The mind of fools is in their mouth, but the mouth of wise men is in their mind: This means just what Good News Translation says with “Fools say whatever comes to mind; wise people think before they speak.” It may prove impossible to preserve the wordplay on mind/ mouth in this verse; English versions certainly do not succeed, although Contemporary English Version comes very close with:

• In a fool, the mind thinks
only after the mouth speaks,
but in a wise person,
the mind controls the mouth.

Revised English Bible changes the wordplay to “speak/think”: “Fools speak before they think, but the wise think before they speak.” This is a good model to follow; translators should be sure that they do not simply repeat verse 25. The meaning here is much the same as we have interpreted verse 25, but the wording is different. Compare Pro 16.23.

The Revised Standard Version textual footnote here is true enough; there is a surprising amount of textual confusion at the beginning of the second line of this verse. Most Greek manuscripts read “but the mind of wise men [is] their mouth.” This is difficult but not impossible to understand; it says that wise men let their thoughts speak for them rather than doing their thinking with their mouth. We could translate this verse as “Fools do their thinking with their mouths; the wise speak only what their minds have thought through.” In fact, however, this differs very little from the text that Revised Standard Version (and almost everyone else) translates. In our judgment Revised English Bible still provides the best model, and no footnote is necessary.

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.