* As a verb, "to ransom" means to make a payment or to do something self-sacrificially in order to rescue someone who has been captured, enslaved or imprisoned. This meaning of "buy back" is similar to the meaning of "redeem."
* Jesus allowed himself to be killed as a ransom to free sinful people from their enslavement to sin. This act of God buying back his people through paying the penalty of their sin is also called "redemption" in the Bible.
## Translation Suggestions
* The term "to ransom" could also be translated as, "to pay to release" or "to pay a price to free" or "to buy back" someone.
* The phrase "to pay a ransom" could be translated as "to pay the price