worry

The Greek and Hebrew that are translated as “worry” or “anxious” in English are translated in Navajo (Dinė) as “my mind is killing me.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 24)

Nida (1952, p. 124) also gives other examples:

“The Piro in Peru use almost the same idiom when they say that a worried man is ‘one who is hard chased.’ The worried person is like a pursued animal in the forest trying to elude the hunter. The impenetrable jungle of the future, the failing strength, and the exhaustion of doubt all press hard upon the soul. And one’s heart seems to fail and even disappear. This is the very phrase employed by the Tzeltal Indians in the rugged mountains of southern Mexico. They describe ‘worry’ by the words ‘their hearts are gone.'”

See also anxious / worried about many things and worries/cares of the world/this age.

Translation commentary on Sirach 41:1

Both this verse and the next one address death, and speak to it in the second person. In modern English this is awkward and artificial; other languages may even find it impossible. Good News Translation handles it well. Both verses begin with a one-word exclamation: “Death!” Then death is spoken of in the third person.

O death, how bitter is the reminder of you: Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version combine this clause with who is prosperous in everything. Good News Translation has “Death! The very thought of it is bitter to someone who is prosperous,” while Contemporary English Version says “Death is a bitter thought for those who are prosperous.”

To one who lives at peace among his possessions may be rendered “to someone who lives an easy life, enjoying his possessions.”

To a man without distractions may be translated “free of worries” (Good News Translation), “without a worry” (Contemporary English Version), or even “who doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

Who is prosperous in everything: See the comments above.

And who still has the vigor to enjoy his food: Good News Translation says “and still able to enjoy his food,” and Contemporary English Version has “and are healthy enough to enjoy good food.”

A person who is well off and happy with life finds the thought of death (the reminder of you) a bitter thought. Compare 40.1-2.

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.