This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and where he least suspects it, he will be seized: Translators must make sure that this sentence refers to the adulterer, not to God. There is a contrast in this paragraph between the adulterous activity that takes place under cover of darkness (verse 18) and the sinner’s being exposed and punished in public, in the city streets. Good News Translation could be improved by saying “The adulterer” or “Adulterers” instead of “That sinful man.” The word “when” in Good News Translation could equally well be translated “where.” This is the translator’s choice. This could even be rendered “when and where” if it does not sound too wordy. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version reorder the clauses of this verse so that the adulterer is first caught, and then punished. Contemporary English Version says:

• So unfaithful husbands
will be caught
when they suspect nothing
and will be punished
in the city streets.

For languages that do not have the passive voice, an alternative model is:

• People will catch an adulterer like this when he least expects it, and will punish him in the city streets.

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.