Give to the godly man, but do not help the sinner: Here ben Sira tells us how we should decide to whom to give. We should give only to “religious people” (Good News Translation), and not to sinners. This line condenses the thought of verses 1-3. Verse 7 is almost identical to this verse; it will sum up verses 5-6.

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.