The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various strategies:
- Baoulé: “a song in the stomach” (see also peace (inner peace))
- Bambara: “the spirit is made sweet”
- Kpelle: “sweet heart”
- Tzeltal: “the good taste of one’s heart”
- Uduk: “good to the stomach”
- Mískito: “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source for this and above: Nida 1952)
- Mairasi: “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Noongar: koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 10:28:
- Kupsabiny: “(A) righteous person gets happiness from/in what (he) hopes/trusts in,
but (a) sinner does not get anything from/among/in what (he) hopes/trusts in.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “The hopes of righteous people
will not be disappointed.
The hopes of the wicked ones are in vain.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “The hope of the righteous can-give them happiness, but the hope of the wicked there-is- no -fulfillment.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Happiness is the fulfillment of the expectation of the righteous/just, but the expectation of one-who-is-doing evil, it has no fulfillment.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- English: “Righteous people confidently expect that good things will happen to them, and that causes them to be happy/joyful;
but when wicked people confidently expect something good to happen, it does not happen.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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