were overwhelmed with joy

The Greek that is translated as “were overwhelmed with joy” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with sie brachen in freudigen Jubel aus or “they burst into joyful jubilation.”

joy

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The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various strategies:

  • Baoulé: “a song in the stomach” (see also peace (inner peace))
  • Bambara: “the spirit is made sweet”
  • Kpelle: “sweet heart”
  • Tzeltal: “the good taste of one’s heart”
  • Uduk: “good to the stomach”
  • Mískito: “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source for this and above: Nida 1952)
  • Mairasi: “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.

complete verse (Matthew 2:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 2:10:

  • Uma: “So off they went. On the way, they saw again the star that they had seen in the east earlier. No kidding their joy at seeing that star. That star went ahead of them until it stopped right above the dwelling-place of that Child.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, when the king had finished speaking, those men from the east went. While they were walking they saw the star again that they had seen in the country in the east. When they saw the star they were very happy indeed. They followed the star and then/eventually the star rested above the place where the child was.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then the stargazers left. And when they were on the road they saw the star again which was the same star which they saw when it appeared in the east. And they were overjoyed when they saw the star again. And that star went ahead of them, and it stopped there over the house where the child was.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Upon their hearing what the king instructed them, they started out, and their happiness was great, because they saw again the same star that they saw appear before. It went-ahead-of them until it arrived directly-above the house where the baby was and then it stopped.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they again saw that star, they really became very happy.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Upon seeing where they were to arrive at, they very much rejoiced.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 2:1-12)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 2:1-12:

They came from the east when Herod was king in Judea.
They were authorities themselves, authorities about stars, and they asked in Jerusalem,
       “Where is the child born to be king of your nation?
In the east we saw the star that signaled his birth,
       and we have come to worship him.”

This news worried King Herod and everyone else in town.
So Herod called together the religious authorities and asked,
       “Where is this new king supposed to be born?”

They replied, “In Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote:
‘Bethlehem — so important in Judea—from you will come
       One with absolute authority over God’s flock.’”

Herod was sly, and after he had sent for the star-authorities,
he said, “Go to Bethlehem and return with all the details,
       so I can worship this new king.”

The eastern authorities followed the star
until it had settled over the child’s home —
       they were overwhelmed with joy…

When they entered the house,
       they saw him with Mary his mother.
So they knelt down and worshiped the child,
       placing at his feet the treasures they had brought.
Later — after being warned in a dream –
       they returned home by a different route.

Translation commentary on Matthew 2:10

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 .