There are two major experts on word origin who trace the words development to a Teutonic usage. These two are Skeat and Curtius. The focus of this origin is upon the guilt of sin and so the word sin is a reflection upon the individual who is personally guilty, or simply the person who did the deed. Another scholar, Wedgewood, traces the origin to the Norse root sund , from where we get sundered and separated. This lead to the German usage sunde , which again focuses upon the concept of separation.
Modern scholarship seems to agree with the second origin more than the first.
One thing is clear, sin is a personal guilt that we all have experienced, and it is the result of separation between us and God. The remedy for sin is found in Christ who made atonement for sin on the cross. Scripture is abundantly clear that there is forgiveness in Him and it is available to all who will come to Christ in faith and repentance. Whatever origin is true, the consequence of sin is personal guilt and seperation, from which Christ is the only remedy. These were the wages of making the chain.