“A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance”: This line states that happiness expresses itself on a person’s face. It says literally “A joyful heart makes good faces.” In some languages this thought is expressed, for example, “A happy person has a happy face,” “A light liver makes the face shine,” “Happiness makes the eyes bright,” or “If a person is happy, everyone sees it in his face.”

“But by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken”: This line contrasts with the first and asserts that sorrow depresses a person’s spirit. “Sorrow of heart” (literally “pain of the heart”) refers to the inner self in contrast to the outer appearance referred to in the previous line. This is psychological or emotional pain or injury, a state of sadness. In verse 4 “breaks the spirit” meant “causes despair or discouragement.” The sense of “the spirit is broken” is similar in this verse. We may say, for example, “but pain in the innermost brings depression,” “a black liver makes a person feel worthless,” or “if a person is feeling sad, his thinking falls down.”

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 .