happiness / joy

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Ajami Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.

Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.

joy

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The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various associations of “sweetness” or taste: Bambara has “the spirit is made sweet,” Kpelle translates as “sweet heart,” and Tzeltal as “the good taste of one’s heart,” Uduk uses the phrase “good to the stomach,” Baoulé “a song in the stomach,” Mískito “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source: Nida 1952), Mairasi says “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004), Noongar has koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), and Chicahuaxtla Triqui “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.

Translation commentary on Ezra 3:13

So that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping: Good News Translation translates this into natural English by saying, “No one could distinguish…,” that is, no one among the people who heard the sound of “the joyful shouts and the crying” could differentiate between the sound of the shout of joy and the sound of weeping. From a distance the sounds from the weeping and the shouting could not be distinguished but blended together and became one loud noise. The connector so that in Revised Standard Version connects this verse with the previous one to indicate the result of the two sounds being made at the same time.

The people shouted with a great shout: Here a Hebrew participle from the verb “to make a loud noise” is followed by the noun phrase “great shout” (compare verse 11). Traduction œcuménique de la Bible in its French expression says “the people were uttering great ovations.” In brief, they made a very loud noise with their voices!

The sound was heard afar: The idiom “it could be heard for miles” may seem to be inappropriate for that time and culture in which miles were not a measurement of distance. It would be preferable to say something like “the sound could be heard over a long distance” or perhaps “… over many stones’ throw.”

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .