Verse 25 spoke of people who use kindness as a tool for deceit, but this verse speaks of people who use a sober, somber mood as a tool for deceit. Note that Good News Translation uses the third person plural throughout verses 26-30, rather than the literal third person singular. This is quite acceptable.

There is a rascal bowed down in mourning: Rascal is a poor translation of a Greek word meaning “one who does evil.” This evil person goes about bent over as if in mourning, trying to impress people by how serious he is. He is not pretending that someone has died. Good News Translation does not translate bowed down in mourning literally, but gets the effect across by saying “looking very solemn and mournful” rather than simply “looking mournful”; Contemporary English Version has “act like they are mourning.” The Greek word translated in mourning is literally “in black” (see the Revised Standard Version footnote), but it is a symbolic reference to a somber face rather than to the color of clothing.

There is a small textual problem in the first line. Some manuscripts read “one who goes” rather than “one who does evil.” The Greek words are similar, and 12.11 provides a striking example of “one who goes bowed down” (Revised Standard Version “goes about cringing”). Some translators prefer this. Good News Translation is reading the traditional text since it says “those wicked people.” The phrase “who go about” in Good News Translation is added because of translational considerations, not textual ones. It happens, however, that simply omitting the word “wicked” from Good News Translation would translate the other text quite well. We do not recommend this, but it is a defensible option for translators who may prefer it.

But inwardly he is full of deceit: The first line spoke of the deceiver’s outward appearance; here we are told what the person is really like.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Some wicked people go about acting like they are mourning, but they are only trying to deceive you.

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.