
Goodness is unrelated to status and power. It involves honesty, morality and satisfactory, pleasant, and successful things or events. Goodness involves behavior at any time towards any person. A poor or weak person can treat a wealthy or powerful person with goodness, but not (in most circumstances) with mercy.iii The Hebrew term used by Micah, חסד , means specifically good acts towards another living being, whereas the English term “goodness” can apply to anything. Advertising often claims that a fruit-based product is “brimming with goodness.” Micah is specifically talking about deeds that are helpful and affirming to people. It must be kindness without any suggestion of superiority.
It is not by coincidence that Micah mentions justice before goodness. This is because justice comes first. Goodness is within the context of justice, not instead of it. Rochyby, in his essay, specifies the difference between legal justice and what he sees as biblical action, and says society needs both. In fact, this is exactly what Micah and his Hebrew words say. The “kindness/mercy” of the Christian translation opens the door to skewing justice with mercy, while the Jewish text precludes it. However, importantly, Micah mentions goodness immediately after justice. Acts of goodness are necessary to balance strict justice.iv
Humility, Lowliness and Modesty
Humility and lowliness suggest low status and poverty: “he rose out of humble beginnings.” Synonyms include meekness, submissiveness, and passivity. These are emotionally loaded words, some of which are very easy to mimic. Many very successful, very arrogant people convincingly pretend humility or humble beginnings. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the sycophantic character William Collins, who marries Elizabeth Bennet’s friend Charlotte, is a classic example. Within the past few years. several public figures have bragged of their simple, humble beginnings. Investigation showed that their families were comfortable financially and socially prominent.
When King James had the Bible translated into English, England operated on the remnants of the feudal system, when peasants were very close to slaves of the land owner, the lord of the manor. Society’s strict classes went from serfs all the way to the royal family. Dukes were far above mere Earls. Everyone was subject to the social classes above him. In those societies, even seating at a dinner party was dependent on social status.
Humble was related to these immutable class differences. Local problems were often adjudicated by the lord of the manor, with serfs having no formal mechanism for appeal. Serfs and servants were very aware of the differences between their lives and those of the higher classes. Low-class Christian boys worked the lord-of-the manor’s fields or were indentured into trades.vThere was little possibility for anyone to rise above their class.
Humility was also related to original sin, the Christian belief that all humans, those of both low and high social status, are born sinful because they carry the sin of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.vi A religious quote reminding people of their immutable low status that could be repeated as the homily in church on Sundays was, among other things, a factor of social control.
Within Jewish communities, humble in the Christian sense was neither an economic class issue nor a statement of the condition of one’s immortal soul. Living as minorities in both Arab and Christian countries,vii poverty and subjugation were for most of history the rule, not the exception. Humility was built into daily life and relations with non-Jews, but not into religious life or the social life within their communities, where the involvement of men with Torah study and women with good deeds were measures of social standing.
The word modesty is often used only for behavior and dress that avoid attracting sexual interest.
The broader definition, however, is that modesty, like goodness, is based on truth. It is the absence of feeling better than others and of not going out of one’s way to draw the attention of others to one’s abilities and achievements. Micah specifically says to “walk modestly with your God.” When one is close enough to God to walk with Him, earthly accomplishments must appear hollow in comparison.
A prophet is not remembered for saying, “Keep on living the humble life you’re forced into.” Rather, he is known because he tells people to strive for more. By using modestly, Micah speaks of striving for goals that God demands; aligning yourself with God, not trying to bring ego into it, without bragging or flaunting success, both of which cause social unrest.viii
This essay is completed in Part 3.
Thanks to Scott Stephens, whose substack, The Quiet Warrior Life, always leaves me with new ideas and new ways of looking at old ones, and to Sim Zacks, for his thoughtful critique and long discussion that helped make this better.
i The first meaning above explains the behavior of the British government, which for 20 years ignored verified reports of Pakistani men gang-raping underage white girls. Recently revealed evidence shows that this choice was made because the government believed that the lower-class, brown immigrant community would be unable to handle real justice. It is why Daniel Penny and Derek Chauvin were jailed after men of color died while these men were touching them, even though that touch was in an effort to protect others.
ii Donlevy, K., “Ex-NY cop, 40…”, New York Post, published Aug. 16, 2024. https://nypost.com/2024/08/16/us-news/ex-cop-shawn-jordan-convicted-of-raping-teen-gets-just-10-weekends-in-jail/ , accessed August 10, 2026.
iii A destitute person holding a knife against someone more successful can, indeed, act with mercy towards his victim, but this situation is the exception.
iv Judaism does not have a concept of jail. Those who do wrong are expected to correct the wrong they have done so that the victim of their crime is made whole. Often this meant to pay restitution. If the guilty party could not pay, they might be put into indentured servitude—slavery with a definite end date. This is justice. Jewish slavery included specific requirements about clothing, food, and living conditions. Slaves, along with animals, paid servants, and the Jews themselves, did not work on Sabbaths and holy days. They were to be treated well—with goodness—while paying the price of their misdeed—justice. At the end of their indenture they were given new clothing and money that the master had been putting aside for them. They were freed with enough to start their new, and hopefully more moral, life.
v This difference has had another result. In the Christian world, physical prowess was highly valued since the average boy either worked in the field or was indentured to a skilled tradesman. Both involve physical skills and endurance. Jewish boys attended school, where intellect matters, not strength and physical agility. Smaller, weaker men do not garner respect in the Christian or secular world, making Jewish boys easy targets.
vi https://www.britannica.com/topic/original-sin, accessed 8/7/26.
vii We know there were Jews living farther east, in India, southeast Asia, and China where other religions prevailed. We know little about their histories, although the Bene Menashe of northeast India have tales of the Chinese confiscating all their Torahs and other written materials.
viii This is one of the biggest problems with “developmentally appropriate” education and the “everyone gets a trophy” philosophy, which I have written about before. These aim children at the status quo, which we can see from the dramatic fall of reading and math skills levels and the rise of young adults who feel lost and sad has not produced healthy results.