The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew that is translated as “abomination” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “hated thing” and in Kwere as zitibusa which means “evil” but also something that causes horror or disgust and revolts people. (Source for both: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
in Ngambay it is nékɔb or “taboo.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
“A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul”: The thought expressed in line 1 of this saying is similar to that in line 2 of verse 12. For some reason line 2 does not parallel line 1. “Desire” translates the same word used in verse 12 and refers generally to anything that someone wants or wishes for, but does not yet have. “Fulfilled” renders a different verb than that used in verse 12 but has the same sense as there. “Sweet” was used in 3.24 to describe the quality of the sleep of the person who practices sound wisdom. “Sweet to the soul” means pleasant or enjoyable to the person desiring something. Note Good News Translation “How good it is to get what you want!” Bible en français courant has “It is pleasant to satisfy a desire,” and Contemporary English Version “It’s a good feeling to get what you want.”
“But to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools”: There is little point in trying to rephrase this line to make it parallel the first line, so the conjunction “but” may be inappropriate in this context. We can only translate the text as it stands. “Turn away from evil” is used as a command in 3.7. See there for comments. “An abomination” was first used in 3.32. The sense here is that fools hate avoiding evil, which is a negative way of saying that they love doing it.
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 .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:19:
Kupsabiny: “The desire/stomach of a person rejoices over something he has been waiting for for a long time, but sin has made foolish people blind/not to see.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “When something longed for is obtained it is pleasant, but fools will not try to withdraw from evil work even to obtain what they long for.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “How nice is the feeling of a man if what he desires-for will-be-fulfilled; that is why the fools will- not also -stop to do wickedness.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Great is the happiness if/when what one wants to obtain is fulfilled, but those who are foolish, they refuse/dislike to be-changing their evil behavior.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “It is delightful to receive what we desire; foolish people hate/refuse to turn away from doing evil.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Notice that the following lines have no contrasting pairs:
19a Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
19b but turning from evil is detestable to fools.
There is no explicit connection between the two lines. However, it is implied from 13:25 as well as 10:3 and 10:24 that only righteous people truly experience the satisfaction of their desires. The implied contrast here may be as follows:
19a
⌊Righteous people experience⌋ the pleasant feeling that results from their desire being fulfilled,
19b but fools ⌊will not experience this pleasure, because they⌋ refuse to turn from their evil ways.
13:19a
Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul: In this context, the word sweet means “pleasant” or “agreeable.” The word soul represents the person himself. Another way to express this meaning is:
How good it is to get what you want! (Good News Translation)
-or-
It is very pleasant when what you desire comes true
13:19b
but turning from evil is detestable to fools: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is detestable to fools is literally “abomination of fools.” The phrase “abomination of…” usually describes what the LORD detests. Here it indicates that a fool is disgusted or repulsed by the thought of abandoning his evil conduct. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
but turning from evil is disgusting to fools (God’s Word)
-or-
but fools hate to stop doing evil (New Century Version)
The Hebrew word translated here as fools is the same as the word that was used in 13:16b. See the note there. For the word detestable, see the note in 11:1a.
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