Do not say, “I shall be hidden from the Lord: Notice that the quotation begun here will end with verse 22. Good News Translation restructures I shall be hidden from the Lord as “I will hide from the Lord.” This is possible, but since the Greek does not actually say that the speaker takes the initiative in hiding, we could also say “The Lord will never see me.” This is probably better. The idea is not that the speaker is going to hide so that the Lord will not see him. Rather, it is that he need not worry, because the Lord is not going to see him in the first place. Contemporary English Version brings out this meaning clearly with “The Lord cannot see me.” Compare Psa 94.7.

And who from on high will remember me?: In languages with singular and plural forms of who, it should be singular. The reference is really to God, not to other inhabitants of heaven, and this should be made clear. On high refers to heaven, where God is, so Good News Translation renders who from on high as “Nobody up there.” Remember does not imply forgetting. It simply means “think about”; Good News Translation “give me a thought” means “think about me.” Since the question here is rhetorical, it may be rendered “He [the Lord] will not even think about me.”

Among so many people I shall not be known: To be known here means to “be noticed” (Good News Translation). The implied agent of this passive verb is the Lord. We could translate this line as “There are so many people in the world—the Lord will never notice me.” Or, following Good News Translation in restructuring it as a rhetorical question, it may be rendered “How can the Lord notice me among so many people?”

For what is my soul in the boundless creation?: My soul simply means “I” (Good News Translation). Good News Translation‘s translation of this line is effective: “The creation is so enormous, what am I worth?” But we may also make this rhetorical question a statement; for example, “Since the creation is so enormous, I am worth nothing!” The speaker denies that God notices people or cares about them, but in so doing denies his own personal worth. It is from God’s care that our worth derives, for without it we are indeed lost in the immensity of creation. Each of the speaker’s statements in the four lines of this verse is wrong; he cannot hide from the Lord, someone up there will think of him and notice him among the world’s millions of people, and finally, he is worth a great deal.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Never say to yourself, “The Lord [high up in heaven] cannot see me. He will not even think about me. How can he notice me among so many people? The creation is so enormous, and I am worth nothing.

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.