There is an utterance which is comparable to death: Utterance here does not refer to any particular word or phrase, but to a “way of speaking” (Good News Translation). Since the author equates it with death, he is probably speaking of blasphemy (saying evil things about God), which, according to Lev 24.15-16, is to be punished with death. The Greek verb rendered is comparable to literally means “set side by side with.” This may be the picture. Blasphemy keeps close company with death, walks side by side with death. For this line New American Bible translates “There are words which merit death” (similarly Luís Alonso Schökel). We could also translate “There is one way of speaking that deserves death.”

As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, there is another reading in some manuscripts for the first line. Since the meaning of the other reading, “clothed about with death,” is much the same as is comparable to death, the Handbook suggests that no footnote is necessary.

May it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!: The inheritance of Jacob is the land of Israel. For this line Good News Translation is good, but we could also say “No Israelite should ever be guilty of it.”

For all these errors will be far from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins: Good News Translation reverses these lines. All these errors is literally “all these things.” Good News Translation rewords all these errors will be far from the godly, so that the emphasis is on the people keeping away from the errors: “they will keep away from such behavior.” Wallow describes the activity of an animal, such as a pig, that lies down and rolls around in mud. The image compares the sinner to the pig and the sin to the mud.

Translators may find that it is helpful to reverse the first two lines and the last two lines of this verse and to make the reference to blasphemy explicit. If so, we suggest the following rendering:

• No Israelite should ever be guilty of blasphemy [or, saying evil things about the Lord]! Anyone guilty of it deserves to die. People who talk like this are like pigs rolling in mud, and devout people will keep away from such filthy behavior.

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.