happiness / joy

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.

Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.

righteous, righteousness

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

complete verse (Job 22:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 22:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “The righteous and the innocent laugh
    when they see God punishing the sinners.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Seeing their total destruction, the righteous ones will rejoice.
    Speaking like this, people who have no guilt will scoff and laugh,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘When the righteous and innocent people see the destruction of the wicked people, they will-rejoice and will-laugh at them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad,
    and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 22:19 - 22:20

These two verses may be taken together as a description of the way in which the righteous react when they see the wicked experiencing disasters such as those referred to in verse 16. In Psalm 52.6-7 and 69.32 the psalmist speaks of the righteous rejoicing over the misfortunes of the wicked. The first line is the same as Psalm 107.42a.

The righteous see it and are glad: The righteous refers to those who are “faithful, upright, good.” In the Hebrew “they see and are glad.” What they see is the misfortune of the wicked in verse 16. Good News Translation has made it explicit, “when they see the wicked punished,” and transfers this to the second line. In translation it will often be necessary to state the object of seeing; for example, “Good people are happy to see the troubles of the wicked,” “Good people rejoice when they see evil people have misfortune,” or “The upright are glad when God punishes wicked people.”

The innocent laugh them to scorn: the innocent does not refer to people who have been acquitted of a crime, but is in parallel with The righteous in the previous line and has the same meaning. Laugh them to scorn translates the same Hebrew expression used in Psalm 2.4, which means to laugh at someone with the purpose of “deriding, ridiculing, making fun of.” Good News Translation has joined “good men” and “innocent men” in line a as subjects of “glad” and “laugh,” and has made line b a subordinate clause, “when they see the wicked punished.” The purpose of this is to avoid the monotony of parallel lines in English. Translators may find it best to follow Good News Translation as a model or to make a parallel line; for example, “they laugh and make fun of evil people” or “they laugh as they ridicule the wicked.”

Saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off…’: the word translated adversaries occurs only here in the Old Testament, and therefore its meaning is uncertain. Many guesses have been made. BDB suggests two possible changes. The first keeps the first person plural, as in Revised Standard Version our adversaries. The use of the first person implies that this verse is a quotation of the words of the innocent in verse 19, and so Revised Standard Version inserts the word saying between verses 19 and 20. The other change suggested substitutes a third-person plural suffix for the first plural, which is then attached to a word meaning “wealth.” This avoids the need for introducing the word saying, since the third person now refers not to the enemies of the good men, but to the possessions of the evil men described in verses 15-17. Therefore New English Bible translates the line “for their riches are swept away.” This change is used by most of the ancient versions and is the one followed by Good News Translation. It has the additional advantage of providing a parallel to the third person in the next line, which is attached to a word meaning what they left or “their wealth” (New English Bible). The verb translated cut off is a passive form and has the sense of “are destroyed,” “are ruined.” This line may also be expressed either in terms of enemies or wealth; for example, “Indeed our enemies are destroyed” or “Certainly their wealth is destroyed.” Stated as an active construction these alternatives may be “Certainly God destroys our enemies” or “Indeed God destroys their wealth.” As indicated above, the recommended translation follows the change to wealth; for example, “Yes, God takes away their possessions.”

And what they left the fire has consumed: Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates verse 20 as the event witnessed by the upright in verse 19: “upon seeing the riches of the wicked being devoured by fire.” This line seems to refer to “anything left over,” which is then destroyed by fire. The picture is that of the total destruction of their possessions. In some languages the line is expressed “and fire eats the rest” or “what they leave behind, fire eats up.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .