Is "bless" the best translation of 祝福{しゅくふく}?


As far as I understand it, `祝福{しゅくふく}` means "bless". I came across it in this
sentence, and it struck me as weird:

> だれもが彼の成功をうらやむと同時に、心から祝福した。

My rough translation is, "At the same time that everyone was envious of his
succes, they blessed him from their hearts."

I _think_ I get the grammar and syntax, and I also get that people can be
envious and grateful at the same time, or something like that.

It's just that to me (perhaps only to me), the word "blessed" has a lot of
weight to it in terms of religious origins and conveys implications of ritual.
I don't want to get too much into the English meaning of the word "bless",
though.

My main point is that I wonder if "bless" is really the most accurate
translation?

Perhaps it means more like "grateful"?




In the example sentence, `祝福{しゅくふく}する` means "congratulate." Although
`祝福{しゅくふく} (する)` is also used in religious contexts, that is not always the
case.

`祝福{しゅくふく}する` can also mean “wish (someone) good luck / a happy life” as in
`二人{ふたり}の前途{ぜんと}を祝福{しゅくふく}する`.




In the example sentence, `祝福{しゅくふく}する` means "congratulate." Although
`祝福{しゅくふく} (する)` is also used in religious contexts, that is not always the
case.

`祝福{しゅくふく}する` can also mean “wish (someone) good luck / a happy life” as in
`二人{ふたり}の前途{ぜんと}を祝福{しゅくふく}する`.

