sorrow

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated in English as “painful” or “sorrow” is translated in Huba as “cut the insides.” David Frank explains: “Huba has just one expression that covers both ‘angry’ and ‘sad.’ They don’t make a distinction in their language. I suppose you could say that the term they use means more generically, ‘strong emotional reaction’ (source: David Frank in this blog post ). Similarly, in Bariai it is “the interior is severed/cut” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

In Noongar it is translated as koort-warra or “heart bad.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

In Enlhet it is translated as “going aside of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )

See also grieving / sorrowful.

Translation commentary on 2 Esdras 10:12 - 10:13

But if you say to me: This quote frame introduces an embedded speech of the mother in these verses. It begins a sentence that continues to the end of verse 14. Some languages will prefer to break it into several sentences (so Good News Bible). This quote frame may be rendered “But suppose you say to me” or “If you tell me.” Good News Bible uses indirect speech in verses 12-13 by rendering this clause as “I know what you are thinking,” which some languages may find helpful. Contemporary English Version is similar with “I know that you think.”

My lamentation is not like the earth’s may be translated “I have more of a right to mourn than the earth does,” “you think that your sorrow is worse than the earth’s” (Good News Bible), or “you think your pain is greater than the earth’s” (Contemporary English Version).

For I have lost the fruit of my womb may be expressed as “for I have lost my child.”

Which I brought forth in pain may be rendered “whom I brought to birth with such trouble” (similarly Good News Bible) or “with whom I suffered through pregnancy.”

And bore in sorrow is parallel in meaning to the previous clause, and may be translated “and suffered pain while I bore him [or, my child].”

An alternative model for verse 12 is:

• Suppose you tell me, ‘I have more of a right to mourn than the earth does. I have lost a child! I suffered through pregnancy and the pain of childbirth with him.

But it is with the earth according to the way of the earth—the multitude that is now in it goes as it came may be expressed as “But that is the way it is with life on the earth—multitudes of people come and go.”

Good News Bible provides a helpful model for verses 12-13 by combining them and using indirect speech for the embedded quote. Another model that does this is:

• 12-13 I know that you suffered through pregnancy, giving birth to a son, and now you have lost him. You think that gives you more cause to mourn than the earth has, because on earth people are always being born and [people are always] dying—that’s the way life on earth has always been.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.