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.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 15:21

“Folly is a joy to him who has no sense”: For “Folly” see 5.23. “Is a joy” means “brings happiness” or “gives joy.” “Who has no sense”, as in 6.32, is literally “who lacks heart,” where “heart” symbolizes the center of thought. This line is expressed in one translation as “The person who has no thinking is always happy in his own stupid behavior.”

“But a man of understanding walks aright”: As in 11.12, “a man of understanding” refers to a person who has good sense or good judgment and contrasts with “him who has no sense” in the first line. “Walks aright” means “does what is right.” For a model translation see Good News Translation.

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 15:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 15:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “A foolish person is happy about foolishness,
    but an understanding person follows the way of uprightness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A foolish person rejoices in his folly,
    but a wise person only does what is good.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man without understanding rejoice in foolishness, but a man who has understanding is-living rightly.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The mindless-person is-made-happy by foolishness that has no use/purpose, but the wise-person, what is does is what is right/correct.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Foolish people are happy to continually act foolishly;
    those who have good sense do what is right.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 15:21

15:21

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

21a
Folly is joy to one who lacks judgment,

21b but a man of understanding walks a straight path.

The parts in 15:21a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 15:21b. If this chiastic order is not natural in your language, you may need to reorder the parts in one of the lines. For example, 15:21a could be reordered as follows:

21a
A man who lacks judgment delights in folly

15:21a

Folly is joy to one who lacks judgment: Doing things that are morally foolish is joy or causes happiness to a person who lacks judgment. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
If a person lacks good judgment, he will enjoy acting foolishly

Folly:

lacks judgment: This phrase refers to a person who lacks common sense and makes foolish decisions.

15:21b

but a man of understanding: This phrase contrasts precisely with the person in 15:21a who has no common sense. It refers to a person who has the good sense or competence to handle the situations that he faces in life.

walks a straight path: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “walks straight ahead.” This implies staying on the straight/right path. As elsewhere in Proverbs, the figurative meaning is to consistently do what is right.

When you translate this line, it is recommended that you keep the figure of speech of a straight/right path if possible. For example:

a sensible person stays on the right path (New Living Translation (2004))

However, in some languages, it may be more effective to translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

someone with understanding does what is right (New Century Version)

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