envy / envious

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “envy” or “envious” in most English translations is, according to Nida (1952, p. 134), translated into Tzeltal and Tabasco Chontal in the following manner:

“Envy is bred of covetousness and self-centeredness. The Tzeltals, who recognize a covetous man as having a ‘small heart,’ say that an envious person has ‘a greedy heart.’ ‘Small hearts’ and ‘greedy hearts’ go together, and the soul shrinks in direct proportion to its greediness. The envious person is never satisfied, for he can never keep step with his own insatiable ego.

“The Chontal Indians, living in the low, swampy delta land of Tabasco in southern Mexico, regard envy in a more subtle way. They say of the man who is envious of his neighbor, ‘He did not want to see his neighbor.’ This describes the end result of envy. People cannot bear to see others enjoying the privileges which they insist should be their own. The envious man has acquired such a self-directed stare that he cannot take his eyes off self to see another’s enjoyment.”

In Central Mazahua is is translated as “jealous of each other, their fellow people,” in Sayula Popoluca as “hate those who have something” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Matumbi as sukya, which means “envy” but also “hate” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), and in Kupsabiny as “blackstomached” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation).

See also envy.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 24:1

“Be not envious of evil men”: “Be not envious” or “don’t be jealous of” (Contemporary English Version) renders a word that has strong emotional content (see 23.17). The sense is “don’t be consumed with desire for what they have.” The Hebrew “evil men” is literally “men of badness,” with the focus on their deeds. It is not exclusively masculine, so a number of versions translate it as “the wicked” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible); Contemporary English Version uses the more colloquial term “crooks.”

“Nor desire to be with them”: “Desire” is the parallel term to “Be . . . envious” in the previous line (see 21.10). However, the warning in this line is against wanting “to be with them”. This is a literal rendering of the Hebrew; but the expression has the sense of wanting their company or their friendship, and so many versions say something like “wish for their company” (New Jerusalem Bible, Scott) or “want to be their friends” (Contemporary English Version).

One translation that is a good model for the whole verse says “It’s not good for you to feel bad that you don’t have everything that bad people have; and it’s also not good for you to try to make friends with them.”

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 24:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 24:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not envy wicked people and do not join their group,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Don’t envy evil people.
    Don’t desire to be with them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] do not envy the wicked or desire to make-friends with them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Do not (sing.) be-jealous-of or be-friends-with sinners,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)