patience / patient

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “patient” or “patience” are translated in a variety of ways.

Eugene Nida (1952, p. 130) gives some examples:

“Peace is the quality of the soul; patience is the behavior of the soul. The Aymara of Bolivia have described patience well by the phrase ‘a waiting heart.’

“The Ngäbere of Panama describe patience in more vivid terms. They say that it is ‘chasing down your temper.’ The impatient person lets his temper run away with him. Patience requires one to “chase down his temper” and get it under control [see also Mairasi down below].

“The Yucateco describe patience as ‘strength not to fall.’ This seems to include almost more than patience, but it is important to note that this Yucateco translation recognizes that impatience means ‘falling.’ For some of us, who tend to take a certain secret pride in our impatience—describing it as energetic drive—it might be well to recognize that impatience is failure, while patience is strength.

“The San Blas Kuna in Panama use a rather strange phrase to depict patience. They say ‘not caring what happens.’ But this is not meant as condoning foolhardy indifference to life and danger. It reflects a kind of reckless confidence in God, a confidence not bred of desperation but of utter reliance. The patient person is not concerned about what happens; he is willing to wait in confidence.”

In Mairasi, the phrase that is employed is “stop (our) anger” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Suki “slow careful thinking way” is used (source L. and E. Twyman in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 91ff. )

In Kwang an expression is used that directly translates as “carry one’s head” (source: Mark Vanderkooi right here ), and in Q’anjob’al it is translated with the phrase “large stomach” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ).

In Akan, it is typically translated as abodwokyɛre, lit. “chest cool longer.” (Source: Kofi Agyekum in International Journal of Language and Communication 2015, p. 35ff. )

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions.

Translation commentary on Sirach 41:2

Good News Translation‘s paragraph breaks at verses 2 and 3 are helpful since they help to bring out the parallel thoughts in verses 1 and 2.

O death, how welcome is your sentence to one who is in need and is failing in strength, very old and distracted over everything: Here death is pictured as a judge handing down a sentence, a declaration of our fate. The sentence is “You must die.” That is a welcome thought to someone who is in need (Good News Translation “living in poverty”), failing in strength (Good News Translation “with failing health”), very old and distracted over everything (Good News Translation “very old, burdened with worries”). If sentence will be an unnatural metaphor, translators may render the first three lines of this verse as “But others [those who are not prosperous] welcome death [or, would rather die] because they are poor, and sick, very old, and full of worries [or, worrying about everything].”

To one who is contrary, and has lost his patience!: We do not recommend following Good News Translation and the Hebrew here, since the Hebrew itself is not clear. We would translate contrary as “resentful” or “bitter.” We think lost his patience here refers to someone who has lost patience with life, who is “tired of living.” So an alternative model for this line is “They are resentful [or, bitter] and are tired of living.”

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.