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 24:19

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers”: This whole verse is almost identical with Psa 37.1. The verb “Fret . . . yourself” is literally “make yourself hot”; the sense may be “get angry” or “get worked up” about people who do evil. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version render this as “Don’t let evil people worry you.” “Evildoers” comes from the same Hebrew root as “evil men” in verse 1.

“And be not envious of the wicked”: For “do not be envious” see verse 1. “The wicked” (plural) is different in Hebrew from “evil men” in verse 1, but the sense is the same. See verse 15.

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 24:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 24:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not covet the wealth of sinners and do not lust for their things” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Do not be angry because of evil people.
    Don’t envy the wicked.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] do- not -fret or envy the wicked people,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Your (sing.) mind should not be-disturbed/in-turmoil because of those who do evil and do not (sing.) be-jealous-of them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 24:19

Paragraph 24:19–20 Saying 29

In this saying, the teacher advises the young man not to become emotionally disturbed at the temporary prosperity of wicked people (24:19). The reason is that they will not have a good future (24:20).

24:19

These parallel lines are similar in meaning:

19a Do not fret over evildoers,

19b and do not be envious of the wicked.

The terms in bold print have the same meaning. Verse 24:19b has the same meaning as 24:1a. See the notes there. The whole verse is almost identical to Psalm 37:1.

24:19a–b

Do not fret…do not be envious: In the OT, the command Do not fret is always associated with envy at the prosperity or success of wicked people.

In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit that the anger or resentment is caused by the prosperity of the wicked. It is not caused by their evil deeds. For example:

Do not become annoyed ⌊when⌋ evil people ⌊prosper⌋ .

Do not envy their ⌊success⌋ .

24:19a

Do not fret: In Hebrew, the form of the verb that is used here means “to become upset or resentful.” A person who “frets” allows himself to become emotionally agitated or hot with anger. Another way to translate this command is:

Do not get overly upset with evildoers (God’s Word)

Some languages may have idioms that express this kind of emotion.

General Comment on 24:19a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines. See 24:19a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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