forget

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also remember and forget (Japanese honorifics).

with all heart

The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated with “with all (one’s) heart” in English is translated in Newari as “from (one’s) inmost heart” (source: Newari Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Sirach 7:27

Ben Sira discussed one’s duties to parents at some length right after discussing one’s duties to God (3.1-16). Here he repeats himself briefly, but in the context of household management. Ben Sira assumes that the man’s parents are living with him. But notice that after two verses dealing with duties to one’s parents, ben Sira will turn immediately to talk of duties to God.

With all your heart honor your father: The phrase With all your heart will be echoed in verses 29 and 30, as the subject shifts to duties to God. See the comments on verse 29.

And do not forget the birth pangs of your mother: Good News Translation effectively turns the noun birth pangs into a verb, saying “and never forget how your mother suffered when you were born” (Contemporary English Version “and remember that your birth gave your mother great pain”). It might be slightly better to say “Never forget the pain your mother suffered when you were born,” “Never forget that when your mother bore you she suffered great pain,” or even “Always remember that….”

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.