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 Sirach 4:12

Whoever loves her loves life: In the wisdom literature, Wisdom is often associated with life; compare Pro 3.16, 18; 8.35; Wis 8.16-17. Another way to express this clause is “Whoever loves God’s truths [the Torah] loves life itself.”

And those who seek her early will be filled with joy is literally “and those who rise up early to her will be filled with joy.” Early here means “early in the morning,” not “early in life.” Seek is implied in “rise up early to her.” Good News Translation expresses filled with joy as “pure joy.” An alternative model for this line is “those who get up early and study wisdom [or, learn to be wise] will have complete joy [or, happiness].”

Notice that Good News Translation maintains the formal parallelism in this verse by structuring both clauses with verbal nouns: “Loving … is/rising early … is.” Also parallel is “life itself / pure joy.”

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.