happiness / joy

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.

Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.

joy

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The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, 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 (Proverbs 14:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 14:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person knows in his stomach/heart what pains (him),
    but/and if it is joy, he himself is the one rejoicing.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “One can experience only
    his own sorrows and delights,
    It is not possible
    to share them with others.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) alone know how very happy or sad you (sing.) are.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It is only you (sing.) who knows the likeness of your (sing.) sorrow or happiness. Another person does not properly empathize (lit. feel-with).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “If you are very sad or if you are joyful, only you know what you are experiencing;
    no one else can know what you are feeling.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 14:10

Sayings about private thoughts and feelings have been expressed in the first lines of 12.25 and 13.12. This saying recognizes that everyone is ultimately an individual and cannot share their deepest self with others. Psa 44.21 (Hebrew verse 22) says that God knows the secrets of the heart.

“The heart knows its own bitterness”: “The heart” is understood here as more than the center of feeling; it refers to the whole person, that is, the knowledge, feelings, and awareness that a person has. What the “heart knows” is its “own bitterness”, which is literally “bitterness of its soul,” most likely a reference to the person’s own inward sadness or sorrow that can only be truly experienced by the individual. In languages in which it is not natural to speak of the “heart” as knowing, it may be necessary to say, for example, “A person knows his own sadness” or “A person’s sorrow is known only to himself.”

“And no stranger shares its joy”: This line does not contrast with the first but rather expands it. The term “stranger”, which calls attention to such qualities as being an outsider, a foreigner, someone who is unfamiliar, is not suitable in this context. “Stranger” is better rendered as “another person” or “no one else.” “Shares” renders a verb whose reciprocal form means to have fellowship with or to experience something jointly with another person. “Its joy” refers to the joy of the heart of line 1. “Joy”, that is, “gladness” or “happiness,” is felt, like “bitterness”, in the individual’s heart, and so in some translations “joy” is joined to line 1; for example, Bible en français courant says “Everyone is alone in their sorrows and joys, no one else can truly share them,” and Contemporary English Version has “No one else can really know how sad or happy you are.” See Good News Translation also.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 14:10

14:10

The parallel parts in bold print contrast in meaning. The underlined parallel parts give two different perspectives.

10a
The heart knows its own bitterness,

10b and no stranger shares in its joy.

14:10a–b

The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy: Here The heart represents each individual. A person’s feelings cannot be experienced or understood by another individual to the same extent that he experiences these feelings himself.

bitterness: This word can also mean “sadness” or “grief.”

General Comment on 14:10a–b

The parallelism implies that each person knows both his own joy and his own bitterness. It also implies that no one else can fully share his bitterness or his joy. In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. Two ways to do this are:

No one else can really know how sad or happy you are. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Your joy is your own; your bitterness is your own. No one can share them with you.

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