anger

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The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).

  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be warm inside”
  • Mende: “have a cut heart”
  • Mískito: “have a split heart”
  • Tzotzil: “have a hot heart”
  • Mossi: “a swollen heart”
  • Western Kanjobal: “fire of the viscera”
  • San Blas Kuna: “pain in the heart”
  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “not with good eye”
  • Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
  • Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)

In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)

See also God’s anger and angry.

Translation commentary on Sirach 25:15

There is no venom worse than a snake’s venom: Revised Standard Version has footnotes indicating that in both cases, the word venom is literally “head” in Greek. It is obvious that someone mistook the Hebrew word for “poison” for a very similar word meaning “head.” We recommend translating “poison” without a footnote, as in Good News Translation, which renders this line as “No poison is deadlier than the poison of a snake.” Another possible rendering is “No poison can kill a person faster than the poison of a snake.”

And no wrath worse than an enemy’s wrath: As Good News Translation‘s footnote indicates, the ancient translations read “woman” rather than enemy. This reading is also found in one Greek manuscript. Most scholars believe “woman” is the correct reading, and we urge translators to follow Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version in adopting it. Good News Translation translated each line in verses 13-14 as a separate short sentence. In this verse, however, it joins the two lines into one sentence, with the connector “and” joining the clauses. This has the effect of calling special attention to the last line, which is where ben Sira wants the emphasis.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.