angry

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

See also anger and feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety).

Translation commentary on Sirach 4:3

Do not add to the troubles of an angry mind: The mind is described here literally as “provoked to anger”; it is a form of the same verb used in the previous verse. Such a person the author has in mind here can be aptly described as “desperate,” the word used by Good News Translation and New English Bible. If a translator wants to keep the idea of “anger,” Good News Translation could be modified by saying “Don’t add to the troubles of one who is already angry and bitter.” Here the second adjective refines the intent of the more general word “angry.” We may also say “If a person is already angry and bitter, don’t cause him any more trouble” or “If a person already has a heart full of anger and bitterness, don’t make things worse for him.”

Nor delay your gift to a beggar: The Greek word translated beggar can mean just that, but it can also have the more general meaning of someone who is needy enough to be begging. So Good News Translation has “If he is in need, don’t put off [delay] giving to him.” This is a good solution. It correctly assumes that the beggar and the angry mind are the same person, and makes this clear in translation. Contemporary English Version‘s model is also helpful:

• And if they are upset already,
don’t make things worse
by being slow in giving them
what they need.

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.