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

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.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 23:24

“The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice”: For “the righteous” see 10.6. “Will greatly rejoice” is an emphatic construction from the verb “to rejoice” in Hebrew; other ways of expressing it are “is filled with joy” (Scott), “has great joy” (New International Version), and “truly happy” (Contemporary English Version). The whole line is a roundabout way of saying “if a son is righteous, that will make his father very happy.” This is expressed in one translation as “A son whose way of life is straight, his father will be very happy because of him.”

“He who begets a wise son will be glad in him”: This repeats the sense of the previous line, and so some translations combine the two lines into one. “Begets” is not current English, and modern versions say something like “he who has a wise son. . .” (New International Version, Revised English Bible). “Be glad” renders a different Hebrew verb from that translated “rejoice” in the first line, but the meaning is the same. The sense of “be glad in him” is “be happy because of him” or perhaps “be proud of him.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 23:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 23:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “A parent is happy with his child who is wise and upright/righteous.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The fathers of righteous people deserve to rejoice. / have cause to rejoice.
    Such fathers rejoice from their inmost hearts.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (sing.) parents will- surely -rejoice if you (sing.) are righteous and wise, especially your (sing.) mother.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The father of a righteous and wise-person will be thoroughly made-happy because of him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 23:24

23:24

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

24a
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,

24b
and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

The underlined parts refer to the father of a person who is both righteous and wise. No distinction is intended between the parallel phrases “will greatly rejoice” and “will delight in him.” Both these phrases imply that the father experiences much happiness and satisfaction as a result of his son’s righteous and wise behavior.

23:24a–b

a righteous man…a wise son: In Hebrew, the words man and son do not occur here. The parallel words righteous and wise can refer to an adult or a child of either sex. The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the words man and son, because the phrase “my son” occurs five times in this section. Here it refers to someone who is old enough to be described as righteous and wise. In many cultures, such a person would be a young or mature adult.

23:24a

The father of a righteous man: Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

The father of a righteous person (NET Bible)
-or-
The father of a child who consistently does what is right

will greatly rejoice: In Hebrew this phrase has strong emphasis. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

has great joy (New International Version)
-or-
will be extremely happy

23:24b

he who fathers a wise son: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “he who begets a wise son,” as in the New Revised Standard Version. The word “begets” here is a slightly different form of the verb “he begot” that was used in 23:22a. See the note there. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

he who fathers a wise child (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Someone who has a wise son (God’s Word)

will delight in him: In some languages, it may not be appropriate to use a phrase such as will delight in to describe a father’s reaction to the righteous and wise character of his son. Another way to translate this line is:

You can take pride in a wise child. (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 23:24a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. For example:

If a son/person is wise and does what is right, it will cause his father to be truly happy.

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