grow weary

The Greek in Sirach 7:10 that is translated in English as “grow weary” or similar is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 as halbherzig or “half-hearted.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

pray / prayer

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).

Other solutions include:

  • “beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
  • “cause God to know” (Huichol)
  • “raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
  • “call to one’s Father” (San Blas Kuna) (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • “beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):

    What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?

    “The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.

    When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’

    “A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.

    “The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?

    “I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):

  • For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
  • For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
  • For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

See also Nehemiah’s prayer (image).

Translation commentary on Sirach 7:10

Ben Sira has just downplayed a religious act (that is, giving offerings), and now he goes on to commend prayer and the giving of money (alms) to the poor. In 3.30 he mentioned almsgiving as having atoning power, and he agrees with Psa 141.2 that prayer is equivalent to sacrifice. The connection of verses 9 and 10 will come across more clearly if we begin verse 10 with “On the other hand,” or at least “But.” There is no such conjunction in the Greek text, but inserting it would not be out of bounds; for example, “On the other hand, don’t ever get tired….”

Do not be fainthearted in your prayer: The Greek verb rendered Do not be fainthearted can be interpreted differently. Good News Translation translates “Never get tired of praying,” and New English Bible says “Do not grow weary of praying.” Contemporary English Version begins with “Don’t let anything discourage you from praying,” and An American Translation has “Do not be discouraged about your prayers.” New American Bible has “Be not impatient in prayers,” and New Jerusalem Bible reads “Do not be hesitant in prayer.” Shekan translates “Be not brusque in your prayers.” In the Handbook’s judgment, “Do not be hesitant as you pray,” “Do not be reluctant to pray,” or even the positive expression “Pray boldly!” is the interpretation that best fits the context.

Nor neglect to give alms: This subject is so important to ben Sira that he devoted a whole section to it early in the book. See 3.30–4.10.

The two lines of this verse can be combined easily as follows:

• But on the other hand, never be reluctant to pray or hesitate to give to the poor.

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.