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Through a study of the multiple variations in the use of the Hebrew and Greek terms corresponding to the words “sin” and “to sin” in the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, several distinctive features can be identified: sin is evoked not so much to inculcate guilt but rather to insist on the forgiveness offered by a merciful God ; it is less concerned with particular acts than with the general condition or state of humanity subjected to evil or misfortune, a state for which humanity itself is largely responsible ; the “sin of sins” consists in trying to evade this sense of responsibility and to cast it on others, thus betraying the sense of human solidarity that assures a good and peaceful life.