Quem morde em Deus quebram-se-lhe os dentes

11:19 Jan 14, 2022 

It is also worthy to note that the expression in Portuguese is not a common saying and has a very poor word choice. This is clearly an "invention" of the author, so the translator has a certain freedom to create, too.

08:49 Jan 14, 2022 

As Mario has also recognised, the term God could work, but the point is that "Lord" is a very formal register, while saying God is more general and relaxed, which would suit the characters better.
...that is unless of course (if you step away from this context) you were to use the term "good lord" or something in a light-hearted ironic way, which is what is done at times, but this is precisely because the term "Lord" has a very lofty and sacred nuance.
But at the end of the day, we are discussing the phrasing of two distinct characters, and this is not an official text of any sort, i.e. there is a dramatic context here that allows for personality of the speaker above that of official correctness of language rules.

21:16 Jan 13, 2022 

I posted my suggestion before Douglas mentioned they're not religious. But God must be in the translation anyway. I agree "Lord" would not be suitable here.

19:52 Jan 13, 2022 

I am with you on that. If they are not a religious couple, invoking the name of God/Lord sounds a bit off, IMHO. In this particular case, I think it's important to know the motive behind her utterance. What did she really want to accomplish? Whatever it is, that would be the right translation regardless of what she said outwardly. I have more questions than answers on this one.

19:28 Jan 13, 2022 

I think the use of "Lord" sounds a bit clumsy if these are not an essentially religious couple - I think "don't take god's name in vain" would reflect the characterisation better, as this is commonly used but not religiously formal.

18:48 Jan 13, 2022 

@Mario. The idea is that her husband ( a pide inspector, by the way) 'invoked' God by blurting 'Oh for the love of God' during a quarrel. There seems to be little actual religious meaning here as if someone said 'Jesus H Christ', but she picks up on the reference to snipe back at him. Luciano's idea of 'Don't take the Lord's name in vain' seems a good translation so far. It was what I thought of later.

18:41 Jan 13, 2022 

Despite not being religious, she used a phrase mentioning "those who bite God". There is no way you can take God away from the translation. Now, who she's associating God with is the big question here. Who did the husband offend? Who was he unthankful with?

15:09 Jan 13, 2022 

It's a fight between a husband and wife in the mid 1960s in Portugal. They are not particularly religious so it seems like a 'desabafo'

15:03 Jan 13, 2022 

Are there distinctive characters involved in this conversation? It seems like there is some kind of dramatic context here, so surely the way this is phrased, or the attitude taken would be relevant to the actual phrasing here.