Do not lend to a man who is stronger than you; but if you do lend anything, be as one who has lost it: Good News Translation expresses this verse well. Stronger does not refer to physical strength, but to influence. When you lend something to such a person, you must do it in the full knowledge that you will probably never get it back. Good News Translation is a bit misleading with “you might as well consider it lost.” After all, the person may well repay the debt; ben Sira is not saying that you have no chance of collecting. He is saying there is no guarantee of it, and since that person is more influential than you are, you have no way of making him repay. So we may express this verse as follows:

• Never lend anything to a person who is more powerful [or, has greater social standing/face] than you. If you do make such a loan, don’t count on the person repaying it.

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.