Think of his wrath on the day of death may be rendered “If you make a promise, think how angry the Lord will be if you die without fulfilling it.”

And of the moment of vengeance when he turns away his face: The author paints this picture: You have made a promise, but never fulfilled it. Now you lay dying, and God takes vengeance—punishes you—by abandoning you. You turned your back on your duty to God; now, when you need him most, he turns his back on you. “Turn his back” (Good News Translation) is more natural in English than turns away his face. It could be rendered “abandons” or “ignores.”

Good News Translation‘s restructuring of this whole verse is effective in English. The implied answer to the two questions is “No!” Translators who use Good News Translation as a model must be sure that the questions will be understood in this way. We may also use a conditional clause for the last line; for example, “If he is angry when he judges you, he will abandon you.”

This verse is not talking about a final judgment after death. It must be read in the light of 11.26-28. See the comments on those verses.

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.