The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon 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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:30:
Kupsabiny: “All while God was building, I was with him helping. He was happy for me and I was also happy for him.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I was there with Him like a workman, I always made Him glad. and staying with Him, I was also rejoicing.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I was like an architect beside the LORD. I am his delight every day, and I am always happy in his presence.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I-accompanied God and helped (him) to plan and create. He was very-happy-with me every-day I was also very-happy to be-accompanying him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
“Then I was beside him like a master workman”: “Beside him” means “close to” in terms of space, that is, “near him” or “next to him.” Revised Standard Version supplies “like”, which makes the expression a simile, but the Hebrew text does not have “like”. The central problem concerns the word rendered “master workman”, which the Revised Standard Version footnote says may also be understood as “little child.” The only change New Revised Standard Version makes in this line is to change “master workman” to “master worker.” The word Revised Standard Version translates as “master workman” occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament and is possibly a word borrowed from Akkadian where it meant “skilled craftsman,” that is, a person who is clever in making or building things.
Others interpret the word to be related to a Hebrew root meaning to care for children as a nurse or foster parent; see Num 11.12; Ruth 4.16; 2 Kgs 10.1. A change in a vowel of this word gives a word meaning “a nursed or fostered child, an infant.”
Many modern translations use such words as “craftsman” or “architect” in their text and, like Revised Standard Version, place “child” in their footnotes. Some use “child” in the text and place “craftsman” or its equivalent in the footnote. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project is of the opinion that both of these solutions are only partly correct. It agrees that the text can mean either “little child” or “master craftsman.” The committee makes two recommendations:
(1) if “little child” is chosen, the translation may say “I was with him as a child”; or
(2) if “master craftsman” is chosen, this does not refer to Wisdom but to God and so should be translated “I was with him who is the master craftsman.”
In relation to the second recommendation, however, we should note that of the English versions which use a term like “master craftsman” only New Jerusalem Bible makes it refer to God, while the others, including Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and Good News Translation, all make the term refer to Wisdom. New International Version says, for instance, “I was the craftsman at his side.”
“I was daily his delight”: “Daily” means every day or all the time. The Hebrew says “I was delight,” but the Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint. “Delight” refers to something in which people take pleasure or joy. It is used, for example, in Psa 119.24 “Your instructions give me pleasure” (Good News Translation). Translations that use “child” in verse 30 tend to use terms that emphasize the kind of pleasure a small child gives to a parent. A common rendering is “I made him happy.”
“Rejoicing before him always”: “Rejoicing” renders a verb meaning to act joyfully or to celebrate. It is used in 1 Sam 18.7 of the women who sang and danced as they greeted David on his return from defeating the Philistines. The only place it is used in reference to children playing and dancing is in Zech 8.5. Wisdom is represented here as dancing to celebrate creation.
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 .
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
In this verse, the first line contains a metaphor that compares Wisdom to a craftsman. The next two lines describe her attitude as a craftsman, both giving happiness and being made happy.
30a Then I was a skilled craftsman at His side,
30b and His delightday by day,
30c rejoicingalwaysin His presence.
8:30a
Then I was a skilled craftsman at His side: The word craftsman refers to someone who is skilled in designing or making things. Some languages do not have technical terms such as “architect” or “craftsman” or do not use metaphors. If this is true in your language, you may be able to use one of the following options:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
I was beside him like an architect (Good News Translation)
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
I was right beside the Lord helping him plan and build (Contemporary English Version)
8:30b
and His delight day by day: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “I was delights day day.” There are two ways to interpret this clause:
(1) Wisdom was an object or source of delight to the LORD. For example:
I was his daily source of joy (Good News Translation)
(2) Wisdom was delighted. For example:
I was delighted every day (New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. The LXX has “his,” and “his” delight is also implicit in Hebrew. Another way to translate this clause is:
I made him happy each day. (Contemporary English Version)
day by day: This word can also be translated as “always” or “constantly.” For example:
I was his constant delight. (New Living Translation (2004))
8:30c
rejoicing always in His presence: Verse 8:30b talks about Wisdom giving the LORD happiness, but 8:30c talks about Wisdom’s happiness. The verb rejoicing can mean “playing” or “dancing.” But here, it should probably be understood in the general sense of “rejoicing,” “acting joyfully,” or “celebrating.” The first thing that Wisdom rejoiced about was simply being in the LORD’s presence. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
enjoying his presence all the time (New Century Version)
-or-
I was always happy at his side
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