In very strong terms Matthew describes the response of the men when they saw the star: they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. It is impossible to overtranslate the reaction of the men to the seeing of the star; the translation should express the greatest possible joy. Good News Translation has “how happy they were, what joy was theirs” and New English Bible “they were overjoyed.” New Jerusalem Bible reads “The sight of the star filled them with delight.”
Every language has its own way of expressing happiness or joy, and translators should use the most natural expressions they have. Some languages refer to parts of the body, as in “their hearts (or, their stomachs) were happy (or, sweet),” and so forth. Others say something like “happiness seized them” or “happiness came to them.” Another way may be “their happiness was too great to measure.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
In my language we would say “their joy was exceedingly full and overflowing.”
Hello, Renata:
Thank you so much. Could you share what language that is?
Thanks again,
Jost
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