remember

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “remember” in English is translated in Mairasi as “it is (or: place it) in your liver’s crack” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar as barrang-dwangka, literally “ear-hold” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

In Kalmyk, there is no equivalent to “remember,” so the translation there is “don’t forget.” (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )

See also forget, wisdom, God remembered Noah and Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions.

Translation commentary on Sirach 38:20

Do not give your heart to sorrow: This means “Do not let sorrow overcome you.” New English Bible is good with “Do not abandon yourself to grief.”

Drive it away, remembering the end of life: Drive it away may be a difficult concept to translate in some languages. In such cases we may say “Just stop grieving.” In our opinion the alternative translation given in Good News Translation‘s footnote is not a real option. It is sorrow that must be driven away. The Greek phrase translated the end of life is unclear. Literally it is “the end [things].” In 7.36 and 28.6 this means “the end of life,” but in 48.24 the same phrase means “the future.” If you take the former interpretation, Good News Translation offers a good model for the last clause: “Remember that we must all die sometime.” If you prefer the second interpretation, you could say “Concentrate on the future.” We prefer the former interpretation; compare the next line.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.