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 Tobit 10:3

He began to worry is a literal rendering. There was no reason to worry until Tobias had had time to go, do all the business, and return. Now Tobit is starting to get worried.

It is possible to consider verse 2 as voicing Tobit’s worry; so we may combine verses 2 and 3 as follows:

• He became so worried that he said to his wife, “Is it possible that something is preventing Tobias from returning? Maybe Gabael is dead, and there is no one else to give him the money.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Tobit. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.